Death of Conchobar

      You mix the lime with the brain-ball. Seriously. In the short story of the Death of Conchobar, the most prized trophy a warrior could walk away with was a brain-ball from their opponent.  Conchobar, the king of Ulster at the time was in possession of Meis- Geghra’s brain. When not being cared for properly, Cet, a man from Connaught stole it to give him the upper hand against Ulster.
     The two main characters in the Death of Conchobar is Conchobar himself and Cet. Cet is a one-track mind kind of person who wanted to defeat Ulster using the brain of Meis-Geghra. Conchobar is a man of many different characteristics that seem to clash with each other. He’s impulsive and arrogant yet he has a good amount of morale courage. Conchobar’s arrogance put him in a seat for 7 years when trying to show off to women in the middle of a fight with Connaught. When he found out that Christ had been crucified, his impulsion in avenging Christ in an unstable condition killed him. His morals were important enough to fight and die for.
     Some of the themes in this story could be levels of importance or the role of a king, Christianity vs. Paganism, and how someone’s decisions can affect their lives. Conchobar’s decisions with going after brain after Connaught stole it, showing off to Connaught’s women, and trying to avenge the death of Christ were all factors in his downfall. The fact that Conchobar’s people chose to keep him alive and disfigured rather than let him die was all part of his importance. Conchobar was one of the only men who thought he believed in Christ even though he was Pagan. When Conchobar died, and Meis-Geghra’s brain fell from his head, the blood from the wound symbolically baptized him as a Christian. This allowed his soul to go to heaven and to be one of the first Irishmen to do so. He opened the door so other Irishmen could follow.
    Cet prevailed.