The Original Designer Dog – The Irish Wolfhound
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By Lee Connor
First names are so vital because they identify you, and surnames are doubly important because they provide a link back to the homeland and origins of people throughout the centuries.
My surname is quite obviously Irish; ‘Connor’ is the anglicized version of the Gaelic, Conchobhar which means, rather fittingly in my case, “lover of hounds”.
The Irish are (in)famous for their storytelling and my Grandfather was particularly adept at this skill. Telling us captivated children, who so eagerly gathered around him, that we were the descendants of Irish kings and how they had fought in mighty battles!
One of these descendants, he claimed, was the High King of Ulster, who also happened to be featured in a well-known Irish legend which went something like this; a young lad called Sentanta arrived at the court of the King of Ulster, but before he could enter, he was attacked by a huge hound that was keeping guard. Sentanta killed the enormous dog by driving a sliothar (a ball used in the Irish game of hurling) down its throat and smashing its head against a rock. To compensate its regal owner for the loss, he offered to take its place. He took the name, Cu Chulainn – ‘the hound of Chulann’.
He was later credited in numerous ancient sagas of killing an ‘unaccountable horde’ of huge dogs in battle.
And there are many accounts of these massive hounds scattered throughout Irish mythology.
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Short URL: https://caninechronicle.com/?p=206460
Posted by AnthonyA
on Jul 13 2021. Filed under Current Articles, Featured.
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