Is Mór a Dealbh: Queen Maedhbh of Connacht Artwork

For the Rest of Us

A podcast exploring the stories of figures minimized in mythology and folklore across the full spectrum of humanity. I present and discuss the queens, the hags, the queer folks, and everyone left behind by the warrior ethos that has dominated recent western thought. This podcast is suitable for pagans and non-pagans. All those who have a curious mind are welcome to expand their understanding of the divine and of the people who have worshiped them.

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For the Rest of Us

Is Mór a Dealbh: Queen Maedhbh of Connacht

June 01, 2026 • Julian • Season 1 • Episode 5

0:00 | 32:18

An exploration of one of the heroes of the Táin Bó Cuailgne (The Cattle Raid of Cooley), Queen Maedhbh of Connacht, said to be the driving force of the war between Connacht and Ulster. But was she? And what's more, was she successful? Is she a soverignity goddess, or simply an Irish heroine?

Want to hear or read the Táin?

The Tain by Thomas Kinsella

Fireside, a podcast by Kevin C. Olohan available also on any podcast player. Ulster Cycle begins at episode Conchobar and The Pangs of Ulster, posted Nov 6th 2019 and continues through the next several episodes.

Other resources used:

"And thus I will it": Queen Medh and the Will to Power by Edyta Lehmann, Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium, Vol 28 (2008), pp. 142-151

The Dream of Oengus

Aided Meidbe - The Violent Death of Maeve. Translation by Vernam Hull, published in Speculum. v.13 issue 1. (Jan. 1938), pp 52-61 (as published on Mary Jones' Celtic Literature Collective). Posted at Storyarchaeology.com

Live Irish Myths episode 51: Queen Medb, Mythical Ireland

Ireland: A Journey into Lost Time by P.A. Ó Síocháin

Carrowkeel.com

Banríon Méabh at Duchas.ie

Inis Clodhrann at Duchas.ie

Medb's Men, or, The Battle of the Boyne. Book of Lecan, 351b-353a. "Cath Boinde." Eriu. v.2 pp. 173-185. Joseph O'Neill

Dictionary of Irish Biography: Walker, Roger Chambers. by Martin A Timoney.