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The Cattle-Raid of Cooley (Táin Bó Cúalnge) is the central epic of the Ulster cycle. Queen Medb of Connaught gathers an army in order to gain possession of the most famous bull in Ireland, which is the property of Daire, a chieftain of Ulster. Because the men of Ulster are afflicted by a debilitating curse, the seventeen-year-old Cuchulain must defend Ulster single-handedly. The battle between Cuchulain and his friend Ferdiad is one of the most famous passages in early Irish literature.

 

This HTML edition pairs an adaptation of the English translation of Joseph Dunn (1914) with the Irish transcription of Ernst Windisch (1905.) You may be interested in:

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The Cattle-Raid of Cooley

1. The Pillow-Talk

2. The Occasion of the Táin

3. The Rising-Out of the Men of Connacht at Cruachan Ai

4. The Foretelling

5. The Route of the Táin

6. The March of the Host

7. The Youthful Exploits of Cuchulain

7a. The Slaying of the Smith's Hound by Cuchulain

7b. The Taking of Arms by Cuchulain and the Slaying of                  the Three Sons of Necht Scenè

8. The Slaying of Orlam

8a. The Slaying of the Three MacArach

8b. The Combat of Lethan and Cuchulain

8c. The Killing of the Squirrel and of the Tame Bird

8d. The Slaying of Lochè

8e. The Killing of Uala

8f. The Harrying of Cualnge

9. The Proposals

10. The Violent Death of Etarcumul

11. The Slaying of Nathcrantail

12. The Finding of the Bull

12a. The Death of Forgemen

12b. The Slaying of Redg the Satirist

12c. The Meeting of Cuchulain and Finnabair

12d. The Combat of Munremar and Curoi

12e. The Slaughter of the Boy-Troop

12f. The Slaughter of the King's Bodyguard

13. The Combat of Cûr with Cuchulain

14. The Slaying of Ferbaeth

14a. The Combat of Larinè MacNois

15. The Slaying of Loch, Son of Mofemis

16. The Violation of the Agreement

16a. The Healing of the Morrigan

17. The Great-rout on the Plain of Murthemne

17a. The Slaughter of the Youths of Ulster

17b. The Scythed Chariot

17c. The Appearance of Cuchulain

17d. Dubthach's Jealousy

18. The Slaying of Oengus Son of Oenlam

18a. The Misthrow at Belach Eoin

18b. The Disguising of Tamon

19. The Battle of Fergus and Cuchulain

19a. The Head-Place of Ferchu

19b. Mann's Fight

19c. The Combat of Calatin's Children

20. The Combat of Ferdiad and Cuchulain

21. Cuchulain and the Rivers

22. Cethern's Strait-Fight

22a. Cethern's Bloody Wounds

23. The Tooth-Fight of Fintan

23a. The Red-Shame of Menn

23b. The Accoutrement of the Charioteers

23c. The White-Fight of Rochad

23d. Iliach's Clump-Fight

23e. The Deer-Stalking of Amargin in Taltiu

24. The Repeated Warning of Sualtaim

24a. The Order of the Men of Ulster

24b. The Agitation of Celtchar

25. The Array of the Host

26. The Decision of the Battle

27. The Battle of Garech

27a. The Muster of the Men of Erin

28. The Battle of the Bulls

29. The Account of the Brown Bull of Cualnge

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