The Táin Bó Cúailnge
The central epic of the Ulster Cycle, fought over a bull.
The story
The Táin Bó Cúailnge — usually translated as The Cattle Raid of Cooley — is the central epic of the Ulster Cycle.
Queen Medb of Connacht and her husband Ailill launch a campaign into Ulster centred on possession of the great Brown Bull of Cooley.
While the warriors of Ulster are afflicted by a supernatural debility in the narrative, the young Cú Chulainn becomes their principal defender. He confronts Medb's forces through a famous sequence of encounters and single combats.
The story connects landscapes across Ireland, particularly the royal centre of Cruachan / Rathcroghan, Ulster and the Cooley Peninsula. The Morrígan also intersects with Cú Chulainn's story during the conflict.
The world behind the cards
The Táin is the reason Cú Chulainn and Queen Medb appear as opposing Heroes in the Celtic Clash base deck, and why the Morrígan belongs beside them.
Heroic literature
The Táin is medieval Irish heroic literature connected with real landscapes. It is not a literal record of military history.
