The Brave Hound of Ulster, Cuchulainn
By Tim Egan
Irish Mythology and its characters are not as world famous as those in Greek lore, but they are just as fierce and poetic. The Brave Hound of Ulster, a boy hero named Cuchulainn, to this day is immortalized with a bronze statue in the famous General Post Office on Dublin's O'Connell Street. Cuchulainn was the hero of the Battle of the Brown Bull of Cooley and died facing 100 soldiers from Connaught. Legend boasts that Connaught's Queen Maeve sent her force to capture Ulster's prize Brown Bull and had a witch cast a spell on Ulster's soldiers. The only one to defend Ulster was the youth, Cuchulainn (cow - cul - in), who defeated his foes single-handedly.
So in a fitting Irish fashion, the poem below is dedicated to Cuchulainn and all of Ireland's legends.
All of Ireland stood still the day Queen Maeve said
the Brown Bull of Cooley must return alive or dead
She send 100 warriors from the land of Connaught
alone on the battlefield on boy stood and fought
All the Red Branch Knights were cast under spell
so he dug himself in deep and sent his foes to hell
Each time the mighty lad slung his deadly sling
he cast 100 stones and death they did bring
On the Cooley Peninsula 100 and one were done in
all of the Queen's army and the hero Cuchulainn
The story is pure legend with facts hard to trace
but the boy died a hero's death, the enemy at his face
Cuchulainn is cast in bronze and people often cluster
Singing songs of praise to the Brave Hound of Ulster
This poem was first printed for public consumption in WARRIOR POETS and the first version I wrote was in 1996.