Deirdre

Deirdre is a name that comes down to us from Irish Mythology; its ancient Gaelic version is typically rendered as Derdriu. The name’s meaning isn’t entirely certain, but many etymologies believe it’s derived from a very old Celtic word meaning, quite simply, “woman”. Often referred to “Deirdre of the Sorrows”, hers is a tragic love story. Best remembered as the ill-fated wife of Ulster’s illustrious King Conchobhar, Deirdre would ultimately die of a broken heart. Here’s how it all went down: One day King Conchobhar attended a celebratory feast in his honor given by Femlin, one of his lords of Ulster. During the merriment, a messenger arrived with news that Femlin’s wife had just given birth to a baby girl. As the men drank to the baby’s health, a Druid was sent to predict the child’s future. The Druid revealed that the baby would grow to be the fairest of all the women of Ireland but that she would marry a king and bring ruin upon the kingdom of Ulster! As a precautionary measure, King Conchobhar decided to take the baby (whom he named Deirdre), hide her safely away and make her his own wife when she reached marriageable age. This way, no foreign king could have her and the kingdom of Ulster would be thus protected. Or so he thought. As Deidre grew older and the wedding day neared, she became repulsed by the aged king who was to become her husband. Instead, she fell in love with the king’s nephew, a handsome warrior named Naoise. At first, Naoise tried to reject the girl’s advances knowing she was promised to the king, but her beauty overpowered him. The two young lovers eloped and escaped to Scotland where they lived blissfully in exile. Conchobhar was having none of this, however, so he tricked the couple into returning to Ulster under the guise of forgiveness. Of course he immediately had Naoise put to death for his treason. Deirdre was forced to marry Conchobhar but she steadfast refused to look at him or even smile for a year. When the king finally asked her what she hated most of all, she answered: “Thou thyself. And Éogan son of Duracht” (Éogan being the king’s servant who had killed Naoise). Whether as an act of malicious revenge or a reaction to his own wounded pride, Conchobhar sentenced Deirdre to be with Éogan for a year. On her way to her next cruel fate, Deirdre threw herself out of the chariot, hurled her head against a rock, and died instantly (effectively ending her own long suffering). According to Irish legend, two yew trees sprung from the separate gravesites of Deirdre and Naoise and grew so tall that their limbs intertwined over either side of a church remaining together for eternity. King Conchobhar’s ruthless treatment of Deirdre and Naoise doesn’t exactly cast him in the most attractive of lights; it was his desire for Deirdre that proved his ultimate downfall. Just as the Druid forewarned. In any case, you gotta love the Irish for their colorful mythologies.