Deirdre
Tragic heroine of the Ulster Cycle, known as Deirdre of the Sorrows.
Fedlimid mac Daill, the royal storyteller, was Deirdre's father.[1]
Quick Facts
- Epithet
- Deirdre of the Sorrows
- Father
- Fedlimid mac Daill
- Prophet
- Cathbad
- King
- Conchobar mac Nessa
- Lover
- Naoise mac Uisneach
- Brothers of naoise
- Ardan and Ainnle
- Fosterer of children
- Manannan Mac Lir
Facts from the source article.
Making and release
Before Deirdre was born, the chief druid Cathbad prophesied that she would grow up very beautiful and cause war and bloodshed.[1] Cathbad placed his hands on the mother's womb and said the child would be named Deirdre.[2] Leabharcham, Deirdre's nurse, was very protective and careful that none saw her.[2] Deirdre put a geasa on Naoise, forcing him to run away with her.[2]
During early spring, after a calf was slaughtered, Deirdre saw its blood on snow and declared she would only love a man with hair black as a raven, skin white as snow, and cheeks red as blood.[2] Naoise fled to Scotland with Deirdre, joined by his brothers Ardan and Ainnle.[3] Certain story variants include Deirdre and Naoise having two children: a son named Gaiar and a daughter named Aebgreine.[3]
What the cited sources add
The bardmythologies.com account states that Deirdre pestered Leabharcham to let her see Naoise, but Leabharcham refused.[2] According to that account, Deirdre made a home for Naoise in the wilds, cooking fine food for him and his brothers.[2] The same source says that on the voyage back to Ireland, Deirdre never once took her eyes off the shoreline of Scotland.[2] The Irish Times reports that LE Deirdre located and stood by 17 yachts in distress.[4]
A brochure created for its decommissioning noted that LE Deirdre appeared to perform a deep curtsey when first launched from Verolme Cork Dockyard.[4]
References
- Wikipedia, "Deirdre" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Deirdre of the Sorrows", bardmythologies.com, 11 June 2014 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Deirdre of the Sorrows", bardmythologies.com, 11 June 2014. facts only, no text reused. bardmythologies.com
- Wikipedia, "Deirdre" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Monaghan, Patricia (2008), The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore. Checkmark Books. p. 123.; Hitt, J.G. (1908), Deirdre and the Sons of Uisneach: A Scoto-Irish Romance of the First Century A.D. Marshall Brothers. p. 46. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Irish Times, 3 March 2001. facts only, no text reused. irishtimes.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Deirdre (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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