Cath Chnoc an Áir — The Battle of the Hill of Slaughter

Cover art is ‘Rock of Cashel’ by William Henry Bartlett

Notes

There are prose and poetry versions of this story in manuscript sources, but only fragments of the lay occur in the orally collected versions.

Fionn and the Fianna are approached by a beautiful young woman who tells them that she has run away from her husband, Tailc mac Tréin (also listed as the King of Cats or similar variations, owing to the fact that he has the head and tail of a cat). The young woman is usually presented as Niamh, and listed as the daughter of the King of Greece. In some tellings, she is abducted by the Fianna and brought to Ireland. In all versions, Tailc soon follows her, and a large battle ensues, which lasts for five days and five nights. In the end, Tailc is killed by Oscar atop a hill which is thereafter known as Cnoc an Áir (the Hill of Slaughter). In most versions, Niamh drops dead from shock when she witnesses the carnage that has been inflicted.

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