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    The Táin: Ireland's Epic Adventure
    The Táin: Ireland's Epic Adventure
    The Táin: Ireland's Epic Adventure
    Ebook106 pages1 hour

    The Táin: Ireland's Epic Adventure

    By Liam Mac Uistin and Donald Teskey

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    About this ebook

    The most famous Irish legend of all in an exciting and easily understood version. Read about the feats of the famous warrior Cuchulainn who singlehandedly defends Ulster against the army of Queen Maeve. War, peace, love, greed, fate are the stuff of an epic, and in The Táin they are present in full.
    Illustrated throughout by Donald Teskey.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThe O'Brien Press
    Release dateOct 15, 2012
    ISBN9781847173881
    The Táin: Ireland's Epic Adventure
    Author

    Liam Mac Uistin

    Liam Mac Uistin was a well-known author and playwright. His versions of ancient Irish stories and legends have been published in the Irish language by An Gúm. His plays for stage, television and radio have been produced in many European countries and in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. His television play The Glory and the Dream won the Radio Telefís Éireann award. His stage plays have been produced at the Abbey and Peacock theatres in Dublin. His stories and plays have received many literary awards. Liam Mac Uistin is the author of The Táin, (O'Brien Press) a hugely popular book for the young reader on this great Celtic epic. He died in 2018.

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      Book preview

      The Táin - Liam Mac Uistin

      CHAPTER ONE

      HOW THE TÁIN BEGAN

      QUEEN MAEVE WAS VERY ANGRY. Her eyes flashed with fury as she strode into the hall of her palace at Cruachan. Her anger swelled when she heard the mocking laughter of her husband Ailill drifting in from the garden. A fierce look of determination came over her face. She, the mighty Warrior Queen of Connacht, would not be mocked by anyone!

      ‘I will make Ailill regret his challenge!’ she vowed. She clapped her hands and shouted for her servants.

      The trouble all began just a short while before when Maeve and Ailill set out on their usual morning walk in the garden. The previous night they had quarrelled over which of them was the wealthier. But when they woke the next morning the quarrel seemed to be forgotten and they went for their stroll together arm-in-arm.

      It was a lovely summer morning and the air was full of the sweet singing of birds and the drowsy murmuring of bees. Maeve smiled contentedly and combed away a strand of hair that the playful breeze had tossed into her beautiful face.

      But though Maeve was very beautiful she was also very proud. From the time she was a little girl she had been used to getting her own way. Her father, the High King of Ireland, adored her and gave her anything she wanted.

      When she reached her twenty-first year he asked her what present she would like.

      ‘I want a whole province of Ireland to rule over as queen,’ she said.

      ‘Very well,’ her father said. ‘I will give you the province of Connacht.’

      Maeve built a magnificent palace of white gleaming stone at Cruachan. She filled the palace with her many treasures and possessions and put her great herds of animals on the lands around it. She had hundreds of servants to look after her and thousands of soldiers to guard her. If any chieftain displeased her she would jump into her war chariot and lead out her soldiers to teach him a lesson. She was soon known far and wide as ‘The Warrior Queen of Connacht.’

      Princes came from all over Ireland hoping to marry the rich and beautiful queen. But none of them attracted her and she sent them all away. Then Ailill, son of the king of Leinster, came to visit her at Cruachan. Perhaps it was his good looks or his haughty bearing – whatever the reason, she fell in love with him immediately. They married a short while later and Ailill brought all his treasures and herds to Cruachan.

      But Ailill was every bit as proud of his riches as Maeve was of hers. And this was the cause of the row between them as they walked in the garden that lovely morning.

      Noticing the serene way she looked he remarked, ‘You seem very happy today, my dear.’

      ‘I am very happy indeed,’ she assured him with a warm smile.

      ‘And you have every reason to be,’ Ailill said. ‘You are, after all, the wife of the richest person in Ireland.’

      A frown of annoyance clouded Maeve’s face. ‘What do you mean?’ she demanded. ‘Everyone knows I’m far wealthier than you.’

      ‘Nonsense!’ Ailill retorted. ‘Nobody in the whole land has more treasures and herds than I.’ They stopped and stood there arguing heatedly about their riches.

      ‘Enough!’ Ailill declared finally. ‘There’s only one way to settle this matter. I challenge you to have everything we own brought here and counted and compared to see who has the most.’

      ‘I accept your challenge!’ Maeve snapped. ‘And you will be sorry you ever made it.’ She turned on her heel and marched back to the palace.

      ‘There’s no fear of that,’ Ailill called after her and he burst out laughing at the very idea.

      Back in the palace Maeve stamped her foot angrily and shouted again for her servants. They came running from every direction, trembling with fright when they saw the furious expression on her face. She ordered them to collect all her possessions and those of her husband and bring them out to the garden. Then she returned to where Ailill was still laughing. ‘Now I shall prove that I am wealthier than you,’ she said triumphantly.

      First, their gleaming goblets and valuable vases were brought out, together with all their precious jewels and shining ornaments of silver and gold. But when they were counted and compared they were found to be equal in value and number.

      Next, their great herds of horses and sheep were brought from the fields and counted. Maeve’s herds matched those of Ailill in size and number.

      Then all their cattle were collected and brought before them. When they were counted and compared they were found to be equal in number and size except for one animal in Ailill’s herd. This was a magnificent-looking bull called Finnbeannach.

      ‘I told you,’ Ailill gloated. ‘I am wealthier than you.’

      Maeve did not reply. She was almost crying with anger. She could not believe that she owned no animal to equal Finnbeannach. She stormed back into the palace and shouted for Mac Roth, her Chief Messenger.

      Mac Roth rushed into

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