BRIAN BORU

Brian was a historical figure whose potent image as a warrior, ruler, protector and sacrificial king made him almost divine.

He was born around 940, the youngest of two sons of Cennedig, head of Dal Cais, one of the royal free tribes of Munster.

Brian grew up during the worst days of tyranny when the Dacassians had driven in to the present county of Clare.

His brother, Mahon, had become King of Munster in 951, upon the death of their father. Together they fought against the invading Norsemen, who had imposed taxes in Munster. This struggle eventually led to the murder of Mahon.

Brian avenged his brother’s death by killing the king of the Ostermen (Norse) of Limerick, King Imar.

From this point onwards Brian held Munster as his own. He marched into Connaught and Leinster and joined forces with Mael Sechnaill II in 997. Together they divided Ireland between them.

The Norse settlers in Dublin ranged against Brian but were defeated at Glen Mama where the King of Leinster was captured. The King of Dublin, Sitric Silkenbeard, was soon defeated too.

In 1002 Brian demanded of Mael Seachnaill that he recognizes him as King of Ireland. Mael agreed, partially because many of his own people viewed Brian as a hero who had restored Ireland to greatness after the Viking invasions.

Brian earned his name as ‘Brian of the Tributes’ by collecting tributes from the minor rulers of Ireland and used the money raised to restore monasteries and build new churches. He sent overseas to replace lost books and artefacts that had been destroyed during the invasions.

He reigned for thirty-nine years. It was a time of unsurpassed glory, prosperity and happiness.

He promoted the arts and learning. He is credited with having originated surnames. His patriotism and personal sacrifice brought the clans together, under one King, for the only time in Irish history.

The Norsemen were not done yet however, and once more waged war on Brian Boru and his followers at Clontarf in Dublin.

Despite the lack of backing from the men of Connaught, the Munstermen won the day but lost Brian in the battle.

This was a major turning point as it finally subjugated the Norse presence in Ireland who were considered subordinate to the Kinships of Ireland.


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MANANNAN MAC LIR

He is a sea deity in Irish Mythology. His father is the sea-god Lir.

Manannan is often seen as a psychopomp, (these are creatures in many religions whose responsibility is to escort deceased souls to the afterlife), and has strong affiliations with the Otherworld, the weather and the mists between the worlds.

He has strong ties with the Isle of Man, where he is referenced in a traditional ballad as having been the nation’s first ruler. He is also believed to have been the magician who could make an illusory fleet from sedge or pea shells in order to discourage would-be invaders.

Despite of not being the biological father of that many, Manannan took it upon himself to raise a number of foster children, among them Lugh of the great hand and the children of Deirdre. He is a father-figure and a patron as much as he is a joker.

As the archetype of the father, he stands for rigid rules and consistency, but as a joker he is the lord of temporary chaos in the mildest temper.

Manannan owned many magical items:

·        -A magic goblet of truth.

·        -A self-propelled ship named “Wave Sweeper”.

·        -A cloak of mists which made any who wore it invisible at will.

·        -A flaming helmet with two precious stones, which flashed as he moved.

·        -A sword named Fragarach.(The Answerer), from the wound of which no man –ever recovered.

·        -A horse called “Enbarr of the Flowing Mane” which could travel over water as easily as land.

·        -A breastplate which no weapon could pierce.

Manannan’s powerful role in the cycle of life and death is also expressed in his possession of the magic swine, whose flesh provides food for feasting by the gods, and the regenerates each day.

He appears in many Celtic myths and tales, but only plays a prominent role in some of them.

-In the tale “his Three Calls to Cormac”, Manannan tempts the Irish King Cormac mac Airt with treasure in exchange for his family.

-The tale “Manannan at Play” features the god as a clown and beggar, who plays a number of pranks, some of which result in serious trouble.

-In the tale, “The Sickbed of Cuchulain”, Manannan’s wife, Fand, has an ill-fated affair with the Irish warrior. It was then that Manannan decreed that the world of faeries and the world of humans should forever remain separated.

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NUADA ARGETLAMH

Nuada was king of the Tuatha De Danann for seven years before they came to Ireland.

They arrived bearing with them their stone of destiny called the Lia Fail which they placed on the mound of Tara and ever after the rightful kings of Ireland were chosen when it called out; the spear of Lugh which ensured victory to whoever wielded it; the Sword of Nuada from whom none could escape and the Cauldron of the Dagda from which none would go unsatisfied.

In Ireland they made contact with the Fir Bolg (a reclusive type of giant-kin), the then inhabitants of the island, and Nuada sought from them half of the island for the Tuatha De, which their king rejected.

Both peoples made ready for war. During the first battle of Magh Tuiredh (Moytura), a battle between heroes ensued.

Nuada faced Sreng, the champion of the Fir Bolg, losing an arm in the fight.

Nuada’s ally, Aengaba of Norway, then fought Sreng, while the Dagda protected Nuada, carrying him from the field.

The Tuatha De gained the upper hand in the battle, but Srend later returned to challenge Nuada to single combat. Nuada accepted on the condition that Sreng fought with one arm tied up; but he refused. By this point the battle was won and the Fir Bolg were defeated.

The Tuatha De offered Sreng one quarter of Ireland for his people instead of the one half offered before the battle, and so they moved westwards to the islands off the west coast namely the Aran Islands.

Dianchecht, the druid physician of the Tuatha De , prepared a bath of magical herbs with such curative properties that the wounded that were plunged into it were made whole. However the bath could not cure the king.

In those days the king was required to be whole in mind and body; so Nuada, a good and well-loved king, having lost his arm, was no longer eligible for kingship and he was replaced as king by Bres.

Bres,is a half Fomorian prince, renowned for his beauty and intellect. He identifies with his Fomorian side and treats the Tuatha De terribly, levying large taxes and forging the usual hospitality and entertainments a king is expected to provide.

A solution is sought, and finally, Dianchecht uses his skill to fashion for Nuada a marvellous hand of silver which functions as well as a human hand and fitted it to Nuada’s arm.

Restored to wholeness, Nuada could, once again, take his rightful place as a king.

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CONCHOBAR MACNESSA

       

King of Emain Macha and thus of Ulster.and leader of the Red Branch who was friendly with the fairies.

Conchobar is the son of Ness and the druid Cathbad. The boy is reared by Cathbad until the age of seven, when a new king of Ulster, Fergus mac Roich, seeks Ness for his wife after having fallen in love with her.

Nessa agrees to become his wife on the condition that Fergus allows Conchobar to be king for a year. Fergus, being the good-hearted man that he was, happily made the trade.

Conchobar advised by his mother rules so well that by the end of the year decide he should be king permantly, and so w hen Fergus wanted his throne back .Ness makes it difficult for Fergus to retain his title and Conchobar musteres his warriors to drive his rival into exile.

Despite his unusual access to royal power, Conchobar becomes a popular king.

At times, Conchobar was a good king, incredibly generous, especially with his nephew Cuchulainn, celebrated for his prudence and wise judgement; and at times he was a bad one, it was his fault that the goddess Macha cursed all the men of Ulster, and that the “ Sorrows of Deirdre “ ever happened.
Conchobar married several of Eochu’s (High King) daughters. Medb, was the first. She bears him a son, but soon leaves him.

Medb’s sister, Eithne, conceives a son by him, but Medb murders her and the son is delivered by   posthumous caesarean section.

Mugain bears him a son and remains his chief wife.

Conchobar’s eldest son, Cormac, is given to Fergus mac Roich to foster.

Famous stories in which Conchobar appears are The Cattle Raid of Cooley and The Battle of Ros na Rig.

Conchobar owned a famous shield named Ochain which let out a piteous wail whenever its master was in peril.

The Book of Leinster tells of his death at the hand of Conall of the Victories who hit him with a talisman, one of Ulster’s trophies of battle, (the petrified brain of a king of Leinster) from a slingshot so hard that the ball became deeply embedded in Conchobar’s brain.

His physicians were unable to remove it, so sewed up the wound and told the king he would survive so long as he did not get excited or over-exerted himself.

Seven years later, during one of his famous temper fits, he died.

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CUCHULAINN

Cuchulainn was born Setanta, he gained his better-known name as a child, after he killed Culann’s fierce guard-dog in self defence. Setanta placed a geise upon himself to take the place of the dog he had killed until a replacement could be reared.
 

His name, Cuchulainn, means ‘hound of Cullan’.

In his youth, he was so beautiful; the Ulster men worried that without a wife, Cuchulainn will steal their wives and ruin their daughters. They searched all over Ireland for a suitable wife, but he will have none but Emer, daughter of Forgall, who was opposed to the weeding.

Forgall suggests that Cuchulainn should train in arms with Scathach, hoping that he will be killed in the process.

He studied under the warrior/Goddess Scathach on the Isle of Skye. 
 She teaches him all the arts of war, including the use of the Gae Bulg, a barbed spear, thrown with the foot that has to be cut out of his victim.

Cuchulainn returned to Ulster, but Forgall still refused to let him marry Emer.

He storms Forgall’s fortress, killing twenty-four men, abducts Emer and steals Forgall’s treasure. This shows how he was known for his terrifying battle frenzy, in which Cuchulainn becomes an unrecognisable monster who knows neither friend nor foe.

Cuchulainn got to be a great warrior and leader of the Red Branch.

At the age of seventeen he defended Ulster single-handedly against the armies of Queen Medb of Connacht in the epic Tain Bo Cuailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley); as the men of Ulster are disabled by a curse and are not able to fight.

It was prophesied that his great deeds would give him everlasting fame, but that his life would be a short one.

When Cuchulainn encounter the Morrigan, he failed to recognise her as an incarnation of the goddess and brusquely rejected the love that she professed him. The Morrigan then told him that in that case she would hinder him when he was in battle.

Cuchulainn’s fate is sealed when he broke his geasa or ban against eating dog meat; causing him to be spiritually weakened for the fight ahead of him.

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CU ROI MAC DAIRI

He is a giant hero who was worshipped as a God by the Celts.

A king of Munster in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology; he is usually portrayed as a warrior with superhuman abilities, a master sorcerer.

His name probably means ‘hound of the battlefield’ or ‘roaring warrior’ and he is believed to be the son of Daire Mac Dedad.

He is associated especially with Kerry, where the remains of a prehistoric fortification in the Slemish Mountains are still known as Caher Conree, 'Cu Roi's City.

From the age of seven until he died he had not bloodied his sword in Ireland, and the food of Ireland did not pass his lips either.

Each night in whatever part of the world he might be in, he chanted an incantation so that his fortress in Kerry revolved as swiftly as a mill-stone and the entrance could never be found after sunset.

Cu Roi is a great tester of courage and has shape-shifting abilities; he appeared most frequently in the guise of a giant yokel or herdsman.

On one occasion he challenged the heroes of Ulster to play the Beheading Game with him as indicated in the legend of the Feast of Bricriu.

He helped out the Ulstermen one time on a raid of the Underworld and they offered him first choice of the booty if they succeeded.

They did succeed and when Cu Roi went to make his choice, the Ulstermen refused to hand over the goods, he then lifted up the booty, stowed it on several parts of his body and prepared to leave.

Cuchulainn was the only one that tried to stop him and he simply lifted him up and threw him into the earth. Then he did one of the worst things to be done to a Celtic Warrior; with his sharp sword he shaved off all of Cuchulainn’s hair, forcing him to hide for a year until his hair grew a little.

He appropriated many otherworldly prizes which the Ulsterman had captured, including his wife, Blanaid, loved by CuChulain.

Several tales describe the enmity between him and Cu Roi.

At the end, it was his wife, who betrayed him by pouring milk into the river by his stronghold as a sign when he was there; enabled Cu Chulainn to kill him.

His dead was avenged by Lugaid, his son.

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