Onchú

An onchú is a mythical Irish animal. It is listed in the 12th Century 'Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib (The War of the Irish with the Foreigners) amongst the venomous beasts. A noted onchú is mentioned in Cathréim Cellaig (Cellach's Victory). It once terrorised the land between Loch Con and Loch Cuilin. The hero Muiredach (brother of the murdered Cellach of Killala) chased it into a lake and killed it after it had killed several of his party. A suggested, but uncertain, etymology of its name is that on is water and cú is dog and thus water-dog. It has been used as a heraldic device including on the battle flag of the Irish in 1595. Williams (1989) suggests that the enfield on the crest of the O'Kelly's is derived from the onchú.[1][2][3]

The coat of arms of the O Kelly of Ui Maine, featuring a green enfield as the crest

References
  1. Ruickbie, Leo (2016) The Impossible Zoo: An Encyclopedia of Fabulous Beasts and Mythical Monsters, Publisher:Little, Brown Book Group
  2. Williams, N. J. A. (1989). "Of Beasts and Banners the Origin of the Heraldic Enfield". The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. 119: 62–78. JSTOR 25508971.
  3. Pettit, Edward (2016). "Three variations on the theme of the dog-headed spear in medieval Irish: Celtchar's lúin, Conall Cernach's Derg Drúchtach, Lugaid's flesc". Studia Hibernica (42): 65–96. doi:10.3828/sh.2016.2. JSTOR 26451155.
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