Art the Lonely
Art mac Cuinn — Art Óenfer, “Art the Lonely” — was the son of Conn of the Hundred Battles and the father of Cormac mac Airt. His reign was shaped from the start by his stepmother Mongfind, who used her influence to have him banished from Tara. He wandered Ireland alone for a year — hence the epithet, “Óenfer,” the solitary one — while Mongfind’s son Mac Con held the throne in his place.
He went on a quest to the Otherworld to retrieve a woman named Delbchaem — required of him by a supernatural bond placed on him by the otherworldly woman Bé Chuma, who had seduced him and then imposed the condition that Ireland would have no corn or milk until he brought Delbchaem back from the Land of Wonder. He crossed the sea to a supernatural island, fought through a series of trials, defeated Delbchaem’s monstrous parents, and won her.
He died at the Battle of Magh Mucrama, fighting Mac Con — the man Mongfind had put on his throne. The night before the battle, he knew he was not coming back. He found Achtan, the woman who was carrying his child, and gave her instructions: where to go, who to trust, how to keep the boy safe until he could claim what was his. Then he fought the battle.
Cormac mac Airt was born after his father’s death. He was raised in hiding, came to Tara as a young man, showed the wisdom of a true king, and was recognised. Art never saw any of it. The arrangements he made the night before Magh Mucrama were what made it possible.
Link/cite this page
If you use any of the content on this page in your own work, please use the code below to cite this page as the source of the content.
Link will appear as Art mac Cuinn: https://irishgodsandgoddesses.net - Irish Gods & Goddesses, March 22, 2026