Background: Fergus MacRoich was the original king of Ulster, and later the patron of Conor MacNessa. The story has it that Fergus married the beautiful woman Neas, who was the mother of Conor, on condition that he allow Conor to rule the province for one year. When the year was up, the people claimed to […]
Cormac Mac Airt
Background: Cormac Mac Airt was a mythical high king of Ireland and one of the most celebrated kings in Irish tradition. He was sometimes given the epithet Ulfhada (longbearded), which denoted his great wisdom. He was portrayed as an ideal king whose power brought good fortune and prosperity to the whole country. “In his reign […]
Conaire Mór
Background: When Eochaid married Etain, Etain produced one child, a daughter. The king was furious at this and ordered that she be taken to a pit and killed. The men who were to carry out the king’s wishes set her free and she fled to the cow sheds of the King of Tara. There her […]
Mongan
Long ago in Ireland, Ulster was ruled by two kings. Their names were Fiachra Finn and Fiachra Dubh, and they were cousins. Each one took a turn to rule Ulster for one year, while the other had a year of leisure, to travel and see the world, or to spend their time as they pleased, […]
Niall of the Nine Hostages
There was once a High King of Ireland called Eochaid. His wife was a beautiful dark-haired woman called Mong Find. She had four sons with King Eochaid: Brian, Aillil, Fergus and Fiachra. But Eochaid was in love with someone else. He had a hostage he’d taken from the King of the Saxons. She was named […]
Conaire Mor
Part I Long ago, there was a king in Ireland called Eochaid, who married the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen (as kings are wont to do). He did not know, and nor did she, that she was really a fairy woman called Etain, and before too long had passed, her fairy husband […]