The Brown Bull of Cooley

The Brown Bull of Cooley is based in Connacht and Ulster. One day Maeve and Ailill, the king and queen of Connacht, were boasting about their possessions. The two began to fight. They then called their servants and told them to count all their possessions. They were even except that Ailill had a very fine bull and Maeve didn’t. Maeve then called one of her servants and asked where can I get a bull as fine as Ailill’s. “The bull you are looking for is in Ulster”, replied the servant. “The bull belongs to Daire Mac Fiachra in Cooley”, the servant said. So Maeve sent messengers to Cooley to ask if she could borrow the bull. Daire was delighted to help Maeve and ordered a feast to be held. During the feast, one of the messengers boasted that if Daire had not given the bull they would have taken it by force. When Daire heard this he was furious he told the messenger “to tell their queen to get lost you are not having my bull.” Maeve was determined to capture the bull. She mustered an army and they marched to Ulster. It was wintertime and during the winter the army of Ulster lay in a deep sleep. When only Cú Chulainn and the boys of the Red Branch to defend Ulster met Maeve’s army. Cú Chulainn made an agreement with Maeve that she would send one hero to fight him each day. Day after day Maeve sent her heroes and one by one Cú Chulainn killed them.  One evening Cú Chulainn called the boys of the Red Branch and asked the boys of them to defend Ulster. Then he fell into a deep sleep. Maeve decided that this was the time to attack. While the battle was raging, she sent some of her men to capture the bull. Cú Chulainn woke to find that most of the boys of the Red Branch had been killed. By now, spring had returned and the spell of the sea-witch had been lifted. The men of Ulster rushed to fight but Queen Maeve retreated, driving the huge brown bull before her. When she arrived at the castle she ordered that the bull should be put in a pen to keep him safe. When Ailill’s bull, Finnbhennach, heard the brown bull roaring it charged. But the Brown Bull of Cooley impaled Finnbhennach on its horns and white bull was killed instantly. Then the bull returned and raging and bellowing it broke out of the pen and thundered home to Cooley. But, no sooner had it returned home, its heart burst and it died. So in the end neither Ailill nor Maeve was richer than the other.