And Elisa Maza mentions Holmes in the episode.) However, at times the 'black dogs' would serve as protectors, walking alongside travelers late at night and keeping them safe from harm.

(The Hound of the Baskervilles, whom Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created for his Sherlock Holmes stories, is a reflection of such legends. Their howling was said to serve as a death-omen, and sometimes the sight of them was horrible enough to kill whoever saw one.

(Indeed, in the original plans for 'The Hound of Ulster', this beast would have also been called a 'Barghest', an actual 'black dog'-like creature in the folklore of northern England.) However, it also echoes the actual legends about 'black dogs' found in the British Isles, who were said to serve as portents of doom. In this sense, the Hound of Ulster is an invention of Gargoyles. In the original Cu Chullain legends, the Hound of Ulster was actually Cu Chullain's title it was ascribed to him because of his faithful defense of Ulster, the kingdom of his uncle King Conchobar, and as an echo of his name 'Cu Chullain', meaning 'Hound of Culainn'. The Banshee mistook Bronx for the Hound of Ulster when he arrived in Ireland on the Avalon World Tour.

It was remembered in Ireland long after Cu Chullain's death, and even by the 1990s, tales were still told about the Great Beast it was said that to hear it baying meant trouble, and to see it was even worse. Also referred to as the Great Beast.Īccording to Greg Weisman, while Cu Chullain was protecting Ulster in the place of the 'Hound' (a gargoyle beast) he originally killed, he would also be raising and training a new 'Hound' (another gargoyle beast) to eventually take his place. The Hound of Ulster was a gargoyle beast of the Irish Clan in ancient Ireland who became a companion to Cu Chullain, and fought alongside him against the Banshee.

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