Have you ever wondered who our club is named after? Have you ever thought why a GAA club situated in the city of London is named after Cuchulainn? Well in this article we look at the history of Cuchulainn. In this the year of our 80th anniversary we will be posting stories of our history and hope our younger members enjoy learning about the club and its origins, starting with the obvious one- Who was Cuchulainn?
The word Cuchulainn can be written in many ways and you will often see it spelt as Cuchulainn , Cú Chulainn , Cú Culaind and Cúchullin but regardless of spelling the words origin is from the Irish meaning ‘Culann’s Hound’. There are many stories and myths about Cuchulainn but the most famous one is the battle he fought to be accepted as a ‘Red Branch Knight’ when the young Cuchulainn (Setanta) went to fight with a hurl and sliothar in his hand. From this great story came our name and our colour- the red of Cuchulianns from the Red Branch Knights.
The story goes as follows:
Long ago, a king called Conor MacNessa had warriors called the Red Branch Knights. He trained them to be strong men. King Conor also had a nephew called Setanta who wanted to be a Red Branch Knight. From a very early age he showed superhuman qualities of wisdom, warfare, magic and poetry.
One night he said to his mother, “I want to be a Red Branch Knight.” But she said he was too young.
Setanta was a happy child who played the game of hurling with his friends. His team always won. When Setanta was ten he said to his father, “I want to join the Red Branch Knights.” His father said he was still too young. So he stayed on milking cows, carrying water to his house and chopping wood.
One night a man came to the house to tell stories. He told lots about King Conor and his knights. That night, while everyone was asleep, Setanta got his hurling stick and ball and left for King Conor’s castle.
It was a long trip but when he got there, a hurling match was on. Setanta joined in and the other boys did not like it because he was such a good hurler. He went to meet King Conor and King Conor said he could stay.
Some days later, the king said to Setanta, “I am going to a party at Culain’s, do you want to come?” Setanta replied, “I will come later as I am playing a hurling match.”
Later that night he set off. It was a long trip. He got to the fort and found a wolfhound guarding the fort. He hit the ball and killed Culain’s hound. The man heard the dog’s cry and ran out. He said, “I am sorry to see my dog go but glad you are okay. But who is going to guard my house now?” “I’ll be your guard dog until you can replace the one I killed. I’ll be the “Hound of Culain” ["Cuchulainn"],” said Setanta.
So that’s how Cuchulainn got his name. Soon he became the best guard of all and joined the knights. He was the best Red Branch Knight ever.
