In
Irish mythology
Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally Oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era. In the History of Ireland (795–1169), early medieval era, myths were ...
, Cas Corach was a hero who helped
Caílte mac Rónáin
Caílte () mac Rónáin was a nephew of Fionn mac Cumhaill, a warrior and a member of the fianna in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. He is described as being able to run at remarkable speed and communicate with animals, and was a great storyte ...
kill three
werewolf
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a Shapeshifting, therianthropic Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid wol ...
-like creatures, the daughters of
Airitech who would come out of the
Cave of Cruachan every year around
Samhain
Samhain ( , , , ) or () is a Gaels, Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the "Celtic calendar#Medieval Irish and Welsh calendars, darker half" of the year.Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, Ó hÓ ...
and destroy sheep. The she-wolves liked music, so he aided in their slaying by playing a harp to attract and distract them and by persuading them to change to human form, while
Caoilte cast a spear that penetrated all three, thereby killing them.
The ''Oxford Dictionary of Celtic Mythology'' states that Cas Corach, (also spelt Cascorrach, Cas Corrach), is a harper of
Tuatha Dé Danann
The Tuatha Dé Danann (, meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deities of pre-Christian Gaelic ...
, who played for
St. Patrick. He follows Caílte to learn of the lore of the Fenians, as told in the Acallam na Senòrach. It makes no reference to Airitech or his werewolf daughters.
References
Heroes in Irish mythology
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