(; "the driving-off of cows of
Cooley", commonly known as
The Cattle Raid of Cooley or
The Táin) is a legendary tale from
early Irish literature, often considered an
epic, although it is written primarily in prose rather than verse. It tells of a war against
Ulster by the
Connacht queen
Medb and her husband
Ailill, who intend to steal the stud bull
Donn Cuailnge, opposed only by the teenage Ulster hero
Cú Chulainn.