NAME Uaithne
GENDER M
CATEGORY bard
TYPE harper (healer)
CULTURE Danann
COUNTRY Ireland
AGE Bronze
DATES BC 16th-15th c
RELATIVES Boann (consort); Goltrade, Gentrade and
Suantrade (sons)
SEE ALSO Boann / Suantrade
REMARKS While Boann gave birth to triplets, Uaithne
played music that reflected the birth of each and suggested
their name. Boann's pain at giving birth to the first
child was so great that Uaithne played mournful sad music
and Goltrade was born.
The music for the arrival of the second child was
joyful and happy so he was named Gentrade. For the birth
of the third child the music was quiet and restful so he
was named Suantrade. Boann divined that the music of her
children would be of sorrow, laughter and sleep.
NAME Uala
GENDER M
CATEGORY warrior
TYPE chariot warrior
CULTURE Goidel
COUNTRY Ireland
TERRITORY Connacht
LANDMARKS Cronn's stream
SITES Lia Ualann (Uala's stone)
AGE Iron
DATES BC 2nd-1st c
BATTLES Cualnge Cattle Raid (died)
ACCESSORIES massive rock
ENEMIES Cronn / Cualnge / Pictland / Ulster
SEE ALSO Cronn
REMARKS Uala was a giant of a warrior who volunteered to
assess the swollen stream of Cronn to see if the Host of
Connacht could cross during the cattle raid into Cualnge.
Uala waded into the stream carrying a heavy boulder to keep
him from being carried away by the swift current.
The goddess Cronn sent him back dead with his rock on
his back. Uala was buried and keened over, then the stone
was erected by his grave alongside the road close to the
stream.
NAME Uala macGarach
EPITHET Pride
ALTERNATIVE Ualu
GENDER M
CATEGORY warrior
TYPE chariot warrior
CULTURE Goidel
COUNTRY Ireland
TERRITORY Connacht
SITES Ard Ciannacht / Ath meic Garach
AGE Iron
DATES BC 2nd-1st c
BATTLES Cualnge Cattle Raid (died)
ACCESSORIES Meslaech (hero's fosterling) was his charioteer
RELATIVES son of Garach; Lon and Diliu (brothers)
ENEMIES Ulster / Cu Chulainn
SEE ALSO Cu Chulainn / Diliu / Lon / Nera / Orlam
REMARKS The 3 sons of Garach were distraught at the
deaths of Orlam and the two sons of Nera, so they conceived
of a plan to kill Cu Chulainn. Uala and his two brothers
thought that if their charioteers held strips of aspen-
wood, they could attach themselves into one unit and attack
Cu Chulainn together. All six lost their heads to Cu
Chulainn at Ath meic Garach (ford of the sons of Garach).
NAME Uanchend Arritech
GENDER M
FESTIVAL Samhain (Night of the Dead)
CATEGORY warrior
TYPE chariot warrior
CULTURE Goidel
COUNTRY Ireland
TERRITORY Ulster
SITES Temair Luachra
AGE Iron
DATES BC 2nd-1st c
BATTLES Temuir Luachra
RELATIVES Celtchair, Errge and Uma (foster-fathers)
ENEMIES Connacht / Munster
SEE ALSO Celtchair macUthechar / Cromm Deroil / CuRoi
macDaire / Errge Echbel / Uma
REMARKS Uanchend was in the party of warriors who
followed Cu Chulainn on a drunken ride that landed them at
Temair Luachra in Munster on a Samhain eve.
Uanchend was described by Cromm Deroil as a lad of 11
years who was held by 3 chains secured to each leg, 1 chain
around each arm and 3 chains around his neck. Each chain
was held by 7 men but when the boy smelled enemies he threw
aside all 77 men as if they were as light as feathers.
One of the men holding the boy told him that it was
not for valor or glory that he performed the trick but for
food and drink inside the fort. The boy would blush and
become silent until the savagery overcame him again.
CuRoi identified him as the foster-son of Celtchair,
Errge Echbel and Uma and as a generous boy who would never
eat any food until he had offered it to someone else first.
NAME Uar
EPITHET The Cruel
GENDER M
SYMBOL 1 eye / lame in 1 leg / left-handed
CATEGORY warrior / filidh
TYPE battle-line / sorcerer
CULTURE Fomorii
COUNTRY Ireland
TERRITORY Munster
AGE Iron
DATES AD 3rd c
RELATIVES Ill-omen, Damage and Want (sons)
ENEMIES Fionn mac Cumhaill
SEE ALSO Fionn mac Cumhaill
REMARKS When Uar and his 3 sons fought against Fionn
they were described as having poison on themselves and
their weapons. They were lame-thighed, one-eyed and left-
handed.
NAME Uath
EPITHET Horror Son of Terror (Uath mac Imoman)
GENDER M
CATEGORY filidh
TYPE healer / shape-changer / prophet / clairvoyant /
levitator
CULTURE Danann
COUNTRY Ireland
TERRITORY The Otherworld - Uath's Lake (Loch Uath)
AGE Iron
DATES BC 2nd-1st c
RELATIVES son of Imoman
SEE ALSO Bricriu / Conall Cernacht / Cu Chulainn / CuRoi
macDaire / Loeghaire Buadhach
REMARKS During the feast given by Bricriu at his home
Tech Midchuarta, the three champions Cu Chulainn, Loeghaire
and Conall were sent to Uath so that he might test them for
their bravery.
Uath was a filidh of high reputation and challenged
the 3 to a contest. He proposed that a challenger would
chop off his head and the next night Uath would return and
he would chop off the head of the challenger.
Only Cu Chulainn lived up to the agreement and as Uath
brought down the axe he deliberately missed Cu Chulainn's
neck. He proclaimed Cu Chulainn the mightiest champion of
Ulster. (Another version of the story has the contest
being offered to the heroes by CuRoi disguised as a churl.)
NAME Uathach
EPITHET Spectre of the Glen / The Dreadful /
The Terrible
ALTERNATIVE Uathach (Spectre)
GENDER F
CATEGORY warrior
TYPE chariot warrior / champion / combat instructor
CULTURE Pictish
COUNTRY Scotland
REGION Isle of Skye
TERRITORY The Otherworld - Land of Shadows (Tir na Scath)
/ Albainn
CENTERS Dun Scathach (fortress of Scathach)
AGE Iron
DATES BC 2nd-1st c
RELATIVES Scathach (mother); Cochar Crufe (consort); Cu
Chulainn (consort); Airdgeme (grandfather); Aife
(aunt)
SEE ALSO Aife / Airdgeme / Cu Chulainn / Ferdiad /
Scathach
REMARKS Uathach was a combat instructor for her mother's
school at Dun Scathach. Cu Chulainn and Ferdiad were two
of her students and on arrival Cu Chulainn killed Uathach's
champion (Cochar Crufe) and took over his duties.
Uathach advised Cu Chulainn to wait until her mother
was reclining in her yew tree from where she liked to teach
her two sons. Then he was to do his salmon leap, put his
sword to her breasts and demand three wishes from her.
Cu Chulainn did as he was told and he demanded that
she teach him without neglect, give him her daughter
without a bride price and divine his future for him.
NAME Ucha
GENDER F
CATEGORY rigbean
CULTURE Goidel
COUNTRY Ireland
TERRITORY Leinster
SITES Hostel (Bruidhean)
AGE Iron
DATES BC 2nd c
BATTLES Mac Da Tho's
RELATIVES Mesgegra (husband); Mac Da Tho (consort); Lena
(son)
SEE ALSO Lena / Mesgegra mac Datho / Mac Da Tho
REMARKS Ucha was consort to Mesroeda Mac Da Tho and they
had a child named Lena.
NAME Ucuetis
GENDER M
CATEGORY deity
TYPE god of metalsmiths / hammer-god
CULTURE Gallic - Mandubii tribe
COUNTRY France
REGION Côte d'Or
TERRITORY Gaul
LANDMARKS Yonne / Seine
CENTERS Alesia
AGE Iron
DATES BC 1st c
ACCESSORIES hammer
RELATIVES Bergusia (consort)
SEE ALSO Bergusia
REMARKS Ucuetis was a god who was venerated by the
blacksmiths of the Mandubii tribe at Alesia during the time
of the Roman invasion in BC 1st century. A bronze vessel
found in an underground room of a smithy had an inscription
dedicated to Ucuetis and his consort Bergusia.
NAME Ugaine Mor
EPITHET The Great (Mor)
ALTERNATIVE Ugainy {oo'-gany} / Ugoine / Ugony
GENDER M
CATEGORY warrior / Ard Righ Eirinn
TYPE chariot warrior / high chieftain
CULTURE Goidel
COUNTRY Ireland
REGION Meath
TERRITORY Leinster / Mide / Munster / Connacht / Ulster
LANDMARKS Magh mBreg
CENTERS Raith Rig - Tara
AGE Iron
DATES BC 6th c / BC 595-581 (Ard Righ - Kings List)
RELATIVES Eochu Buadach (father); Cesair (wife);
Laoghaire, Fergus Cnai and Cobhthach (sons);
Bodbchad (brother); Cimbaeth (foster-father);
Macha (foster-mother); Eremon and Tea
(ancestors)
ENEMIES Rechtaid Rigderg / Bodbchad
SEE ALSO Cesair Chrothach / Cimbaeth / Cobhthach Coel /
Conaire Mor / Eremon / Fiachu Labrainne /
Laoghaire Lorc / Macha / Tea
REMARKS Ugaine Mor, son of Eochu Buadach, was a
descendant of Eremon and Tea and became the high chieftain
of Ireland when he revenged the death of his foster-mother,
Macha, by killing Rechtaid Rigderg.
Ugaine Mor also had political influence in Gaul
because of his wife Cesair Chrothach. He sired 25 children
by his wife and divided the island into 25 shares
(cantrels). Ireland remained divided this way for 300
years until the time of Conaire Mor.
The historians claimed that Ugaine Mor ruled from the
Meeting of the Three Waters to the Caspian and Tyrrhenian
Seas. Others claim he was the Overlord of Ireland and
Britain from Albainn to the Sea of Wight.
Ugaine was slain by his brother Bodbchad at Telach-in-
Choscair on Magh Maireda in Brega after 14 years of ruling
Ireland.
NAME Uigreann
ALTERNATIVE Uirgriu
GENDER M
CATEGORY warrior
TYPE battle-line
COUNTRY Ireland
LANDMARKS Boyne
SITES Ath-Brea (ford of Brea)
AGE Iron
DATES AD 3rd c
BATTLES Brea
RELATIVES 5 sons
ENEMIES Fionn mac Cumhaill
SEE ALSO Fionn mac Cumhaill
REMARKS Uigreann was killed by Fionn mac Cumhaill.
During the battle at Ath-Brea (ford of Brea) on the Boyne,
his 5 sons took revenge and killed Fionn as their 5 spears
hit him in unison.
NAME Uillenn Faebarderg
EPITHET Of The Red Edge (Faebar-Derg) / Of The Red
Eyebrows (Abrat-ruiad)
ALTERNATIVE Uilleand / Uillend / Uillind
GENDER M
CATEGORY warrior
CULTURE Danann
COUNTRY Ireland
TERRITORY Connacht
AGE Bronze
DATES BC 16th-15th c
BATTLES Cuillend (Cuillenn)
RELATIVES Caicher (father); Net (ancestor)
ENEMIES Manannan
SEE ALSO Bress / Manannan / Net
REMARKS Uillenn, son of Caicher, son of Namadach, son of
Eochu Garb, son of Dui Temen, daughter of Bress, son of
Eladu, son of Delbach, son of Net.
Uillenn killed Manannan during the battle of Cuillend
in Connacht but was himself slain by MacGreine
NAME Ullan
GENDER M
CATEGORY warrior
TYPE battle-line
CULTURE Fianna
COUNTRY Ireland
AGE Iron
DATES AD 3rd c
RELATIVES Tuireann (wife)
SEE ALSO Tuireann
REMARKS Ullan was the cause of his sons being born as
hounds. He was having an affair with a female druid who
became jealous of the attention his wife Tuireann was
receiving while she was pregnant. The druid turned
Tuireann into a bitch and Ullan's sons were born as pups.
The druid turned Tuireann back into a human only after
Ullan promised to leave his wife.
NAME Uma
GENDER M
FESTIVAL Samhain (Night of the Dead)
CATEGORY warrior
TYPE chariot warrior
CULTURE Goidel
COUNTRY Ireland
REGION Armagh
TERRITORY Ulster / Fedan Chuailnge / Munster
SITES Temair Luachra
CENTERS Emain Macha (Navan)
AGE Iron
DATES BC 2nd-1st c
BATTLES Temuir Luachra
RELATIVES son of Remanfissech; Uanchend (foster-son)
ENEMIES Munster / Connacht
SEE ALSO Celtchair / Cromm Deroil / CuRoi macDaire /
Errge Echbel / Uanchend Arritech
REMARKS Uma was involved in the intoxicated ride on
Samhain eve that led warriors of Ulster into a brawl with
warriors of Munster and Connacht at Temair Luachtra. Uma
was identified by CuRoi as one of the 3 battle-stays of
Ulster. The other two were Errge Echbel and Celtchair.
Cromm Deroil described Uma as a savage hound who
snorted when he smelled an enemy. He had dark bristly hair
and wore a linen tunic covered by a dun-gray woolly mantle
fastened with an iron stake. He carried a gold-hilted
sword, flat broad-headed spears and a dun shield with a
bronze boss.
NAME Uroica
GENDER F
SYMBOL bee
FESTIVAL half-moon / midsummer
CATEGORY deity
TYPE goddess of love
COUNTRY Switzerland
TERRITORY Gaul / alpine pastures
LANDMARKS Alps
ACCESSORIES heather / honey
REMARKS Uroica was a Celtic love goddess who was
venerated in the alpine regions of Switzerland and was
associated with the heather plant, bees and honey.
NAME Usna
ALTERNATIVE Uisliu / Uisneach / Usna / Usnach / Usnagh /
Usnech
GENDER M
CATEGORY warrior
TYPE chariot warrior
CULTURE Goidel
COUNTRY Ireland
TERRITORY Ulster
AGE Iron
DATES BC 2nd-1st c
RELATIVES Elbha (wife); Ainle and Ardan (sons); Naoise
(step-son)
ENEMIES Conchobar
SEE ALSO Cathbad / Conchobar mac Nessa / Deirdre / Elbha
/ Maga / Muresc / Naoise
REMARKS Usna married Elbha daughter of Cathbad, but the
she would have spent her wedding night with Conchobar, the
head chieftain of the tribes of Ulster. Naoise would thus
have been a son of Conchobar. Usna lost all three of his
sons because Conchobar was angry at Naoise for having run
away with Deirdre.
NAME Uthechar
ALTERNATIVE Utechar / Uthider
GENDER M
CATEGORY warrior
TYPE chariot warrior / Red Branch champion
CULTURE Goidel
COUNTRY Ireland
TERRITORY Ulster
CENTERS Dun Da Lethglas
AGE Iron
DATES BC 2nd-1st c
RELATIVES Celtchair, Menn and Glasne (sons)
SEE ALSO Celtchair macUthechar / Menn macUthechair
REMARKS Uthechar Hornskin was an Ulster Red Branch
champion who sired the famous warriors Celtchair, Menn and
Glasne.
NAME Uther
EPITHET Dragon Head (Pendragon)
ALTERNATIVE Uther Bendragon / Utherpendragon
GENDER M
SYMBOL dragon
CATEGORY warrior / Rix / Gwledig
TYPE high chieftain / war leader
CULTURE Cymry (tribes that fight side by side)
COUNTRY England / Wales / Scotland (lowlands) / France
REGION Cornwall / Brittany
SITES Cloister of Ambruis / Raith of Dimilioc /
Tintagel {Tin-taj-ell} / Mount Killaraus /
Giant's Ring (Stonehenge)
AGE Post-Roman
DATES AD 5th c
RELATIVES Kustennin Vychan (father); Igerna (wife); Arthur
(son); Gwyar (daughter); Aurelius and Constans
(brothers); Anna (sister)
ENEMIES Germani / Paschent / Gillomanius
SEE ALSO Arthur / Aurelius Ambrosius / Gorlois / Gwyar /
Igerna / Myrddin Wyllt / Vortigern
REMARKS Uther and his brother Aurelius were very young
when their father Kustennin Vychan "Constantine the Small"
died and their older brother Constans backed a chieftain
name Vortigern who was the most powerful of the chieftains.
Vortigern eventually had Constans murdered. Aurelius,
Uther and Anne fled to the Celtic stronghold of Aremorica
where they were raised to become powerful warriors and
chieftains. Uther's brother assumed the lead and they
sailed for Cornwall, then marched on Vortigern, destroying
him and his fort. They then turned on the Germani and
drove them into northern England, where they allowed them
to settle as a buffer between the Picts and themselves.
Uther then went on a campaign to Ireland to steal the
stones of the Giant's Ring on Mount Killaraus in order to
build a monument for the chieftains murdered by the Germani
at the cloister of Ambruis near Caer Caradduc (Salisbury).
Gillomanius, the head chieftain of Ireland at the time, was
put to flight and the stones were moved to Britain with the
help of Myrddin Wyllt.
Uther was sent to Wales to meet Paschent, a son of
Vortigern, who was making a second attempt to conquer
Britain with the help of Gillomanius. On the way to the
battle, Uther saw a star with a beam of light coming from
it. At the end of the light was a ball of fire in the
shape of a dragon and from the mouth of the dragon came two
shafts of light: one pointing to Gaul and one to the Irish
sea where it divided into a number of smaller shafts of
light. Uther sent for his druid Myrddin who interpreted
the dragon as Uther and the rays of light as the domain of
his sons to come. The vision also heralded the death of
his brother Aurelius and indicated that Uther had to take
up the position as the war leader of the Cymry.
Uther then attacked the Germani and their Irish allies
and drove them into the sea. Both Paschent and Gillomanius
were killed in the battle. Uther had two dragons sculpted
in gold and from then on he was known as Utherpendragon.
The Germani began to cause trouble again, saying that
their treaty had been with Aurelius and it ended with his
death. Uther met them in battle using Gorlois, the head
chieftain of Cornwall, as his battle consultant and they
defeated the Germani tribes once more.
Uther decided to have a large celebration to reward
everyone for their success in defeating the Germani. During
the celebration Uther fell madly in love with Igerna, the
wife of his most noted chieftain, Gorlois. Gorlois was
insulted by the actions of his high chieftain and left the
celebration without asking his leave, which was an insult
to Uther.
Uther raised an army and attacked Gorlois at the raith
of Dimilioc in Cornwall. After a week of sieging Gorlois,
Uther's love for Igerna was unabated and he sent for
Myrddin to help him. Myrddin threw a spell on everyone in
the Castle of Tintagel so that Uther would appear as
Gorlois to everyone and he could then sleep with Igerna. In
the morning, news came that Gorlois had been killed in
battle but because Uther had appeared as Gorlois, everyone
thought there was a mistake. Uther regretted the death of
his valued head chieftain and he left Tintagel and had
Myrrdin used his powers once again to change his looks back
to his own.
Uther then seized Tintagel and claimed Igerna for
himself. They were married and she bore him two children,
Arthur and Gwyar. Peace reigned for years until the
Germani landed with a large fleet. Uther was sick and went
to battle on a litter. The Germani were again beaten but
in the end they managed to poison a well that Uther used,
and he died from the first drink along with over a hundred
others. He was buried inside the Giant's Ring (Stonehenge)
beside his brother Aurelius.
NAME Uxellinos
EPITHET Supremacy
ALTERNATIVE Uxellinus
GENDER M
CATEGORY deity
TYPE sky god / mountain god
CULTURE Gallic
COUNTRY Austria
LANDMARKS Alps
REMARKS Uxellinos was a Celtic sky / mountain god in the
Alps of Austria.