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A summary of the Irish Ulster Cycle myth The Destruction of Dá Derga’s Hostel (Togail Bruidne Dá Derga) as translated by Whitley Stokes in 1910.
The tragic tale of The Destruction of Dá Derga’s Hostel begins with the high king Eochaid Feidlech, who encounters the ethereal Etáin by a well.
From their union and subsequent generations of elven-tinged lineage comes Conaire Mór, a king destined for greatness but shackled by a complex series of geasa (sacred taboos).
Conaire’s reign was a Golden Age; it was said that from mid-spring to mid-autumn, no wind even disturbed a cow’s tail.
However, his downfall is engineered by his own mercy.
When his rebellious foster-brothers turn to marauding, Conaire banishes them to Alba (Great Britain) instead of executing them.
There, they ally with the one-eyed pirate Ingcél and eventually return to Ireland to wreak “a destruction for a destruction.”
The tragedy unfolds as Conaire is forced by circumstances to break his taboos one by one.
Driven by magical mists and eerie sightings of “Three Reds” riding toward a house of Red, he seeks refuge in the sprawling Hostel of Dá Derga.
The saga then shifts to a “mechanical symmetry” as Ingcél spies on the hostel, describing the heroes within to the reavers.
We see the terrifying Mac cecht, Conaire’s battle-soldier, whose knees look like mountains and whose flickering sword resembles a sunlit stream, and the legendary Conall Cernach, with his multicolored eyes and curly mane.
The ensuing battle is a blood-soaked siege.
Despite the superhuman prowess of Conaire and his champions, the King is overcome by a magical, scorching thirst.
Mac cecht ventures across Ireland to find water, only to find every river and lake dried up by elven sorcery.
He finally returns with a cup of water, but arrives too late—two reavers are beheading the King.
In a haunting final scene, Mac cecht pours water into the throat of the severed head, and the head of Conaire Mór speaks, praising his soldier’s loyalty.
The story concludes with Conall Cernach returning home, his shield-arm pierced by thrice fifty spears, testifying to the brutal end of a noble reign.