Myths and Legends

Myths and Legends.

The Ring of Gullion has rich associations with Irish legends and myths. In the Tain Bo Cuailgne (the Cattle raid of Cooley) CuChulainn is reputed to have defended Ulster, single-handed, against the hordes of Queen Maeve of Connacht - a battle traditionally associated with the Gap of the North.

CuChulain Statue General Post Office, Dublin

In another tale, Fionn Mac Cumhaill was bewitched by Miluchra on the summit of Slieve Gullion at the Lough of Calliagh Bhirra. To this day the superstition survives if you bathe in the Lough your hair will turn white.

During the 18th Century, the last great age of Irish literature - the Ring of Gullion played a significant role in the literary history of Ulster and the area known as the District of Songs. All the major poets of the Province came from South Armagh. They were part of a large group of poets who all worked during the period of some sixty years in the area of about eight miles radius, a record unequalled anywhere else in Ireland.