Soon after, the boys began wrestling. Similar to the game of hole, it was the single boy versus all the other boys. Conchobar chuckled at the boys wrestling around as a single boy whipped all the others time and time again. Conchobar called upon the boy and said, "Tell me boy, what is your name?" The boy replied, "It is Setanta, Sir." Then Conchobar said, "Well then, Setanta, would you like to come with me to a feast? I am on my way, and the food will be of the highest quality." Setanta replied, "I would love to, sir, but my friends want to keep playing." At this response, Conchobar decided to head onward to the feast.

Culann had prepared a grand feast for Conchobar and the other guests. When they arrived Culann made a point to show off his handsome bloodhound. He bragged about its ferocity and strength, claiming it had the strength of a hundred men inside it. He told the guests, "My hound knows only me, and he is trained to attack any who step foot in my yard if he is not tied up. I paid a fine sum in order to have him trained in such a way." As they went inside, Culann unchained the dog to protect the yard during the feast.

The young boy who had been dominating the playing field followed the path taken by Conchobar and his crew. He showed up a bit later and the feast had already started. You may remember that the bloodhound was unchained, and he heard the boy walk up to the edge of the yard. The hound howled so loud everyone in the city could hear it. The boy had nothing to defend himself with other than his ball from the game back in the field. He reared back and fired the ball as hard as he could at the dog and it went right through his mouth, into his stomach, and all of his insides exited out the back side. The boy then grabbed the hound's two front legs and smacked him against a stone pillar. All that was left of the hound was four disassembled limbs, scattered bones, several piles of fur, and the beast's internals.

The men heard the whimpers and cries of the vicious hound before the boy decimated him, and they immediately rose to see what had happened. Conchobar feared the boy from the field had decided to follow along and the dog attacked him. Conchobar and the rest of the men rushed to the exit in order to save whoever had ventured inside the hound's domain, but they were amazed when they saw the young boy standing there unscathed. He had not even broken a sweat. Meanwhile, the "beast" lay in pieces of bone, fur, and blood. Culann was furious that his dog had been killed because he had invested so much time and money in the dog, but he also loved it deeply. But the boy promised to tend to Culann's flocks, much like his bloodhound had. The solution sufficed for Culann, and Conchobar made a suggestion. He said "Then you shall be known as Cu Chulainn, "Hound of Culann." The men looked at Cu Chulainn in amazement. The same dog those men had feared was torn to bits by a child barely six years old.

Author's Note: This tale of Cu Chulainn is a part of Irish Legend. This story depicts how Cu Chulainn receives his name from Conchobar, the King of Ulster (The area where Cu Chulainn lives). Conchobar is pronounced "konxovar", and it is the origin of the name "Connor". Interestingly, the name Conchobar means lover of canines.

Culann is a smith in Ulster, and he wanted to have Conchobar over to show off his dog and treat him to a nice meal. That sounds like some high-quality "shmoozing" to me. Culann's name is pronounced "Coo-lan", or "Cuh-lin". Similarly, Cu Chulainn's name is prounounced "Cuh-Cul-In" or "Cuh-Coo-Lan".

My version of the story was an attempt to retell it in an easily digestible way. I didn't make any major changes to the plot or character's, and it is as true to form as I could write it.

Image Credit: Cu Chulainn and the Hound by Stephen Reid

Story Bibliography: The Ancient Irish Epic Tale: Tain Bo Cualnge by Joseph Dunn