#irish folklore

Queen Maeve of Connacht

Pre-Christian, Celtic queen/goddess

Maeve (or Medb, or Meadhbh, or Maev) is known primarily as a mythological figure, although she did have a historical counterpart. The Maeve of legend was a warrior-queen and the main villain in the great seventh-century epic, Táin Bó Cuailgne (The Cattle Raid of Cooley), which is part of the Ulster Cycle of stories and it centres mainly on the conflict between the greedy and ambitious Queen Maeve and the superhero Cú Chulainn.

According to the tale, Maeve and her husband, Ailill, are arguing one night in bed over who has the most wealth. Maeve is infuriated when she discovers that Ailill wins because he is the owner of a magnificent white bull. She determines to obtain an even better bull, known as "an Donn" (the Brown Bull), which is in Ulster.

First she asks the Donn's owners nicely if she can have him, and then, when she is refused, she gathers a huge army, rampages across the country from her castle at Rathcroghan and takes the bull by force. The Ulster warriors were out of action after being cursed with labour pains for nine days, so the rest of the epic centres on the heroic efforts of Cú Chulainn to single-handedly rescue the bull and return it to its rightful owners.

In her legendary incarnation, Maeve's purpose was not only to inspire warriors but actually to participate in war as a fighter skilled in the use of spear and slingshot. This is a mythological interpretation of a common custom in prehistoric Ireland (and France and Britain), where women were often active participants in war (200 years after the introduction of Christianity in the fifth century, a law was passed imposing fines on men who allowed their womenfolk onto the battlefield).

The real Maeve seems to have been a rather ambitious woman. She was born in Rathcroghan, County Roscommon, possibly in the third century, the daughter of Eochaid, king of Connacht. When her sister, Clothra, became queen of Connacht after Eochaid's death (in ancient times royal women were not barred from becoming leaders of their people), the jealous Maeve was furious. She killed her pregnant sister and took her crown by force. The tales of her greed and acquisitiveness in the Táin probably stem from the frequency of Maeve's raids into neighbouring counties and her attempts to set up a matriarchy in Connacht.

It appears that the real Maeve was married several times and bore many sons and daughters. Her first husband was Conor, king of Ulster. whom she left. Her last husband was Ailill, the seventeen-year-old prince of Leinster who features in the Táin legend as her henpecked husband. Mythological Maeve was also known for her predatory sexual appetite - she was said to enjoy up to thirty lovers in a single night.

Taken from the YT description:

“Dúlamán” is the first single from Huartan’s recent self-titled debut album. The video, which was filmed on the North Antrim Coast, was directed by Anna Poloni and shot by Sean McMahon. It was choreographed and features contemporary dancer Roísín Harten.

In the original Irish-language song, a young woman playfully teases and turns away each of her suitors, each named after different types of seaweed. Building on this, and with a nod to the myth of the selkies, the video explores the themes of women’s bodily autonomy, sensuality, and connection to the natural world.