Sep 24, 2026 · 27 min · 8 segments
Irish mythology is thick with prophecy, the inescapable visions of blonde-haired prophets and the geasa laid on heroes that bring doom when broken. So join us on a journey that takes us from the…
Ciaran ConliffeHost
Prophecy is a common occurrence in Irish mythology, usually comes in two forms, geasa and faschina.
A geas is a rule that someone is told they cannot break or disaster will befall them.
They were commonly laid on kings as a way of binding up their bad luck, but other people often had them as well.
Because he gained his name by killing a dog, for example, the hero Cú Chulainn had a geas that he could not eat dog meat.
He also gained a geas that he could not refuse any food offered to him by a woman, and of course, the two combined to spell his doom when a woman offered him a meal of dog meat.
This was the usual role of a geas in a story, to be broken as part of the inevitable march towards tragedy.
In the story, Conchobar is the son of Nemdhann, a mysterious divine bird god who visits his mother.
No other sources mentioning Nemdhann survive, but here he does exactly what Zeus does in Greek mythology: conceives a son with another man's wife, then gives that son guidance towards glory.
In this case, Nemdhann visits the young Conchobar and lays several geasa upon him, then steers him towards Tara, where an ancient ritual has just been held to determine the new king.
Then he slept while being prayed over, and he would dream of the new High King.
Conchobar arrives in exactly the form of the prophetic dream, and he is given the throne.
His reign is long and peaceful, but fate eventually conspires to have him break several of his geasa, such as one forbidding him from hunting birds.
Eventually, he is traveling to Dá Derga's guest house when he sees three men dressed in red on the road before him.
He realized that he has broken the last of his geasa, to not follow three red men to the house of a red man.
The three men are his foster brothers, who he condemned for their crimes and exiled to Britain.
They have returned with an army of bandits, and as he is in Dá Derga's house, they attack and set it on fire.
Between them, they kill hundreds of the attackers before Conchobar's bad fortune afflicts him with a magical thirst.
All of the water has been used to put out the fire, so Mac Cecht breaks through the enemy lines to fetch him a drink.
Because of the broken geas, all the rivers he passes refuse to give him water.
Prophecy is a common occurrence in Irish mythology, usually comes in two forms, geasa and faschina.
A geas is a rule that someone is told they cannot break or disaster will befall them.
They were commonly laid on kings as a way of binding up their bad luck, but other people often had them as well.
Because he gained his name by killing a dog, for example, the hero Cú Chulainn had a geas that he could not eat dog meat.
He also gained a geas that he could not refuse any food offered to him by a woman, and of course, the two combined to spell his doom when a woman offered him a meal of dog meat.
This was the usual role of a geas in a story, to be broken as part of the inevitable march towards tragedy.
In the story, Conchobar is the son of Nemdhann, a mysterious divine bird god who visits his mother.
No other sources mentioning Nemdhann survive, but here he does exactly what Zeus does in Greek mythology: conceives a son with another man's wife, then gives that son guidance towards glory.
In this case, Nemdhann visits the young Conchobar and lays several geasa upon him, then steers him towards Tara, where an ancient ritual has just been held to determine the new king.
Then he slept while being prayed over, and he would dream of the new High King.
Conchobar arrives in exactly the form of the prophetic dream, and he is given the throne.
His reign is long and peaceful, but fate eventually conspires to have him break several of his geasa, such as one forbidding him from hunting birds.
Eventually, he is traveling to Dá Derga's guest house when he sees three men dressed in red on the road before him.
He realized that he has broken the last of his geasa, to not follow three red men to the house of a red man.
The three men are his foster brothers, who he condemned for their crimes and exiled to Britain.
They have returned with an army of bandits, and as he is in Dá Derga's house, they attack and set it on fire.
Between them, they kill hundreds of the attackers before Conchobar's bad fortune afflicts him with a magical thirst.
All of the water has been used to put out the fire, so Mac Cecht breaks through the enemy lines to fetch him a drink.
Because of the broken geas, all the rivers he passes refuse to give him water.
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