Cú Chulainn

Cú Chulainn — the Hound of Culann, born Sétanta — is the hero of the Ulster Cycle, the Irish equivalent of Achilles: the greatest warrior of his generation, fated to die young, consuming himself in battle against forces he cannot defeat. His father is the sun god Lugh; his conception is complicated. He takes his name from killing the hound of the smith Culann as a boy and offering himself as replacement.

The ríastrad — the warp-spasm or battle-fury — is his most distinctive attribute. When it takes him, his body transforms in ways described with visceral particularity in the medieval texts: one eye sinks into his skull, the other protrudes, his hair stands up and sparks fly from it, his muscles shift and distort, heat rises from him in a visible haze. In this state he is not recognisable as himself and cannot stop. His charioteer Láeg learns to recognise the signs and knows to stay clear.

His great ordeal is the Cattle Raid of Cooley — Táin Bó Cúailnge — in which the armies of Connacht, led by Queen Medb, invade Ulster to steal the Brown Bull. All the warriors of Ulster are laid low by Macha's curse, but Cú Chulainn is exempt because his father is divine. He holds the ford alone, fighting single combats by day and recovering by night, including the agonising combat with his foster-brother Fer Diad that lasts three days. He is eventually killed by multiple enemies in coalition, but only through the violation of every taboo placed on him — and by the manipulation of the Morrigan, who has never forgiven him.