Description
In this drawing, the boy warrior CúChulainn races with his wolfhound, hurley, and sliothar in hand.
All Irish children are fascinated with the tales of the greatest hero of them all, CúChulainn, the Hound of Ulster. When CúChulainn was a young boy called Setanta he was attacked by a massive wolfhound and with only a hurley to defend himself he drove the sliothar (a rock hard ball made of layers of leather) into the skull of the hound. Little did he realize he had slain the fiercest hound in the land, a hound that was guard dog for a warrior called Chulan. Dismayed at the loss of his hound the warrior raged in anger but Setanta offered to take the place of the dog and protect Chulan, thus he became known as CúChulainn, meaning ‘The Hound of Chulan’.
This drawing, in pen and ink, was originally commissioned by Cityjet/Air France airline for use as a series of huge banners in the headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Croke Park, the home of our most popular games in Ireland -like Gaelic football and hurling.
It is time I did a painting in colour of this work.
anthony (verified owner) –
One with its master, the hound’s snout projects itself beyond the border of its ‘allotted’ reality, enhancing the sense of motion and movement through – & almost transcending – time and space. The boy, the man, the warrior and his hound, unaware of our voyeuristic presence.
Really love this drawing – a fabulously powerful creation!