When he first took arms he led a foray against
Connacht. He was met on the border by the Connacht hero
Cet mac Mágach, who wounded him in the throat (or tip of the tongue) with a spear, giving him his speech impediment.[4][5]
The three most popular heroes with the women of
Ulster were Cúscraid,
Cúchulainn and
Conall Cernach. The women imitated the peculiarity of the hero they loved the most: Cúscraid's fans stammered, Conall's crooked their necks, and Cúchulainn's squinted one eye in imitation of his
warp spasm.[6]
After Conchobar's death, the Ulstermen invited his eldest son
Cormac Cond Longas to succeed him as king of Ulster, but Cormac was killed before he could take the throne. It was then offered to
Conall Cernach, who refused, recommending his foster-son Cúscraid instead, and Cúscraid became king.[7]
^Story of Mac Da Thó's Pig,
Chadwick 1927, ¶14 (p.13 text, p.21 trans.);
Meyer 1894, ¶14 (p.54 text, p.61 trans.) "..with a spear through thy throat..", etc.
^Coire Anmann #278 states Cet wounded Mend son of Sál-cholg 'Heel-sword' in the throat, and in #279 states " Cet wounded Cuscraid through his mouth, and shore off the point of his tongue, so that he was dumb (mend) thereafter."
Meyer, Kuno, ed. (1894), "The Story of Mac Dáthó's Pig and Hound", Hibernica Minora, Anecdota Oxoniensa, Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 51–64 (ed. & tr.) [Rawl. B 512, f. 105v.-]