Page 53 - Demo

Chapter two 53
“Ferdia Falls at the Hand of Cuchulain”, illustration by Stephen Reid from Eleanor Hull’s The Boys’ Cuchulainn, 1904
The ford where Cúchulainn slew Ferdia is situated on the old river Nith, now the Dee, and was afterwards known as Atha Fhirdiadh-Ferdia’s Ford. The present form Ardee, in coun- ty Louth, is a modern contraction by early English writers. In the aftermath of Ferdia’s demise, Cúchulainn himself expired. One account tells:
‘Cúchulainn died as a hero should-on the battle-ield, with his back to a rock and his face to the foe, buckler on arm, and spear in hand. He died standing, and in that deiant atti- tude, supported by the rock, was many days dead ere the enemy dared venture near enough to reassure themselves of his exit, which they did only when they saw the vultures, and in particular, the totem crow, the symbol of the Morrigan alight upon him, and undisturbed, peck at his lesh.’
Statue of Cuchulainn by Oliver Sheppard in the window of the GPO, Dublin - com- memorating the 1916 Rising