# The Ulster Cycle with Prof. Ruairí Ó hUiginn

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-medieval-irish-history-podcast-6716519/the-ulster-cycle-with-prof-ruair-huiginn
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-medieval-irish-history-podcast-6716519/the-ulster-cycle-with-prof-ruair-huiginn.md
Podcast: [The Medieval Irish History Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-medieval-irish-history-podcast-6716519)
Published: 2026-02-13T14:39:16+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/medievalirishhistory/episodes/The-Ulster-Cycle-with-Prof--Ruair--hUiginn-e3f1vt5
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/ee5ac640/podcast/play/115457381/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-1-13%2F74be35c1-37c0-8fbc-acc2-35d1a121ad3f.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-medieval-irish-history-podcast-6716519/episodes/the-ulster-cycle-with-prof-ruair-huiginn
Duration seconds: 3321

## Resource

This week Prof. Ruairí Ó hUiginn (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies) gives us a masterclass on the Ulster Cycle and all the elements and stories that are part of it, including its most famous tale, Táin Bó Cuailgne (the Cattle Raid of Cooley). Known for its dramatic and complicated protagonists Fergus mac Roich, Cú Chulainn and Queen Medb, Prof. Ó hUiginn explains how this literature is not a monolith and has been added to and expanded for many centuries. He describes how many of these stories may have originally been cautionary tales condemning warfare (and women!) and that they can be valuable sources for the medieval historian. Suggested reading: Ó hUiginn, Ruairí, Marriage, Law and Tochmarc Emire (Cambridge, 2013) Toner, G., ‘The Ulster Cycle: Historiography or fiction?’, Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies (2000), 1–20 Allen, N. J., 'Cú Chulainn's women and some Indo-European comparisons', Emania 18, 57–64 Regular episodes every two weeks (on a Friday) Email: medievalirishhistory@gmail.com Producer: Tiago Veloso Silva Supported by the Dept of Early Irish, Maynooth University & Taighde Éireann/Research Ireland. Views expressed are the speakers' own. Logo design: Matheus de Paula Costa Music: Lexin_Music

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-medieval-irish-history-podcast-6716519/episodes/the-ulster-cycle-with-prof-ruair-huiginn/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-medieval-irish-history-podcast-6716519/the-ulster-cycle-with-prof-ruair-huiginn.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.