Ireland
(Irish)
Special Mention
227
Ó Raghallaigh, Colmán (text)
Reynolds, Barry (illus.)
The Cartooon Saloon (prod.)
Merigeau, Adrien (col.)
Burchartz, Roxanne (letter.)
An Táin (The Táin)
Clár Chlaínne Mhuírís : Cló Mhaigh Eo,
2006. – [44] p.
ISBN 1-899922-28-8
Connaught – Ulster – Queen –Envy – Bull – War – Death
»An Táin«, aka »Táin Bó Cúailnge« (The Cattle Raid of Cooley), is the central
tale in the Ulster Cycle, one of the four great epic cycles that make up the
surviving corpus of Irish mythology. By retelling this ancient story in
graphic novel format, popular Irish author Colmán Ó Raghallaigh makes an
important and exciting mythical tale come alive for young readers today.
Accompanied by a sparse text full of dialogue, the energetic, angular
watercolour-and-ink illustrations in subdued colours relate how Connaught
Queen Méabh, jealous of her husband’s wealth, starts a war against Ulster to
steal the precious bull Donn Cuailnge and thus increase her own riches.
Although the Ulster teenage hero Cú Chulainn summons up all his strength and
cunning and slays half of the Queen’s army, he cannot prevent her from
temporarily obtaining the bull. Years later, Méabh takes revenge for the
horrible bloodshed and ends Cú Chulainn’s life by resorting to trickery. (12+)
(Oireachtas na Gaeilge Irish Language Book of the Year award for Young People;
2006)