Critical Introduction

The Táin Bó Cúailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley) is one of the great sagas of ancient Ireland, part of the Ulster Cycle, which recounts the exploits and fantastic deeds of the young hero Cú Chulainn (The Hound of Culann). The Táin is an eighth-century story that survives in several later medieval versions recounting the fantastic deeds of the heroes of prehistoric Ireland. It is an ancient tale full of contests, fantastic weapons, rivalries, and supernatural entities that insert themselves into the action. Gods and goddess walk the battlefield, intervening on behalf of or against the heroes as it pleases them. Cú Chulainn, the son of the god Lugh and a mortal woman (Dechtere), has marvellous abilities that turn him into a killing machine. Not only does he take up arms as a child and perform impossible feats with weapons, but he experiences a battle-spasm that literally turns his body inside out: blood shoots from the top of his head, his hair sticks straight out, he pulls his jaw back to his gullet, one eye pops out onto his cheek, the other one sucks deep into his skull, and a divine light shines above him. To many, Cú Chulainn seems like a monster as he transforms, but this fantastic element adds to his fame and strikes fear into the hearts of his enemies.

Centred around a marital dispute between Queen Medb of Connacht and her husband, Ailill, a prince of Leinster, the Táin includes several episodic stories of various Irish heroes, including Cú Chulainn, who enters battles at the tender age of seven and holds off the armies of four of the five provinces of Ireland by himself, ultimately dying a hero's death in his late teens. Cú Chulainn becomes the central figure of the story when he stands alone against the armies of Medb, Ailill, and the other three provinces of Ireland who are trying to steal a much-prized bull. Donn Cuailnge, the Brown, is owned by Dáire mac Fiachna, whose leader is King Conchobair of Ulster. When Medb's diplomatic plan to borrow Donn Cuailnge for a year falls through, Medb launches a massive cattle-raid to steal the bull.