Before There Was The Incredible Hulk, There Was Cú Chulainn: The Superhuman Of Irish Myth The legend of Cú Chulainn is among the most popular in Irish folklore. His epic is the center of many hallowed stories in the Ulster Cycle, a collection of first-century mythic legends in Irish literature. The mythical hero, gifted with great strength and fighting talent, and by some accounts considered a sort of Irish Hulk, lived only 17 years but made a mark on Ireland that survives to this day.