Connla or Conlaoch is a character in the Ulster Cycle

Ulster Cycle

The Ulster Cycle , formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, one of the four great cycles of Irish mythology, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the traditional heroes of the Ulaid in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly counties Armagh, Down and...

 of Irish mythology

Irish mythology

The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...

, the son of the Ulster champion Cú Chulainn

Cú Chulainn

Cú Chulainn or Cúchulainn , and sometimes known in English as Cuhullin , is an Irish mythological hero who appears in the stories of the Ulster Cycle, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore...

 and the Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 warrior woman Aífe

Aífe

Aífe is a character from the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She appears in the sagas Tochmarc Emire and Aided Óenfhir Aífe . In Tochmarc Emire she lives east of a land called Alpi, usually understood to mean Alba , where she is at war with a rival warrior-woman, Scáthach...

. He was raised alone by his mother in Scotland. He appears in the story Aided Óenfhir Aífe

Aided Óenfhir Aífe

Aided Óenfhir Aífe is a story from the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology.It is a sequel to Tochmarc Emire , in which the Ulaid hero Cú Chulainn, while training in arms overseas, left the warrior princess Aífe pregnant...

(The Tragic Death of Aífe's Only Son), a pre-tale to the great epic Táin Bó Cúailnge

Táin Bó Cúailnge

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...

.

Connla was conceived after Cú Chulainn, in the service of his teacher Scáthach

Scáthach

Scáthach is a figure in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She is a legendary Scottish warrior woman and martial arts teacher who trains the legendary Ulster hero Cú Chulainn in the arts of combat...

, defeats Aífe in battle. When he returns to Ireland, Cú Chulainn requests that his son be sent to him when he comes of age, but puts three geasa on him. To fulfill these conditions, Connla cannot turn back once he starts his journey, he must not refuse a challenge, and must never tell anyone his name.
During his journey, Conlaoch comes upon Dún Dealgán

Dundalk

Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...

, Cú Chulainn's home, and is met by the warrior Conall Cernach

Conall Cernach

Conall Cernach is a hero of the Ulaidh in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He is said to have always slept with the head of a Connachtman under his knee. His epithet is normally translated as "victorious" or "triumphant", although it is an obscure word, and some texts struggle to explain it...

. When asked his name and lineage, he refuses to answer and is challenged to a duel. Connla disarms Conall, humiliating him. Cú Chulainn then approaches Connla, asking the same question. Connla responds by saying, "Yet if I were not under a command, there is no man in the world to whom I would sooner tell it then to yourself, for I love your face." Despite the compliment, Cú Chulainn challenges Connla. In the ensuing duel, Cú Chulainn is so pressed by his son's skill at arms that the famous "hero-light" transfigures his features. From this Connla knew his father, and cast aside his weapons. Cú Chulainn's wife Emer

Emer

Emer , in modern Irish Éimhear, or, erroneously, Eimhear or Éimear, daughter of Forgall Monach, is the wife of the hero Cú Chulainn in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology.-Tochmarc Emire "The Wooing of Emer":...

, who has discovered Connla's identity, also tries to warn Cú Chulainn that he is fighting his own son, but to no avail. Cú Chulainn casts Gae Bulg

Gáe Bulg

The Gáe Bulg , meaning "spear of mortal pain/death spear", "gapped/notched spear", or "belly spear", was the name of the spear of Cúchulainn in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology...

, his invincible spear made of sea monster's bones, fatally wounding Connla. In dying, Connla finally speaks his name, and praises the valor of Ireland's fighting men. Cú Chulainn, realizing he has killed his own son, is stricken by grief.