Rhonda Tharp
Active Member
I've always loved the story of Macha, the Queen of Ulster...
Two queens named Macha are connected with the area. The less well known is Macha, the queenly wife of Cimbaeth, (circa 300 AD). Cimbaeth was dominated by his queen and it is said that she made him build a great fortress-palace in her honor. She marked out the area with her brooch, thus the folk etymology of "Emain Macha" meaning "Macha's brooch". The better known Macha was the wife of Crunniuc mac Agnomain. At a fair in Ulster, he boasted that his wife could beat a horse-drawn chariot in a foot race. Macha, pregnant and near delivery, protested but threatened with the death of the baby, she finally complied. She won the race, then birthed twins. In revenge, she cursed the men of Ulster to suffer her birth pangs for nine generations. Women, young boys and Cuchulainn (because he was not bred of Ulster stock) were exempt.
Two queens named Macha are connected with the area. The less well known is Macha, the queenly wife of Cimbaeth, (circa 300 AD). Cimbaeth was dominated by his queen and it is said that she made him build a great fortress-palace in her honor. She marked out the area with her brooch, thus the folk etymology of "Emain Macha" meaning "Macha's brooch". The better known Macha was the wife of Crunniuc mac Agnomain. At a fair in Ulster, he boasted that his wife could beat a horse-drawn chariot in a foot race. Macha, pregnant and near delivery, protested but threatened with the death of the baby, she finally complied. She won the race, then birthed twins. In revenge, she cursed the men of Ulster to suffer her birth pangs for nine generations. Women, young boys and Cuchulainn (because he was not bred of Ulster stock) were exempt.