Fionn mac Cumhaill
Fionn mac Cumhaill, sometimes anglicised Finn McCool or MacCool, is a hero in Irish mythology, as well as in later Scottish and Manx folklore. He is the leader of the Fianna bands of young roving hunter-warriors, as well as being a seer and poet. He is said to have a magic thumb that bestows him with great wisdom. He is often depicted hunting with his hounds Bran and Sceólang, and fighting with his spear and sword. The tales of Fionn and his fiann form the Fianna Cycle or Fenian Cycle, much of it narrated by Fionn's son, the poet Oisín.
Etymology
In Old Irish, finn/find means "white, bright, lustrous; fair, light-hued ; fair, handsome, bright, blessed; in moral sense, fair, just, true". It is cognate with Primitive Irish VENDO-, Welsh gwyn, Cornish gwen, Breton gwenn, Continental Celtic and Common Brittonic *-, and comes from the Proto-Celtic adjective masculine singular *windos.Irish legend
Fionn's birth and early adventures are recounted in the narrative The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn and other sources. Fionn was the posthumous son of Cumhall, leader of the Fianna, by Muirne.Fionn and his father Cumhall mac Trénmhoir stem from Leinster, rooted in the tribe of Uí Thairsig There is mention of the Uí Thairsig in the Lebor Gabála Érenn as one of the three tribes descended from the Fir Bolg.
His mother was called Muirne Muincháem "of the Fair Neck", the daughter of Tadg mac Nuadat and granddaughter of Nuadat the druid serving Cathair Mór who was high-king at the time, though she is described as granddaughter of Núadu of the Tuatha Dé Danann according to another source. Cumhall served Conn Cétchathach "of the Hundred Battles" who was still a regional king at Cenandos.
Cumhall abducted Muirne after her father refused him her hand, so Tadg appealed to the high king Conn, who outlawed Cumhall. The Battle of Cnucha was fought between Conn and Cumhall, and Cumhall was killed by Goll mac Morna, who took over leadership of the Fianna.
The feud
The Fianna were a band of warriors also known as a military order composed mainly of the members of two rival clans, "Clan Bascna" and "Clan Morna". The Fenians were supposed to be devoted to the service of the High King and to the repelling of foreign invaders. After the fall of Cumall, Goll mac Morna replaced him as the leader of the Fianna, holding the position for 10 years.Birth
Muirne was already pregnant; her father rejected her and ordered his people to burn her, but Conn would not allow it and put her under the protection of Fiacal mac Conchinn, whose wife, Bodhmall the druid, was Cumhall's sister. In Fiacal's house Muirne gave birth to a son, whom she called Deimne, literally "sureness" or "certainty", also a name that means a young male deer; several legends tell how he gained the name Fionn when his hair turned prematurely white.Boyhood
Fionn and his brother Tulcha mac Cumhal were being hunted down by Goll, the sons of Morna, and other men. Consequently, Finn was separated from his mother Muirne, and placed in the care of Bodhmall and the woman Liath Luachra, and they brought him up in secret in the forest of Sliabh Bladma, teaching him the arts of war and hunting. After the age of six, Finn learned to hunt, but still had cause to flee from the sons of Morna.As he grew older he entered the service – incognito – of a number of local kings, but each one, when he recognised Fionn as Cumhal's son, told him to leave, fearing they would be unable to protect him from his enemies.
Thumb of Knowledge
Fionn was a keen hunter and often hunted with Na Fianna on the hill of Allen in County Kildare, it is believed by many in the area that Fionn originally caught the Salmon of Knowledge in the River Slate that flows through Ballyteague. The secret to his success thereafter when catching "fish of knowledge" was to always cast from the Ballyteague side of a river. He gained what commentators have called the "Thumb of Knowledge" after eating a certain salmon, thought to be the Salmon of Knowledge. The account of this is given in The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn.Young Fionn, still known by his boyhood name Demne, met the poet Finn Éces, near the river Boyne and studied under him. Finnegas had spent seven years trying to catch the salmon that lived in Fec's Pool of the Boyne, for it was prophesied the poet would eat this salmon, and "nothing would remain unknown to him". Although this salmon is not specifically called the "Salmon of Knowledge", etc., in the text, it is presumed to be so, i.e., the salmon that fed on the of knowledge at the well of Segais. Eventually the poet caught it, and told the boy to cook it for him. While he was cooking it, Demne burned his thumb, and instinctively put his thumb in his mouth. This imbued him with the salmon's wisdom, and when Éces saw that he had gained wisdom, he gave the youngster the whole salmon to eat, and gave Demne the new name, Fionn.
Thereafter, whenever he recited the teinm láida with his thumb in his mouth, the knowledge he wished to gain was revealed to him.
In subsequent events in his life, Fionn was able to call on ability of the "Thumb of Knowledge", and Fionn then knew how to gain revenge against Goll. In the Acallam na Sénorach, the ability is referred to as "The Tooth of Wisdom" or "Tooth of Knowledge".
Fionn's acquisition of the Thumb of Knowledge has been likened to the Welsh Gwion Bach tasting the Cauldron of Knowledge, and Sigurðr Fáfnisbani tasting Fáfnir's heart.
Fire-breather of the Tuatha de Danann
One feat of Fionn performed at 10 years of age according to the Acallam na Senórach was to slay Áillen, the fire-breathing man of the Tuatha Dé Danann, who had come to wreak destruction on the Irish capital of Tara every year on the festival of Samhain for the past 23 years, lulling the city's men to sleep with his music then burning down the city and its treasures.When the King of Ireland asked what men would guard Tara against Áillen's invasion, Fionn volunteered. Fionn obtained a special spear from Fiacha mac Congha, which warded against the sleep-inducing music of Áillen's "dulcimer" when it was unsheathed and the bare steel blade was touched against the forehead or some other part of the body. This Fiacha used to be one of Cumall's men, but was now serving the high-king.
After Fionn defeated Áillen and saved Tara, his heritage was recognised and he was given command of the Fianna: Goll stepped aside, and became a loyal follower of Fionn, although a dispute later broke out between the clans over the pig of Slanga.
Almu as eric
Before Fionn completed the feat of defeating the firebrand of the fairy mound and defending Tara, he is described as a ten-year-old "marauder and an outlaw". It is also stated elsewhere that when Fionn grew up to become "capable of committing plunder on everyone who was an enemy", he went to his maternal grandfather Tadg to demand compensation for his father's death, on pain of single combat, and Tadg acceded by relinquishing the estate of Almu. Fionn was also paid éric by Goll mac Morna.Adulthood
Fionn's sword was called "Mac an Luinn".Love life
Fionn met his most famous wife, Sadhbh, when he was out hunting. She had been turned into a deer by a druid, Fear Doirich, whom she had refused to marry. Fionn's hounds, Bran and Sceólang, born of a human enchanted into the form of a hound, recognised her as human, and Fionn brought her home. She transformed back into a woman the moment she set foot on Fionn's land, as this was the one place she could regain her true form. She and Fionn married and she was soon pregnant. When Fionn was away defending his country, Fear Doirich returned and turned her back into a deer, whereupon she vanished. Fionn spent years searching for her, but to no avail. Bran and Sceólang, again hunting, found her son, Oisín, in the form of a fawn; he transformed into a child, and went on to be one of the greatest of the Fianna.In The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne the High King Cormac mac Airt promises the aging Fionn his daughter Gráinne, but at the wedding feast Gráinne falls for one of the Fianna, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, noted for his beauty. She forces him to run away with her and Fionn pursues them. The lovers are helped by the Fianna, and by Diarmuid's foster-father, the god Aengus. Eventually Fionn makes his peace with the couple. Years later, however, Fionn invites Diarmuid on a boar hunt, and Diarmuid is gored. Water drunk from Fionn's hands has the power of healing, but each time Fionn gathers water he lets it run through his fingers before he gets back to Diarmuid. His grandson Oscar shames Fionn, but when he finally returns with water it is too late; Diarmuid has died.
Death
According to the most popular account of Fionn's death, he is not dead at all, rather, he sleeps in a cave, surrounded by the Fianna. One day he will awake and defend Ireland in the hour of her greatest need. In one account, it is said that he will arise when the Dord Fiann, the hunting horn of the Fianna, is sounded three times, and he will be as strong and as well as he ever was.Popular folklore
Many geographical features in Ireland are attributed to Fionn. Legend has it he built the Giant's Causeway as stepping-stones to Scotland, so as not to get his feet wet; he also once scooped up part of Ireland to fling it at a rival, but it missed and landed in the Irish Sea – the clump became the Isle of Man, a pebble that flew off became Rockall, and the void became Lough Neagh. In Ayrshire, Scotland a common myth is that Ailsa Craig, a small islet just off coast of the said county, is another rock thrown at the fleeing Benandonner. The islet is sometimes referred to as "paddys' mile stone" in Ayrshire. Fingal's Cave in Scotland is also named after him, and shares the feature of hexagonal basalt columns with the nearby Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland.In both Irish and Manx popular folklore, Fionn mac Cumhail is portrayed as a magical, benevolent giant. The most famous story attached to this version of Fionn tells of how one day, while making a pathway in the sea towards Scotland – The Giant's Causeway – Fionn is told that the giant Benandonner is coming to fight him. Knowing he cannot withstand the colossal Benandonner, Fionn asks his wife Oona to help him. She dresses her husband as a baby, and he hides in a cradle; then she makes a batch of griddle-cakes, hiding griddle-irons in some. When Benandonner arrives, Oona tells him Fionn is out but will be back shortly. As Benandonner waits, he tries to intimidate Oona with his immense power, breaking rocks with his little finger. Oona then offers Benandonner a griddle-cake, but when he bites into the iron he chips his teeth. Oona scolds him for being weak, and feeds one without an iron to the 'baby', who eats it without trouble.
In the Irish version, Benandonner is so awed by the power of the baby's teeth and the size of the baby that, at Oona's prompting, he puts his fingers in Fionn's mouth to feel how sharp his teeth are. Fionn bites Benandonner's little finger, and scared of the prospect of meeting his father considering the baby's size, Benandonner runs back towards Scotland across the Causeway smashing the causeway so Fionn can't follow him.
The Manx Gaelic version contains a further tale of how Fionn and the buggane fought at Kirk Christ Rushen. One of Fionn's feet carved out the channel between the Calf of Man and Kitterland, the other carved out the channel between Kitterland and the Isle of Man, and the buggane's feet opened up Port Erin. The buggane injured Fionn, who fled over the sea, however, the buggane tore out one of his own teeth and struck Fionn as he ran away. The tooth fell into the sea, becoming the Chicken Rock, and Fionn cursed the tooth, explaining why it is a hazard to sailors.
In Newfoundland, and some parts of Nova Scotia, "Fingal's Rising" is spoken of in a distinct nationalistic sense. Made popular in songs and bars alike, to speak of "Fingle," as his name is pronounced in English versus "Fion MaCool" in Newfoundland Irish, is sometimes used as a stand-in for Newfoundland or its culture.
Folktales involving hero Fin MacCool are considered to be classified in Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as ATU 369, "The Youth on a Quest for his lost Father", a tale type that, however, some see as exclusive to South Asian tradition, namely India.