Cu Chulainn was the son of Dechtire, one of King Conchobar's sisters, and purported to be the son of Lugh Long Arm of the Otherworld. He was known as Setanta. By the time he was six physically he was the same as a twelve-year-old boy.

At the time there was a game called shinty that was played at the court of Conchobar, by one hundred and fifty boys. The king himself took an interest in this game because the boys were his future warriors.

Setanta begged his mother to let him go and join but she would not, claiming that he was too young. But he tricked her into telling him how to get to the place where they were being held.

He made himself a toy shield and a toy spear and set off.

Not knowing the rules of the game he walked onto the field and faced the boys. Thinking that he was insulting them, the boys attacked with their spears and shinty balls. He stopped all 150 spears and all 150 balls with his toy shield.

This apparently unprovoked attack angered Setanta and he underwent a frightening transformation.

His hair stood on end and appeared to be lit. One eye grew as large as a drinking cup and the other shrunk to a slit and his head was surround by a blood red halo.

He attacked the boys and took down fifty before they managed to escape.

Conchobar heard the commotion and went to see what it was all about. Setanta defended his actions. Conchobar explained the concept of protection to him and Setanta asked for the king's protection. Once he had that he went off to offer the other boys protections from himself.

Cu Chulainn, the Hound of Culann

Some weeks later Culann, the Smith, invited the king to his home. He asked the king not to bring to many people with him as he only had a small holding. As the king was leaving with fifty chariots he saw Setanta on the shinty pitch, single handily defeating the other 150 boys. Pleased with his strength and courage he called him over and invited him to Culann's feast.

Setanta wanted to finish his game of shinty so he promised to follow, but by the time that the king and his entourage and arrived at Culann's holding he had already been forgotten.

So when Culann asked if there were anymore to come, Conchobar replied that there weren't, so Culann instructed his servants to release the hound that protected his land.

Later Setanta arrived, but he took no notice of the snarling dog. It was then, when they heard the barking of the dog, that the king remembered his nephew but there was nothing they could do.

When the dog attacked Setanta he killed it. Everyone was glad that Setanta survived, but the smith was sad because the dog had protected holding.

Setanta took the place of the hound while he raised the hound's pup to do the job of protecting the holding.

And in reply Cathbad, druid and father of Conchobar, renamed him Cu Chulainn, Hound of Culann.

Taking Up His Arms

The king's druid ran a school teaching the arts of druidism. At any given time he had no less than one hundred students learning at his school.

One day, several months after Setanta had taken up his post as the Hound of Culann, Cathbad was asked what the omen for the day was. He replied that any warrior who took up arms on that day would be famous forever but his life would be brief.

Overhearing this Cu Chulainn went to Conchobar and demanded weapons.

The king wanted to know who told the boy to take up arms and Cu Chulainn replied that Cathbad had said so.

The king gave Cu Chulainn a shield and a sword, but the moment he used them they broke, as did all the others kept for new warriors. Only the king's sword and shield were sturdy enough for Cu Chulainn.

Cathbad arrived at this time and voiced his pity for Cu Chulainn, a young lad, to be taking up weapons. So, confused, the king asked Cathbad if he had not told Cu Chulainn to take up arms and the druid replied in the negative.

The king accused Cu Chulainn of lying to him, but Cu Chulainn told of Cathbad's words of that morning. The druid conceded that the omen did seem intended for Cu Chulainn.

Once a chariot had been found, the king's was needed, Cu Chulainn went to test his new weapons.

His first battle was against three brothers who had been killing Ulster warriors. He defeated all three of them.

On the way back to the court Cu Chulainn wanted to catch a live deer so he had his chariot driver stop near a herd. Cu Chulainn subdued it with the power of his eyes and tied it to the back of his chariot. Next two swans were added to the trophies.

By now he was so filled with battle fury, that his face took on the same frightening transformation as before. And he raced towards the court in his chariot.

Fearing for his people's safety if Cu Chulainn got to near, Conchobar sent naked women to meet Cu Chulainn.

Cu Chulainn was so embarrassed that he hid his head in shame and the warriors of Ulster grabbed him and plunged him three times into ice cold water and so his battle fury was purged.

He was dressed in fine clothes and taken to the king.

He was still only seven years old.

The Wooing of Emer

Cu Chulainn had three faults, the eyes of the warriors of Ulster. Firstly he was very young, secondly he was very daring and the warriors were afraid that he would get himself killed, for her was a great asset to the army and thirdly he was too beautiful, and all the women, married or single alike, were in love with him.

The warriors went to the king and asked that the king get Cu Chulainn a wife, for they felt that this would cure him of his daring and make him less likely to accept favours from other women.

Cu Chulainn wanted someone, but he wanted her to become his wife without any help from the king, so he dressed in his finest clothes and got his chariot and set out for the home of Forgall, a powerful chieftain, to ask for his daughter Emer.

At Forgall's stronghold Emer was sitting outside sewing, with her foster-sisters. One of her foster-sisters spied Cu Chulainn approaching.

Cu Chulainn and Emer spoke the language of the poets, so that the others could not understand them. Cu Chulainn spoke of his journey to reach her and she in turn spoke of the warriors guarding her and she needed proof of his valour before she could count him their equal.

Cu Chulainn recounted his boyhood exploits among the famous in Ulster. But still she said that they could not be joined in wedlock. Speaking in riddles, she explained that he would have to perform feats of daring. Cu Chulainn was undaunted and accepted her conditions.

Upon return to the stronghold of Forgall, Emer's foster-sisters told Forgall of the stranger who spoke a language unknown to them, with Emer and he knew that it was Cu Chulainn.

With the use of his magical powers he went to Ulster, disguised, and arranged for Cu Chulainn to be sent to Scotland to study the arts of the war under the wild gods and goddesses there, never expecting Cu Chulainn to return alive.

Cu Chulainn went and studied and through all what he experienced he grew in strength and skill and returned to Ireland to claim Emer as his bride.

Forgall shut him and his family inside his stronghold. And Cu Chulainn prepared to attack.

He leapt the three ramparts and killed twenty-four out of the twenty-seven warriors who opposed him, the three who escaped were Emer's brothers. Forgall fled but was mortally wounded on the ramparts. Cu Chulainn grabbed Emer and her foster-sister, Fial the one who had sighted him the first day he came, and carried them out. He killed everyone who opposed him and by the time he had reached Ulster he had fulfilled his promise to Emer.

Emer was brought before the king and they were married, never to be parted again.

The Feast of Bricriu

Bricriu hoped to pit the three greatest heroes of Ulster; Cu Chulainn, Loegaire and Conall Cernach; against each other by creating a contest to see which one was the best and could claim the champion's prize.

The three heroes and their wives began squabbling and eventually they decided to go to King Ailill and Queen Medb of Connacht.

They approached on three chariots and the king and queen became fearful that they would storm the court and kill everyone.

Medb met them, with vats of water and fifty maidens to care for them. They told Ailill and Medb that they had come to seek their judgement in the dispute.

Ailill couldn't decide so Medb took the decision upon herself. Deciding that they were all different and it was impossible to judge the one better than the other, she handled it easily.

Firstly she called for Loegaire and told him he was the best. She gave him a bronze cup with its base decorated with a white gold bird as proof of her choice.

Next she called Conall Cernach and told him the same. She gave him the same cup but in white gold with a golden bird at its base.

Finally she called Cu Chulainn and Ailill joined her in telling him that he was the best. His cup was red gold and its bird was carved from a priceless gem.

The heroes entertained the court with a game of throwing the wheel. Loegaire barely managed to reach the top of the wall of the hall, but Conall Cernach's managed to hit the ridgebeam, however Cu Chulainn hit the ridgebeam so hard that the wheel flew out of the hall and landed on the ground outside. He then took one hundred and fifty needles and threw them up in the air so that each was threaded through the eye of the other.

After this they left, each taking a different route home. Conall Cernach and Cu Chulainn were held up by adventures along the way and so Loegaire arrived back in Ulster first.

He falsely announced their deaths and so the court was in mourning. A mighty argument ensued only to be broken up by Cu Chulainn's step-father, who suggested that another hero should claim the champion's prize because none of them returned with any proof that he had been chosen.

At this challenge Loegaire produced his bronze cup, followed by Conall Cernach who showed his better cup, the one of gold. Cu Chulainn claimed the champion's prize with his cup of red gold and the bird of precious stone, but Loegaire and Conall Cernach refused to acknowledge him.

So off they went to Cu Roi for his judgement. He was away but his wife was there to wine and dine them. They were told to do nightwatch, one standing watch each night. The first night Leogaire stood watch for he was the eldest.

At dawn a huge giant attacked. He picked up Loegaire like a rag doll and tossed him over the walls.

The following night the same fate befell Conall Cernach.

The third night a monster from the lake attacked Cu Chulainn. Just after he killed it the giant attacked. In order to spare his life, the giant said that he would give Cu Chulainn anything in exchange. Cu Chulainn wanted the champion's prize and the giant granted him his wish.

Cu Roi returned home and heard the tale and he granted Cu Chulainn the champion's prize. Again Loegaire and Conall Cernach refused to acknowledge it. Cu Chulainn was tired of the contest so he let it rest.

Some time later, when the three heroes were away from home, an ogre approached and challenged the people there to a game of beheading. He would let one of them behead him and then the following night he would behead them.

One of them agreed to it and beheaded the ogre. To their amazement he just got up and picked up his head and walked off.

The following night he returned but the warrior was no where to be seen.

So he struck a similar deal with someone else. He was beheaded and walked off. But the next night the warrior was not to be found.

This went on for three nights and on the fourth people gathered to watch, with Cu Chulainn among them, so the ogre challenged him.

Cu Chulainn beheaded the ogre and he walked off. The next night the ogre returned and called for Cu Chulainn. Cu Chulainn was a hero and would keep his word so he stepped out and laid his head on the chopping block.

The ogre raised his axe and swung ... but as he would have struck Cu Chulainn the ogre turned the axe so that only the shaft struck Cu Chulainn.

He then proclaimed Cu Chulainn as the champion of champions because he was the only one who had valour and honour and kept his word, even if it meant his death.

He walked off and as he did so he turned into Cu Roi and thus his judgement of the heroes was final.

The Cattle Raid of Cooley

At one time there was a man, known as Crunnchu, and his wife, Macha. There was to be a gathering at King Conchobar's court and Crunnchu wished to attend. Macha warned him not to go for he would speak of things she did not wish to have spoken, but he promised to say anything and left.

While at the gathering he heard someone speak of the king's horses and how swift they were. Forgetting himself he spoke up and claimed his wife was faster.

The king had him captured and only his wife proving his boast true could free him. At the time she was pregnant and near her time. She appealed to the king to allow her to have the child first and then to run but he was adamant that she would run then.

So she raced the horses and outstripped them easily, but as she reached the winning post she gave birth to twins.

Other people tried to reach her but found themselves lethargic. And thus she cursed them with her dying breath.

For nine generations the warriors would be lethargic whenever Ulster was in danger. The only ones not effected were women, children and Cu Chulainn for his father was of the Otherworld.

While this curse was in effect two swineherds had a disagreement. Rucht was from Connacht and Friuch was from Munster.

These two were great friends and also druids. At some point a dispute broke out between the people of Connacht and Munster as to which one was a better pig-keeper.

While these two friends tried not to let it get between them it eventually did and they began to practise their druidic magic on each other's pigs.

Ochall, ruler of the sidh at Connacht and Bodb, ruler of the sidh at Munster were not pleased and dismissed the swineherds.

Each blamed the other and so they began to battle each other in different forms. For years they fought each other in the air and then they fought each other in the water.

It was in their watery shape that they were separated. One was swallow by a cow in Cuailnge in Ulster and the other in a well, in Connacht, when it was swallow by a cow belonging to the queen.

Both cows gave birth to bull calves. They became the magic bulls, the Donn of Ulster and Findbennach in Connacht.

A bull calf, sired by the Donn, was in a herd that was being led away from the sidh at Connacht when it bellowed a challenge, only to be answered by Findbennach. They fought a terrible fight but eventually the bull calf was beaten. He cried out in defiance and his call was translated, for the queen, by her druids. He had told Findbennach that if his father, the Donn, had been there, Findbennach would have been soundly beaten.

One night, following this, Queen Medb and her consort, Ailill, were having a discussion, regarding jealousy and greed. Ailill said that he was well off before he married Medb, Queen of Connacht, and did not need her wealth and Medb said that she could equal him in anything.

So when morning came they both had their possessions brought to them. They were equal in all things except that Ailill had a bull, Findbennach, and Medb didn't. Findbennach had scorned to be in a woman's herd and had joined Ailill's.

When she realised that she couldn't equal him, she became dejected until a messenger told her of the Donn, in Ulster and Medb remembered the bull calf and what he had said.

Medb sent the messenger to negotiate her borrowing the bull for one year. The owner agreed and a feast was held. The messenger and the men with him had too much to drink and became boastful. They said that they could've taken the bull even if the owner hadn't agreed. The owner heard of this and swore that none of his property would leave his land.

Nothing could be done to change his mind and so Medb agreed that they would prove their boast and take the bull by force.

This was the start of the Cattle Raid of Cooley.

Medb advanced her army into Ulster, where they met little resistance from the men of Ulster, who were all under Macha's Curse. All that is except for Cu Chulainn who came from another place.

On his way to the battle, Cu Chulainn was beset with signs of his bad luck. A cup of wine turned into blood three times and he saw one of the fairy folk, members of the sidh, crying over blood covered tunic.

Cu Chulainn harassed the army, killing a hundred everyday.

Eventually Medb agreed to a truce. She would halt her army and send one warrior per day to fight Cu Chulainn, who for al that he was only seventeen, managed to defeat her best warriors.

Fergus, an exiled Ulster hero, was sent to fight Cu Chulainn, but they knew each other well and so they fought mock battles, with Cu Chulainn running away, so that their reputations were preserved. Fergus promised that when next they met in battle he would retreat.

So Medb sent Cu Chulainn's half-brother, Ferdiad, who was in exile in Connacht. He didn't wish to fight but Medb had learnt her lesson with Fergus and implied that Cu Chulainn had said belittling things and Ferdiad's anger rose.

He went out to confront Cu Chulainn and through ridicule and insults they ended up fighting an earnest battle. By nightfall they were exhausted and, having exhausted their insults, they became friends again. But the next day the same thing happened.

This went on until one day Cu Chulainn asked his charioteer to mock him, when he saw him failing. This would spur him on.

This worked until Cu Chulainn realised that to defeat Ferdiad he would have to use a weapon only he could use. So he got his charioteer to float it downstream, for they were fighting in water. He picked it up and threw it towards Ferdiad and this killed him.

Now Cu Chulainn was also almost dead from his own wounds. Laeg, his charioteer, watched over him but despaired when his magic herbs didn't work.

Just as Laeg was about to give up he noticed a man approaching. The strange thing was that no one else noticed him, nor did he look at anyone else. When Laeg told Cu Chulainn this Cu Chulainn knew that it was someone from the Otherworld.

The young warrior from the Otherworld said that he was Cu Chulainn's father from the Otherworld, Lugh Long Arm and that he had come to help Cu Chulainn.

He sang Cu Chulainn to sleep and placed healing herbs from the Otherworld in all his wounds. For some days after this he fought, bearing Cu Chulainn's likeness, while Cu Chulainn himself recovered.

The Final Battle

Cu Chulainn fought from Samain (1 November) until Imbolc (1 February). Finally the men of Ulster began to recover from the curse.

King Conchobar led an army against that of Medb. Fergus was persuaded to fight and he was a ferocious warrior. Eventually Fergus and Conchobar came up against one another, hurling insults, but Cormac, Conchobar's son, had a level head and suggested that Fergus go and attack the surrounding hills in order to calm his temper.

He did so and the ensuing noise woke Cu Chulainn. He had been tied up in a nearby fort, to prevent him from joining the battle and to allow his wounds time to heal, but when he learnt of what was happening he broke the bonds and tore after Fergus.

He invoked the promise and Fergus did retreat, taking with him his men and all the men from the other provinces, leaving only the men from Connacht to fight Ulster.

By nightfall Cu Chulainn had defeated the men of Ulster and had Medb at his mercy. She begged for a favour, Cu Chulainn's protection over her men while they returned to Connacht. He granted it.

Unbeknown to him some of Medb's men had already gone behind enemy lines and captured the bull, the Donn, and he had been sent ahead with eighty heifers. She had captured the bull as had been boasted.

But that did not give Cu Chulainn protection. As the end of the battle drew nigh he was struck in the stomach with a spear. He tied himself to a standing stone, so that he would die standing upright. He fought until a black crow, the bird of the war-goddess, Morrigan, landed nearby. He was distracted and the deathblow was dealt and he passed on.

And thus ended the Cattle Raid of Cooley.

But it was not over for the two bulls. For when the Donn arrived in Connacht he gave three challenging bellows and was answered by Findbennach.

These two bulls fought for days, all over Ireland, but eventually the Donn returned with a dead and mangled Findbennach hanging from his horns. He made for his home and as he reached a small hill there he heart broke and he died. And thus perished the two bulls, the Donn and Findbennach, the reason for the Cattle Raid of Cooley.