I have recently been re-reading the Irish mythology cycle, the [i]Tain [/i], and when I got to the story of Cuchulainn again (one of my favourites!) it struck me that the character of Sandor Clegane seems to (sort of) be a reference to him.
Cuchulainn:
~ nicknamed The Hound of Ulster (that's the obvious one)
~ associated with dogs/hounds from his early childhood
~ has loyal steeds, one of which stays with him to the death and fights violently for him (kills thirty men with his hooves and teeth before he dies)
~ in many versions, described as having dark longish hair, pale skin, and appearing lean but in fact being the strongest man alive
~ his face disfigures itself when he goes into his [i]riastrad[/i], his warp spasm/battle fury (though this is only temporary disfigurement, his otherwise handsome face is described as pretty hideous-looking at these times)
~ fated to die young and violently and outnumbered (but heroically, of course)
Sandor Clegane
~ nicknamed The Hound
~ also associated with dogs throughout the series and because of his house's sigil
~ has a loyal but tempermental stallion, Stranger, who is an effective warhorse
~ described as having a similar physical appearance---dark hair, leaner than his brother of course but incredibly strong
~ face horribly disfigured (permanently, but still gives him a fearsome otherworldy and monstrous visage in battle, along with his Hound helm)
~ while there is no specific prophecy regarding Sandor's fate, there doesn't really need to be one. A character like him is almost certainly doomed to die young. Whether Sandor dies "heroically" or not.....we'll just have to wait and see. :) *
Granted, these are all rather general similarites and I admit that I might be stretching certain things a bit, but I can't believe I hadn't thought of it before. Forgive me if someone else has already posted about this, its been a while since I read the first parts of this thread. Of course, there are obvious differences too. Sandor is a much more "real" character, whereas Cuchulainn, being mythological, always looms larger than life (he has a "hero light" shining about him, has many lovers, performs outrageous feats, etc). Sandor, despite his physical strength, is an anti-hero and is more "human", the better to fit into the shadowy greys of the world of ASoIaF than the more overtly heroic world of the [i]Tain[/i].
Nevertheless, I wonder GRRM intentionally referenced Cuchulainn in the character of the Hound or if I am just overly sensitive, being so obsessed with mythology as I am. Hmm....
* Incidentally, if anyone on here is unfamiliar with the story of Cuchulainn's death, please do check it out. Its an incredibly bad-ass/epic way for any warrior to go. If GRRM grants Sandor an exit even marginally akin to Cuchulainn's, it would be a fitting way for such an intense character to die. (Hence why I still can't believe that he's really dead yet!)