Queen Medb, King Ailil, and Fergus make their way into Ulster while the army is crippled by feeling as if they are going into labor. Only one man, barely out of childhood himself, can stand against the invaders and protect his people until they are able to rise. That man is Cu Chulainn. This week, we learn the origin story of this Irish superhero (he's kind of literally a superhero, too. He can hulk out.), including how he got his name, which basically means dog.
The creature of the week is one that will, unsurprisingly, drag you into the river and kill you. What is surprising, though, is the party that happens in your village when you kick it out.
Music:
"Brick Wall (Instrumental)" by Simon Panrucker
"Venus in Furz" by Steve Combs
"Contrarian" by Blue Dot Sessions
"Invitation to the Voyage" by Julia Kent
Myths and Legends Member Feed: (Protected Content)
Hi Jason thanks for taking the time out to reply, I can rest easy now again. Still loving the podcasts :-)
Hi,
I love this podcast and I am from Ireland. The story of how Cú Chulainn got his name is well know here. But we are told that Setanta killed the dog hitting the ball down the dogs through with his “hurley” stick after playing a Irish sport called “Hurling” (a mix between field hockey and Lacrosse, the “hurley” is like a hockey stick). It’s a real evocative tale for us hearing of an Irish legendary figure playing our national game that we still play to this day. So I was disappointed when I heard this podcast and no mention of “hurling”. Do the original manuscripts make any reference to the actual game or is it a romanticisation what we added to the legend in recent time. Break it to me gently. .
I double checked in multiple sources and it does indeed mention hurling. I’m really sorry – I wasn’t aware of the cultural significance of Cú Chulainn playing the game so I didn’t mention it. I’m absolutely going to put out a correction next episode. These legends were long and complex and I feel like I might have bitten off a bit more than I could chew covering the Tain without several (additional) weeks of dedicated research. Thanks so much for letting me know, and once again, sorry about that.