The adventures of Cuchulainn (pronounced Cou-hou-linn) are spread across seventy-six tales contained in the collection of stories known as the Ulster cycle, which tell of the Ulaidh, the ancient people from whom the province of Ulster got its name. Cuchulainn is one of the greatest heroes of Celtic mythology, and  the story of his exploits, though not found in a single, continuous, comprehensive narrative, has all the features of an epic. 

Cuchulainn is the son of Dechtire, the sister of King Conchobar (pronounced Connor), who is married to the prophet Sualtim. But Cuchulainn’s real father is Lug, god of light, and master of all crafts. Cuchulainn is brought up in the court of King Conchobar, along with the sons of the Knights of the Red Branch, a chivalrous order of knights to which the warriors of Ulster belonged.

Even as a little boy, Cuchulainn showed exceptional promise as a warrior. It is said that he possessed great strength, and that when he was angry, his body would radiate intense heat and would become misshapen and ugly. His early exploits include the killing of the ferocious hound of Culain, the chief smith of Ulster, and the massacre of three giant warriors who had defied the Red Branch Knights.

Cuchulain completed his education under the witch Scathach (pronounced Scaw-ha), who lived on the island of Alba (Scotland) and taught Cuchulain magic as well as the art of war.

His most famous exploits are related in the twenty tales that make up the central saga in the Ulster cycle – the Táin Bó Cuailnge: The Cattle Raid of Cooley. This is the story of the long war waged by the men of Connaught under their queen Medb (pronounced Mev) against the men of Ulster under Conchobar. Medb wanted possession of a magic animal, the Brown Bull of Cooley, which was owned by one of the chieftains of Ulster.

Medb attacks the men of Ulster at a time when they are suffering from a strange weakness inflicted on them by the goddess Macha as punishment for having once made fun of her. Of all the warriors of Ulster, only Cuchulainn, who is the son of a god and therefore unaffected by Macha’s revenge, is able to fight. He single-handedly holds off the enemy, though helped by his father Lug, the god of light, and by Morrigan, the goddess of war.

Other tales tell of Cuchulainn’s loves, of his only son Conlach whom he kills by mistake, and of his subsequent madness as he grieves for his child.

Cuchulainn, finally killed by the trickery of Queen Medb, dies young, according to a prophecy that was made when he was a boy. He dies standing, tied to a pillar of stone with his own belt, and with his face turned valiantly towards his enemy. His life and adventures occur during the reign of King Conchobar mac Nessa who ruled, it is said, between 30 BCE and 33 CE.