Caílte mac Rónáin

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Caílte mac Rónáin, or Caoilte, is a hero in Irish mythology. He was Fionn mac Cumhaill’s nephew and a member of the Fianna, the warriors of the Fenian Cycle. He could run very fast, talk to animals, and tell stories. Some Fenian poems are said to be his.

In Finn and Gráinne, his ancestry is given as the son of Oisgen (or Conscen), the son of the Smith of Múscraige Dobrut, and a son of Cumall’s daughter.

Caílte’s closest survivor ally was Oisín. In The Battle of Gabhra, they are the last Fianna left alive after the final fight. Both appear in Acallam na Senórach (The Colloquy of the Ancients), where they tell stories to Saint Patrick.

In other legends, Cas Corach helps Caílte kill three werewolf-like creatures, the daughters of Airitech, who come from the Cave of Cruachan every Samhain to harm sheep. The she-wolves liked music, so Caoilte played a harp to lure them and help turn them back into humans, and then he killed them with a spear. Caílte also bears the sword Cruadh-Chosgarach, the Hard Destroying One.

The god Bodb Dearg, son of the Dagda, had a daughter named Scathniamh who loved Caílte. They were parted and did not meet again until Caílte was old and one of the last Fianna.

Caílte is referenced by poet W. B. Yeats in The Hosting of the Sidhe.