Facts about Cu Chulainn

1. 11

   Eóin, Cu Chulainn's son by the warrior woman Aife, was killed by his own father in single combat on the beach without either recognizing the other's identity.

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2. 10

   Cu Chulainn's supernatural spear, the Gae Bolga, could only be launched from water and created 30 barbs inside a victim's body upon entry.

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3. 09

   Mortals who gazed directly upon Cu Chulainn during his ríastrad transformation reportedly witnessed his internal organs visibly displaced within his body as his form grotesquely inverted.

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4. 08

   Cu Chulainn's father Lugh, the Celtic god of light and craftsmanship, appeared to his son during the hero's final battle at age 27 to aid him against overwhelming odds.

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5. 07

   Cu Chulainn's charioteer Laeg guided the hero's two horses, Liath Macha and Dub Sainglend, during his famous cattle raid defense on the plain of Cooley.

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6. 06

   Conchobar mac Nessa, king of Ulster, fathered Cu Chulainn with the goddess Deichtine, making the hero of semidivine descent in medieval Irish literature.

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7. 05

   According to the Ulster Cycle, Cu Chulainn's wife Emer required him to master 16 different martial disciplines before she would marry him.

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8. 04

   At age seven, Cu Chulainn killed the fierce watchdog of Culann in single combat, earning his name meaning "hound of Culann" in Old Irish tradition.

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9. 03

   Cu Chulainn's magical weakness, the curse of the Ulaid, rendered all Ulster's warriors including him powerless for five days and four nights during each crisis.

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10. 02

    In Irish mythology, Cu Chulainn single-handedly defended Ulster against Queen Medb's invading army for several weeks while weakened by a magical curse.

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11. 01

    The hero Cu Chulainn's combat prowess in Irish mythology included a berserker transformation called the ríastrad that grotesquely distorted his body during battle.

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