The stories of Cu Chulainn (Coo- HULL-an)  are at least 2,000 years old. He was the most well-known, and perhaps the bravest as well, warrior in all of Ulster. He was a warrior of the Red Branch – warriors pledged to defend Ulster while Connor was king.

Cu Chulainn’s name at birth was Setanta (Shea-DAN-ta). As young warrior, he went to the home of Chulainn for a feast, but he stopped for a game of hurling and arrived for the feast quite late. Forgetting about Setanta, and thinking all his guests had arrived, Chulainn let out his dog to guard the castle while everyone attended the feast. This was no ordinary dog. It was huge and ferocious. It took three chains to hold him.

When Setanta arrived, he attacked by the dog. It was a helluva fight. Setanta finally killed the dog by hitting it with his hurling stick. Chulainn was sorry that Setanta had to fight the dog; but Chulainn was also heartbroken at loss of his dog. Setanta promised to guard Chulainn’s castle until another dog was trained for the job.

And that is how Setanta acquired the name Cu Chulainn – Chulainn’s hound.