During single combat, the Morrígan offers Cú Chulainn love and aid, then threatens to obstruct him after he rejects her. She attacks as an eel, wolf and heifer, before meeting him as an old milkmaid, where their hostility moves towards reconciliation.
The Morrígan and Cú Chulainn
The Morrígan offered Cú Chulainn her love and aid while he fought in single combat. He rejected her. She warned him that she would hinder him at the hardest point of the fight. She would take the form of an eel, trip him in the ford, and attack him there. Cú Chulainn answered that he would catch the eel and crush its ribs with his toes. He would leave a lasting mark on her unless he removed it with a blessing.
She then threatened to become a grey she-wolf and drive cattle into the ford against him. Cú Chulainn said that he would throw a sling-stone at her and burst the eye in her head. She also said that she would take the form of a hornless red heifer. She would lead the herd through the ford and pools, trample him in the water, and remain unknown to him.
During the fighting, an eel wrapped three coils around Cú Chulainn’s feet and brought him down in the ford. Léch attacked him with a sword, and the water turned red with his blood. Bricriu taunted him for being overcome by a small creature. Cú Chulainn rose, struck the eel, and smashed it. The combat continued. He later fought Loch with the sword and the gae bolga. After Loch fell, Cú Chulainn cut off his head, and great weariness came over him.
The Morrígan then appeared as a squint-eyed old woman milking a cow with three teats. Cú Chulainn asked her for a drink. This meeting followed her attacks in animal forms and his earlier rejection of her. The account presents her approach as a reconciliation after their conflict.
The Death of Meche
Mac Cécht killed Meiche before the serpents within him could mature. Meiche was the son of the Mórrígan and had three hearts. Three great serpents were coiled within each heart. If they reached maturity, they would break out of his body and devastate the land. One account says that they would split his heart open and devour all Ireland. Mac Cécht killed Meiche to prevent this danger.
After the killing, Mac Cécht burned the heart to ashes. He threw the ashes into a river, whose waters boiled and killed every living creature in them. Another account says that he threw the burned remains of Meiche’s body into the Barrow River. The accounts differ over whether the remains were ashes or burned body parts, and over the river named. Both describe their destruction after Meiche’s death because of the danger posed by the serpents.
Meiche is also named Mechi or Merca. The accounts identify Mac Cécht, a warrior of the Tuatha Dé Danann, as the killer. They name the Mórrígan as Meiche’s mother, not as the person who killed him. They give the same numbers for his hearts and serpents: Meiche had three hearts, and each heart contained three serpents.
The Morrígan and the Dagda at the Ford
The Morrígan stood astride the River Unius in Connacht, with one foot on each bank. She washed the clothes of those who were about to die in battle. The black-winged goddess was associated with war and prophecy. She was also known as a magician who cast oracles and foretold the future.
The Dagda came upon her at the river. He saw the enormous goddess bending over the stream and was overcome with desire. He had many mates among the Irish goddesses. At the ford, he had intercourse with the Morrígan. The encounter satisfied her.
The Dagda was preparing to fight for the Tuatha Dé Danann against the Fomorians at Mag Tuired. The Morrígan agreed to support his side in the battle on the following day. She would remain at the edge of the fighting and sing magical chants as the Tuatha Dé Danann faced their enemies. Her support came before the second battle of Mag Tuired, when the Tuatha Dé Danann fought to drive out the Fomorians. The account links the meeting at the river with her promise to aid the Dagda and his people in the coming battle.
