The Triumphant
Laoghaire Buadhach — “Laoghaire the Triumphant” — was the third champion of Ulster, ranked behind Cú Chulainn and Conall Cernach in the explicit Ulster warrior hierarchy. He was a genuine warrior of the first rank — present throughout the Ulster Cycle’s set-piece warrior-ranking episodes, consistently significant, never first.
His clearest moment is the Beheading Game. A giant came to Emain Macha and challenged the warriors to a reciprocal beheading contest. Laoghaire volunteered first — which took courage — beheaded the giant, and then fled when the giant survived and returned for his turn. That moment defined him: he went first, which Conall Cernach did not, and he ran, which Cú Chulainn did not. He was braver than Conall Cernach, and less so than Cú Chulainn, which is exactly the tradition’s ranking made physical.
He appears in Bricriu’s Feast and the Champion’s Portion dispute — the same events that established the Ulster warrior hierarchy. His wife was Fedelm Noíchrothach — “Fedelm of the Nine Beauties.”
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