Cormac Cond Longas (Connlongas, Connloinges, "Exiled Prince") was the eldest son of
Conchobar mac Nessa
Conchobar mac Nessa (son of Ness) is the king of Ulster in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He rules from Emain Macha (Navan Fort, near Armagh). He is usually said to be the son of the High King Fachtna Fáthach, although in some stories ...
by his own mother,
Ness, in the
Ulster Cycle
The Ulster Cycle (), formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the Ulaid. It is set far in the past, in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly counties Armagh, Do ...
of
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 ...
. His foster father was
Fergus mac Róich
Fergus mac Róich/Róigh (literally "Virility, manliness, son of great stallion") is an Irish hero and a character in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Formerly the king of Ulaid, Ulster, he is tricked out of the kingship and betrayed by Conc ...
.
Cormac followed Fergus into exile in
Connacht
Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...
after the
Deirdre
Deirdre ( , ; ) is a tragic heroine in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She is also known by the epithet "Deirdre of the Sorrows" ().
Deirdre is a prominent figure in Irish legend. American scholar James MacKillop (author), James MacKil ...
affair, and fought for
Ailill
Ailill (Ailell, Oilioll) is a male name in Old Irish. It is a prominent name in Irish mythology, as for Ailill mac Máta, King of Connacht and husband of Queen Medb, on whom Shakespeare based the Fairy Queen Mab. Ailill was a popular given name in ...
and
Medb
Medb (), later spelled Meadhbh (), Méabh(a) () and Méibh (), and often anglicised as Maeve ( ), is queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Her husband in the core stories of the cycle is Ailill mac Máta, although she had ...
against his father in the ''
Táin Bó Cuailnge'' (Cattle Raid of Cooley). During the battle, he prevented Fergus from killing Conchobar.
When Conchobar died the
Ulstermen asked Cormac to return to Ulster as their king. However, on his journey home he was forced to break his ''
geasa'' (taboos) and was killed when the hostel he and his men were staying in was raided.
["''Togail bruidne Dá Choca'': Da Choca's hostel" (1900). By Whitley Stokes. In ]
Revue celtique
'' XXI (1900), pp. 149–165, 312–327, 388–402.
[Loth, J. (Joseph)., Arbois de Jubainville, H. d' (Henry)., Gaidoz, H]
Revue celtique
Paris: F. Vieweg.
References
{{Reflist
Ulster Cycle
Characters in Táin Bó Cúailnge