Cathach and Sisters
I’ve seen articles written about Cathach the dragon a few times. Each time her sisters were mentioned by name, but descriptions were never given for them. So I was determined to find out what her two draconic sisters also looked like.
The story starts with three Tuatha-De-Danann brothers, Crohan, Sal and Daltheen fighting a campaign against the boars of Ireland and successfully wipe them out but one. The last one, the All Devouring Sow, mates with the gatekeeper of hell and birthed three dragons in revenge, the sisters Cathach, Dabran and Farbagh. They were subsequently nursed by the red demon of Western Ireland.
Farbagh was the oldest of the sisters. She was a cat like dragon with a crescent moon on her forehead and a deadly nail on her tail. The three brothers slayed Farbagh by waiting for her to pounce from a height on them and skewering her on their spears as she landed.
When the three brothers returned home they were told a prophecy that their sister Aonbhean would marry Diarmuid O’Duibhne, a Milesian man. The three brothers were horrified by this. They built a great fort on an island to protect their sister from the Milesians. They then captured the dragon Dabran to guard the waters around the island. Dabran was a boar like serpent with sixty legs. She was large enough to coil herself around the island.
Meanwhile Diarmuid had finished his studies with the druid Angus. Angus gifted Diarmuid three objects, a ring that would warn him of Dabran’s presence, a candle that would force her into sleep and a spear that would return to him when thrown. Using the ring and the candle Diarmuid successfully snuck into the castle while Dabran slept. He rescued Aonbhean from her confinement and returned to his boat. However on the way back the candle burned out and Dabran woke up as they were crossing the straight back to the mainland. Diarmuid struck Dabran three times with his magic spear, killing her. Diarmuid returned to his home town with Aonbhean and was heard from no more.
The three brothers returned for their adventures abroad and found out Diarmuid had successfully carried away Aonbhean. When they learned this all three of them threw themselves into the ocean. Further worsening the situation, the youngest dragon sister, Cathach, learned that her two sisters had been killed. She travelled from her home on Scattery Island to the lands of the three brothers. However these lands were now inhabited by Christian Milesians, as the Tuatha-De-Danann had moved away in the brother’s absence.
Cathach was the most terrifying of the three dragon sisters. Her back was humped and island like, covered in armored scales. She had a mane of boar fur around her neck. Her head had a single burning eye, and a wide mouth filled with two rows of teeth. Her legs were short and hairy, and ended with two iron claws. Her tail was whale like, and had iron spikes along the side that carved furrows into the ground as she walked. She was just as capable in the water as she was on land. For many years Cathach tormented the south eastern coast of Ireland. Cathach was finally defeated by Saint Senan. He commanded her with prayers to leave Ireland. She was bound by the power of God to obey and has never returned.
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