Ferdiad
Fer Diad, Ferdia, Fear Diadh, Fer-diád, Ferdéadh
[cf. fer diad, man of smoke]
Sometimes bears the epithet Conganchness [of skin like horn]. Friend and sworn brother of Cúchulainn, beguiled by Medb to fight against Cúchulainn in the war for the bull Donn Cuailnge in Táin Bó Cuailnge [Cattle Raid of Cooley]. According to several texts, the two men had been closely bound to one another since they were given military training together by the amazonian Scáthach on the Isle of Skye. Even after his beguiling by Medb, who promises him her daughter among other things, Ferdiad is hesitant to fight Cúchulainn until he is driven to anger by the gibes and insults of Láeg, Cúchulainn's charioteer. The reluctant three-day battle between Ferdiad and Cúchulainn is, for many readers, the emotional climax of the Táin. Clad in impenetrable hornskins, Ferdiad is almost invulnerable, but Cúchulainn dispatches him with his spear, Gáe Bolga, the weapon against which no man can stand. The ford in the River Dee where this was thought to have taken place was called Aacute;th Fhirdia(d) [ford of Ferdia], now Ardee, Co. Louth.
Modern commentators have asserted that the origin of Ferdiad's character pre-dates the composition of the Táin, even though he is assigned a father, Damán, and a heritage. According to T. F. O'Rahilly (1946), Ferdiad's martial skills in defence of Connacht suggest a link with the Domnainn of what is now north-west Co. Mayo. In Dáithí Ó hÓgáin's view (1991), the Clann (or Fir) Dedad may have fancifully been associated with the Dee River and Áth Fhirdia(d) before the Táin was composed. Not to be confused with Fer Ferdiad, another name for Fer Fidail.
