Circling the Táin 03: The Birth Pangs of Ulster

In this episode, we continue our exploration of the troublesome conceptions and births that stand behind much of the material of the Táin tradition. This time, we examine the births of the doomed Deirdre, the fated Cú Chulainn and re-re-visit the importance of Macha's story. Join the Story Archaeologists as we attempt to disentangle webs of prophecy and poor decision-making, and try to understand what all these little worms are about! Read the texts for yourself! Here are links to the texts and translations that we used for the birth of Deirdre: from the Book of Leinster (LL) Longes mac n-Uislenn - edited by Vernam Hull The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu - translated by Vernam Hull late version translated by Douglas Hyde Deirdre Here are the texts on Macha: Noinden Ulad; The Story of Macha More Stories of Macha - Revisited   An original translation of Compert Con Chulainn, the Conception of Cú Chulainn, will be uploaded in the coming days   Need some revision? You may find it helpful to revisit our episodes on Macha: Series 1 - Mythical Women; Episode 2 - The Story of Macha Series 5 - Revisiting Mythical Women; Episode 2 - Revisiting Macha Don’t forget to subscribe to get the latest posts! Related Articles will be posted in the days to come… Story Archaeology is run on a voluntary not-for-profit basis. If you can afford a donation towards our running costs, we would be very grateful. The “Donate” button is on the right-hand-side of each page, or e-mail us for other ways to support our work. Check our Reading List for further reading and resources. by The Story Archaeologists Music: “Tam Lin” by Gian Castello