1. How Cuchulainn got
his name
Pauline O’Shea

2. Setant
a
• When Cuchulainn was
young he had a different
name, Setanta. This is the
story of how he became
Cuchulainn.
• He was a great hurling
player and one day he was
playing when the king and
others were going to a
feast at Culainn’s. He said
he would follow them
when he had finished.

3. Arrival
at the
fort.
• Later that night he set off.
It was a long trip. He got to
the fort and found a
wolfhound guarding it.
• The wolfhound leapt at
Cuchulainn trying to attack
and kill him.
• What could Setanta do??
All he had with him was his
hurley stick and
sliotar(ball).

4. The
fight
• The dog advanced on
Setanta and so he swung
his hurley and hit his
sliotar. He gave it a mighty
whack and the sliotar flew
into the hound’s mouth.
• This, of course, choked the
dog and Setanta was
standing over it, when all
the guests came out to see
what had happened.

5. Cuchulain• ‘What shall I do now?’
asked Culainn. ‘Who will
n
guard my fort?’ ‘I will’
replied Setanta.
• He promised to stay and
guard the fort for Culainn
‘til a new dog had been
trained in. The Gaeilge for
hound is ‘Cú’ and so
Setanta became known as
‘Cuchulainn’ - the hound of
Culainn.

6. Cuchulain• ‘What shall I do now?’
asked Culainn. ‘Who will
n
guard my fort?’ ‘I will’
replied Setanta.
• He promised to stay and
guard the fort for Culainn
‘til a new dog had been
trained in. The Gaeilge for
hound is ‘Cú’ and so
Setanta became known as
‘Cuchulainn’ - the hound of
Culainn.