Uaman. [I) The name of the Connacht sidhe ruled by Ethal Anubhail, father of Cier, with whom Aonghus Og, the love god, fell in love.

Uan. (I) One of the six servers of the High King at Temuir (Tara).

Uar. (I) "The Cruel." He and his sons, "Ill-Omen," "Damage," and "Want," dwelt in Munster but appear to be Fomorii. They clashed with Fionn Mac Cumhail. Uar's three sons were described as "three foemen-lame thighed ...left handed, of the race of wondrous evil, and from the gravelly plain of Hell below. ..venom on their weapons, and venom on their dress, and on their hands and feet and on everything they touched."

Uarad Garad. [I] Sometimes Uarin Garaid. A river in Connacht where Conall Cearnach (in some versions, Mac cecht) fills his cup to take water back to Conaire Mor at the time of the "Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel."

Uathach. [I] Daughter of Scathach, the female champion who ran a school of martial arts in Alba. The name means "spectre." She is usually referred to as "Uathach of the Glen." When Cuchulainn arrived at Scathach's fortress, it was Uathach who let him in. While she was serving food to him, Cuchulainn forgot his strength and broke her finger in taking the dish from her hand. Her scream brought Cochar Crufe, her lover, to champion her. He challenged Cuchulainn to combat and Cuchulainn slew him. In reparation Cuchulainn had to accept Cochar Crufe's duties as guardian of Dun Scathach. Uathach became Ctichulainn's mistress.

Uath Mac Imoman. [I] "Horror, son of Terror." During the story of "Bricriu's Feast," Cuchulainn, Laoghaire, and Conall are sent to Oath's lake, where Uath dwelt, so that he should judge which of them was the greatest warrior in Ireland. Uath is said to have been able to transform himself into any shape that pleased him. Uath asked the warriors to submit to a test. They could take his axe and cut off his head, provided that he could cut theirs off the next day in turn. This is also the basic theme of the tale of" Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and may well be the source for the later Welsh version. In the Red Branch Cycle, Cu RoI also makes the same challenge. In the Uath tale there are two versions as to what happens. In one, both laoghaire and Conall refuse on the grounds that they had not the power to remain alive when Uath cut their heads off, but they knew that Uath, being a sirite (elfman), had such power. The other version says that they did cut off Uath's head, but when he picked it up and replaced it, they refused to return the next day to receive Uath's stroke.
In both versions only Cuchulainn agreed to the conditions. When Uath came to cut off Cuchulainn's head, the blade of the axe reversed, whereupon Uath hailed him as the true champion of Ireland. laoghaire and Conall refuse to accept the judgment. There are other variants of the tale apart from the Uath and Cu Roi versions, including one in which a nameless churl presents himself at Bricriu's hall and challenges all the warriors of Ulster along the same lines. This, of course, is much closer to the story recounted in "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" (ca. 1370), in which a green giant bursts into Arthur's court on horseback and dares the knights to chop off his head on the condition that one year later he be allowed to return the blow. Gawain takes the role of Cuchulainn.

Ugaine Mar. [I] Sometimes given as Ugony Mor. A High King in the sixth century B,C. His rule is reponed to have included all of Ireland and also Gaul. He married Cesair, a Gaulish princess, and their children were laoghaire lorc and Cobhthach. On his death Ireland was divided into 25 parts among his children, and that division of Ireland lasted three hundred years. The number 25 frequently appears in the myths; there are 25 battalions of the Fianna, and, according to Seathrun Ceitinn, originally 25 dioceses in the country.

Ui Corra. [I] Lochan, Emne, and Silvester were three heroes of the Ui Corra who went on a voyage among strange and exotic islands. Scholars suggest that the composition of this story seems to date from the sixth century A.D. and it was written for Christian moral edification.

Uigreann. [I] Sometimes Uirgriu. He was slain by Fionn Mac Cumhail, and his five sons sought vengeance on Fionn, each casting a spear at him, so it was said that all five killed him. It was also significant that Fionn was one of the five masters of every art, the numeral having special significance.

Uillin. [I] A grandson of Nuada who is said to have drowned Manannan Mac Lir in Loch Corrib and given his name to Moycullin, Co. Galway.

Uisneach. [I] The name is often used as a synonym for Usna. There is also the Hill of Uisneach (formerly Balor's Hill), which was thought to be the exact centre of the country, "the navel of Ireland," where the great Stone of Divisions (Aill na Mirenn) stood, marking the joining of the five provinces of Ireland. The actual site is near Rathconrath, Co. Westmeath. Tuathal Teachtmhair built one of his four great palaces here, and one of the three major festivals of Ireland was held here. St. Patrick was said to have cursed the stones here, while Geoffrey of Monmouth claims that Stonehenge, in Britain, was built by Merlin, who took the stones from "Mount Killarus," which is identified as Uisneach.

Ulaid. [I] Dative form Ulaidh. Ulster. The ancient province and kingdom covers approximately the same geographical boundaries as the modern province, though this province must not be confused with the political province of Northern Ireland, which includes only six out of the nine Ulster counties. These six counties (Antrim, Armagh, Down, Derry, Fermanagh, and Tyrone) were partitioned from the rest of Ulster and Ireland in 1921. Cos. Cavan, Monaghan, and Donegal also form part of the province of Ulster . Rudraidhe, son of Partholon, was said to have founded the royal house of Ulster, and the people were sometimes known as Clan Rudraidhe and as Rudricans. The capital was Emain Macha (Navan), two miles west of Armagh. The heroes of Ulster are more widely known than those of the other provinces because of the tremendous popularity of the Red Branch or Ulster Cycle. Tradition has dated the decline of this kingdom as a significant power to the time of Cormac Mac Art (A.D. 254-277). But some records show that the change in its fortunes was brought about by the northern expansion of the family of Niall of the Nine Hostages (ca. A.D. 379), which is the Ui Neill dynasty.

Ullan. [I] Husband of Tuireann, sister of Fionn Mac Cumhail. He had an affair with a druidess who became jealous of his wife and changed Tuireann into a bitch-dog. In this form she gave birth to Sceolan and Bran, who became Fionn's faithful hounds. Ullan promised the druidess that he would go with her if she turned his wife back into human shape.

Ulster. See UIaid. Ulster Cycle. See Red Branch Cycle. Ultonia. Latin name for Ulster. Uma. [I] Son of Remanfissech. Umai. [I] One of the nine best pipers in the world. Uman-Sruth. [I] The bronze stream. Cuchulainn possessed a spear named Cletine with which he had slain many warriors and that Medb of Connacht coveted. She asked a bard to go to Cuchulainn and request the spear on the grounds that one must never refuse a gift demanded by a poet. The bard and Cuchulainn were standing by a stream when the bard made his request. Cuchulainn was so enraged that he flung the spear at the poet. It pierced the man's head and the force broke the bronze (umal), which fell into the stream, giving it its name.

Underwater. There are several stories in Celtic myth of human beings taken underwater by the gods who were then able to return to the surface unharmed. Numerous submerged cities, fortresses, towns, and even kingdoms are a peculiar part of Celtic folklore. In the Book of the Dun Cow there is a story of the flooding of Lough Neagh by Ecca. A woman survives the flooding and lives under the waves, in her house, with her dog, for a year. Bored by the existence, she changes into a salmon and lives for three hundred years until rescued by Congall, who names her Muirgen, "born of the sea." Ruadh and Mael Duin also visit underwater kingdoms. The Cothulin Druith, placed on the head, enables humans to live underwater .

Underworld. See Otherworld.

Undry. [I] Sometimes Uinde (an act of beholding). The enchanted cauldron of the Dagda in which everyone found food in proportion to their merits and from which no worthy person went away hungry.

Urddawl Ben. [W] The Venerable Head. Also referred to as Uther Ben, "wonderful head." The head of Bran as invoked by Taliesin.

Urias. [I] "Of the Noble Nature." He dwelt in the city of Gorias, one of the four fabulous cities from which the De Danaan originated. He was steeped in wisdom.

Urien. [W] A sixth century A.D. king of Rheged (Cumbria or Strath-Clota) celebrated by Taliesin. He defeated the Anglo-Saxons at Argoed Llwyfain. The Anglo-Saxon leader was called Fflanddwyn (Flame-bearer) by the Celts. Urien's son was Elffin, who discovered Taliesin in a river and thus plays his part in myth. Urien is also claimed as the father of Owain, the Arthurian warrior who features in "The Dream of Rhonabwy" and in the story of the Lady of the Fountain.

Ursceal. Old Irish ursgeul A saga or romance. Usna. [I] Variously given as Uisliu, Usnach, Uisneach, and Usnagh. He was the husband of Ebhla. Ebhla was the daughter of the druid Cathbad and of Maga, a daughter of the love god Aonghus Og. Usna and Ebhla had three sons, the Red Branch heroes Naoise, Ainle, and Ardan, who feature in the tragic tale "The Exile of the Sons of Usna." It is the oldest of the famous "Three Sorrows of Story-telling." See Deirdre and Naoise.

Uthechair. [I] Hornskin. Father of the Red Branch champion Celtchair. Uthr Bendragon. [W] In Geoffrey of Monmouth's story about the conception of Arthur, Uthr Bendragon (Pendragon) is named as Arthur's father. Aided by Merlin's magic, Uthr visited Igerna, wife of Gorlois of Cornwall, in the form of her husband and made love to her. Arthur was the result of this union.