Cúchulainn, << koo KUHL ihn, >> also spelled Cuchulain, is a great hero of Irish mythology and folklore. He is the main character in The Cattle Raid of Cooley, the oldest epic of western Europe in a native language. It is the central story of the Ulster cycle of ancient Irish tales. Said to have taken place about the time of Jesus Christ, the story has a slim base in fact, but the details are mythological. Cuchulainn’s reputation as a warrior grew in Irish folk tales until he came to be treated as a defender of all Ireland. Cuchulainn became a favorite character among writers of the Irish Literary Renaissance of the late 1800’s.
Cuchulainn had extraordinary powers because his father was Lugh << loo >> , an important Celtic god. He won the name Cuchulainn (Hound of Culann) by offering to take the place of a ferocious watchdog he had killed at the house of Culann.
