The Tain: The Great Celtic Epic

by Liam Mac Uistín, Donald Teskey (Illustrator)

The most famous Irish legend of all in an exciting and easily understood version. Tells of the great battle between the warrior Cuchulainn and his friend, Ferdia.

Genres: Mythology, Kids, Childrens, Fantasy, Paganism, Ireland

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Liam Mac Uistin is a well-known author and playwright. His versions of ancient Irish stories and legends have been published in the Irish language by An Gúm. His plays for stage, television and radio have been produced in many European countries and in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. His television play The Glory and the Dream won the Radio Telefís Éireann award.

His stage plays have been produced at the Abbey and Peacock theatres in Dublin. His stories and plays have received many literary awards.

Liam Mac Uistin is the author of The Táin, (O'Brien Press) a hugely popular book for the young reader on this great Celtic epic.

He lives in Dublin with his family.

Reviews

[sonataiscool · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great story about Irish Mythology. I think because of the perspective I had more of a bias towards Maeve but I feel bad for her I wish she would divorce her husband and Cuchulainn wasn’t as greats as everyone says he cheated on his wife :(

[Jason]

If the book is as good as the Decemberist's song I might explode!

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this on my shelf for years and finally read it-- what a marvelous adventure! The greedy queen Maeve, the shape shifting witch Morrigan, the bold hero Cuchallain, an impressive parade of heros and warriors and kings-- and most importantly, some very impressive bulls.
This retelling is a little flat. But as a clear and concise transmission of the ancient epic story, it's a functional frame for the reader's imagination.

[bridie m · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy quick read very gripping. I’ve heard other versions of the story though so I’d probably read another version again if or when I find one. I’d recommend this book. These stories were indented to have the listener on the edge of their seat and that it does. I really enjoyed the afternoon read and i have to say as an academic student studying Irish archaeology I found this book a charm.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

The old Irish epic. of the great cattle raid of Cooley. Many deaths.

[Anne Smeets · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool short story about Maeve and how her greed let to a war with Ulster. Big succes for the Brown Bull though!

[Ciara McCombe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible. Found this book at home, my dad had bought it for my older sisters the year I was born after visiting family in Belfast.

A great message about the dangers of greed

[Paul Triller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short afternoon read. Interesting as to how so many different cultures have myths with so many similarities.

[Dave F · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t know why the back of this Penguin edition compares the epic to Homer and the Odyssey when the Arthurian legends offer a closer analogue historically, geographically, and with regard to content. Two clans on the Emerald Isle are thrown into a months-longs war because a pair of married nobles bicker over who has the larger treasure, or “los cojones mas grandes” in Irish. The western queen, Medb, wants a neighboring king’s prize bull, for her husband had the biggest, bestest bull west of Bréifne (and therefore had won their aforementioned argument). Thus nearly all soldiers in the northern half of Ireland must face off against a lone Ulster warrior, who is stronger and hairier than Superman. He’s a better shot with the sling than scout sniper. He goes by Cú Cu. Oh, and the bulls? They both die at the end (but not before kissing!!).

[Mike Booth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I grabbed this to read from the book swap as it's only short, I didn't want to spend too long deciding, and it looked at least half-decent. I usually really like mythology and I've not read any Celtic myths so assumed I'd like this, but unfortunately I was wrong. It wasn't because the story didn't make sense - although it definitely didn't, even for a legend - it was more that it just wasn't written particularly well, and sounded more like a schoolchild boasting about their dad. It comes across as more of a swords-and-sandals Rambo the way the main character scythes through entire armies, than a good myth - even Achilles had his faults, but apparently our boy would've wiped the floor with him. It's not a great story, and it's not told here particularly well.

[Lanea · Rating 1 out of 5]

This revision of the Táin Bó Cúailnge is a misogynist travesty. The Morrigan is not a witch. She's a war and sovereignty Goddess at the height of a pantheon, as the direct translation of her name implies: it literally translates to "Great Queen." It's understandable that Mac Uistin abridged the story to make it more accessible for children, but it's not acceptable that he recast the female characters in the story to make their actions seem baseless and petty. This is inappropriate for children and adults.

[Melber · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was the last book I had to read for a literature class in college, and of course, it was an essay question on the final. I don't believe in burning books in the name of censorship; however, I would burn this one because it was torture to read!

[Mary Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Epic read !

[Beckina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got sick of all the killing and battles by the end, but what can you expect?