Caílte () mac Rónáin was a nephew of

Fionn mac Cumhaill Fionn mac Cumhaill, often anglicised Finn McCool or MacCool, is a hero in Irish mythology, as well as in later Scottish and Manx folklore. He is the leader of the ''Fianna'' bands of young roving hunter-warriors, as well as being a seer a ...

, a warrior and a member of the

fianna ''Fianna'' ( , ; singular ''Fian''; ) were small warrior-hunter bands in Gaelic Ireland during the Iron Age and early Middle Ages. A ''fian'' was made up of freeborn young men, often from the Gaelic nobility of Ireland, "who had left fosterage ...

in the

Fenian Cycle The Fenian Cycle (), Fianna Cycle or Finn Cycle () is a body of early Irish literature focusing on the exploits of the mythical hero Fionn mac Cumhaill, Finn or Fionn mac Cumhaill and his Kóryos, warrior band the Fianna. Sometimes called the ...

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 ...

. He is described as being able to run at remarkable speed and communicate with animals, and was a great storyteller. Some

poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

s of the Fenian Cycle are attributed to Caílte. In the short Middle Irish tale '' Finn and Gráinne'', his ancestry is given as "son of Oisgen or Conscen, the son of the Smith of

Múscraige The Múscraighe (older spelling: Músgraige) were an important Érainn people of Munster, descending from Cairpre Músc, son of Conaire Cóem, a High King of Ireland. Closely related were the Corcu Duibne, Corcu Baiscind, both of Munster, and a ...

Dobrut; a son he of Cumall's daughter." Caílte's most celebrated fellow survivor was

Oisín Oisín (), Osian, Ossian ( ), or anglicized as Osheen ( ) was regarded in legend as the greatest poet of Ireland, a warrior of the Fianna in the Ossianic or Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. He is the demigod son of Fionn mac Cumhaill and ...

: according to '' Cath Gabhra'' (''The Battle of Gabhra''), Caílte and

are the only members of the Fianna to survive that final battle. They are both central figures in the tale ''

Acallam na Senórach ''Acallam na Senórach'' (, whose title in English has been given variously as ''Colloquy of the Ancients'', ''Tales of the Elders of Ireland'', ''The Dialogue of the Ancients of Ireland'', etc.), is an important prosimetric Middle Irish narrat ...

'' (''Colloquy of the Ancients''), in which they survive into Christian times and recount tales of the Fianna to a recently arrived

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...

. In Irish mythology, Cas Corach was a hero who helped Caílte mac Rónáin kill three werewolf-like creatures, the daughters of Airitech who would come out of the Cave of Cruachan every year around Samhain 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. He had the sword Cruadh-Chosgarach, the Hard Destroying One. The 'Bodb Dearg', a god in Fianna time who is the son of the Dagda had a daughter called Scathniamh. She and Cailte loved each other. But they were forced to part from one another, and they never met again till the time Caoilte was old and withered, and one of the last that was left of the Fianna.

Primary sources

* '' Finn and Gráinne'', ed. and tr. Kuno Meyer, "Finn and Grainne." ''Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie'' 1 (1897): 458–61
Edition
an

available from CELT. * '' Cath Gabhra'' ("The Battle of Gabhra") Caolte is characterized in the poem by W.B. Yeats, "The Hosting of the Sidhe." Fenian Cycle Mythological swordfighters {{Celt-myth-stub