Conganchnes (''"the horny-skin"'' in
Irish) is a hero mentioned in the legend of the death of
Celtchar mac Uthechair; he does not, however, kill him, but is killed himself. Conganchnes is a son of
Dedu mac Sin
Deda mac Sin (Deda, son of Sen) was a prehistoric king of the Érainn of Ireland, possibly of the 1st century BC. Variant forms or spellings include Ded, Dedu, Dedad, Degad, Dega, Dego, Deguth and Daig, with some of these occurring as genitives ...
or sometimes
Cú Roí.
He went to
Ulster
Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
to avenge the death of his nephew
Cú Roí mac Dáire mac Dedad and wrought much destruction upon the land on his way, being invincible due to his tough skin "as of horn" deflecting spears and swords.
Conchobar
() is an old and famous Irish name, Irish male name meaning "lover of canines". It is the source of the Irish names Conor, Connor (disambiguation), Connor, Connors (disambiguation), Connors, Conner (disambiguation), Conner, O'Connor (surname), O'C ...
asked Celtchar to get rid of the mighty Conganchnes, and Celtchar agreed.
He sent his own daughter to him, Níab, to gain his trust, and offered him "feasts for a hundred men every afternoon."
Níab asked her new husband how he could be killed; Conganchnes replied that red-hot spits must be stuck into his soles and thrust up into his shins. Níab relayed this information to her father, and told him to prepare a sleeping spell and a large army as well.
The instructions were followed to the letter, the men sneaking up on Conganchnes while he was under the sleeping spell. The spits were rammed into his soles and right into the marrow of the shins, and Conganchnes died. Celtchar then decapitated him; over his head rose a
cairn
A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ).
Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...
, every man who passed it adding a stone.
See also
*
Gangani, a people mentioned by Ptolemy
References
The Ulster Cycle* Dobs, Margaret C.
Side-lights on the Táin age and other studies Dundalk: WM. Tempest. 1917.
* Ettlinger, Ellen; ''The Invulnerable Hero in Celtic Legend''; Man, Vol. 42, Mar. - Apr., 1942 (Mar. - Apr., 1942), pp. 43–45
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conganchnes Mac Dedad
Ulster Cycle