Cú Chulainn killed his foster-brother Ferdia at the ford during the Táin Bó Cúailnge, using the Gáe Bolga after four days of combat. His lament over Ferdia's body — 'All was play, all was sport, until Ferdia came to the ford' — is among the most moving passages in Irish literature.
Ferdia trained alongside Cú Chulainn in the martial arts under Scáthach in the Land of Shadows, where the two warriors became foster-brothers and the closest of companions before fate set them against each other.
Medb goaded Ferdia into fighting Cú Chulainn at the ford with mockery, promises of her daughter Finnabair's hand, and accusations of cowardice — shaming him until he could not refuse the combat that would cost him his life.
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