Art mac Cuinn

Who is Art mac Cuinn?

Art mac Cuinn, also known as Art Óenfer, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland.

According to legend, he was not Conn's only son: he had a brother called Connla, who fell in love with a fairy woman, and went with her to Mag Mell, never to be seen again. After that, Art was alone and gained his nickname. Another fairy woman, Bé Chuille, who had been banished to Ireland by the Tuatha Dé Danann, fell in love with Art, but, when she learned his father Conn was still alive and a widower, agreed to marry him instead, on the condition that Art be banished from Tara for a year. The injustice caused famine in Ireland, until Art forced Bé Chuille to leave as a forfeit in a game of fidchell. In another variant of the myth, Bé Chuille places a geis on Art, after he loses at a game of fidchell; under which he must leave Ireland never to return until he can find and rescue the maiden Delbchaem. Art travels to the Land of Wonder, facing untold dangers and is forced to kill Delbchaem's mother a fearsome and supernatural figure, who has been foretold by druids that she would be killed by a suitor of her daughter.