 The story deals with the themes of provincial rivalry between Ulster and Connacht, communal feasting and the heroic contest over the curadmír, and includes elements which show parallels with older Gaulish and pan-Celtic traditions. Although apparently the quintessential Ulster Cycle story in many respects, the tale's composition also displays a sophisticated satiric quality as a parody of the genre. The story was apparently popular in the Middle Ages and later times, and became the subject of a number of independent poems. The central figure of the pig has parallels with the great boars of Welsh-language literature and the Matter of Britain, particularly Twrch Trwyth in the 11th-century Welsh story of Culhwch and Olwen.
