Caol
[Irish, slender].
The Fenian hero and lover of Créd/Credhe; he sometimes bears the agnomen An Iarann [Irish, of iron] and cognomen Ua Nemhnainn. While courting Créd in the company of the Fianna, Cáel wins her by reciting a poem praising her possessions. After Cáel is killed at the battle of Ventry Harbour [Cath Fionntrágha] and his body was washed ashore, Créd lies down in his grave beside him, so great is her grief. The permanence of their love was cited by Caílte in Acallam na Senórach [Colloquy of the Elders] and has been the subject of a number of poems in Irish and English.
