Above : Picture From Fenian Cycle Although from this period, as from the preceding one, no manuscripts have been preserved, it occupies, nevertheless, a prominent position in Irish literature, one even more important than that occupied by the earlier era. It is the period in which occurred the events around which are woven all the stories of two of the three great cycles of Irish Literature. The preceding period was that of the " Mythological Cycle " ; the present one is that ... Read More

Above : Picture From Fenian Cycle Cuchulain and the " Tain Bo."—The stories connected with the career of the celebrated hero Cuchulain and with the " Tain B6 Chuailgne," in which he took a prominent part, form the second section of the " Red Branch Cycle." The events take place while Connor Mac Nessa is still on the throne, and follow closely on the deaths of the sons of Uisneach. We are told how the young Setanta leaves his father's fort at Dun ... Read More