Bricriu
Bricriu(alsoBriccriu,Bricne) is a hospitaller (briugu), troublemaker and poet in theUlster CycleofIrish mythology.
Fled Bricrenn
[edit]The story ofFled Bricrenn( "The Feast of Bricriu" ) tells how he once held a lavish feast forConchobar mac Nessaand the heroes ofUlsterin his house at Dún Rudraige (modernDundrum,County Down), but knowing his reputation the Ulstermen had to be threatened to attend. First Bricriu threatened to set the Ulster warriors at odds with each other, then to set father against son and mother against daughter, but the Ulstermen finally agreed to come when he threatened to set the two breasts of each Ulster woman beating against each other.
At the feast he promised the "champion's portion"toCú Chulainn,then toConall Cernach,then toLóegaire Búadach,and the three heroes proceeded to compete for the honour. Challenges were set, some judged byAilillandMedbofConnacht,some byCú RoíofMunster.At every test set Cú Chulainn came out top, but neither Conall nor Lóegaire would accept the decision.
Finally Cú Roí, disguised as a giant churl, challenged each of the three to behead him, then allow him to return and behead them in return. Only Cú Chulainn passed this test, and was judged worthy of the champion's portion. (Two motifs in this story, the champion's portion and the beheading challenge, are mentioned by the Greek writerPosidoniusas practices of the ancientCelts.The beheading challenge is also central to theMiddle EnglishArthurianpoemSir Gawain and the Green Knight.)
Other
[edit]Bricriu followedFergus mac Róichinto exile in Connacht following theDeirdreaffair. While he was a guest atCruachanhe caused a lot of trouble for Fergus and another lover of his,Flidais,which culminated at theTáin Bó Flidhais.In theEchtra Nerai,Bricriu mocks the singing of Fergus, comparing it to a bull-calf's bellowing. Fergus strikes him with 5fidchellpieces, injuring him severely. Later, Bricriu recovered but died at Cruachan at the end of theTáin Bó Cuailnge(Cattle Raid of Cooley), trampled to death by the two bulls as they fought.
Fled Bricrennis preserved in the near-contemporaryLeabhar na h-Uidhri(The Book of the Dun Cow) and in four later manuscripts.
The name of the village ofLoughbrickland,nearBanbridge,County Down,is thought to derive fromIrishLoch Briccrendor Bricriu's Lake, where he was a chieftain and lived in the 'Watery Fort' (ringfort) overlooking the loch.[1]