June 2017 – Heroes From Celtic Myths and Legends

The session covered:

The introduction of the topic – Heroes from Celtic myths & legends with some general information on the aristocratic warrior society that forms the background to the Hero myths.

Characteristics of the mythological hero – a warrior, handsome, brave, strong, skilled fighter, superhuman with unusual origins, strong sense of honour and loyalty and playing by the rules, a restless spirit, a close relationship with the gods, and  help from the gods in his career.  Alongside all the positives, we also noted that the mythological hero was not perfect, he had failings which often led to his downfall.

Hero Conor Mac Nessa – the mythological King of Ulster.  Conor possessed all the most desirable qualities in a king- skilled warrior and  wise and fair in his judgements, but there was also another less positive side to his character, as in the legend of Deirdre and the Sons of Uisnech, which will covered in the next session.