Muirne
Encyclopedia
Muirne or Muireann Muncháem ("beautiful neck") was the mother of Fionn mac Cumhail in the Fenian Cycle
of Irish mythology
.
She had many suitors, but her father, the druid
Tadg mac Nuadat
, had foreseen that her marriage would lead to the loss of his home on the hill of Almu, so he refused them all. But one of them, Cumhal
, leader of the fianna
, abducted her. Tadg appealed to the High King
, Conn of the Hundred Battles
, who outlawed and pursued Cumhal.
Cumhal was killed in the Battle of Cnucha, but Muirne was already pregnant, so her father rejected her and told his followers to burn her. Conn prevented this, and sent Muirne into the protection of Fiacal mac Conchinn and his wife, the druidess Bodhmall
, who was Cumhal's sister. She gave birth to a son, whom she called Deimne, but who later became known as Fionn.
Muirne left the boy in the care of Bodhmall and a warrior woman called Liath Luachra
, who brought him up in secret in the forest. She went on to marry a local king, Gleor Lámderg, and saw her son again only once, six years later, when she came to visit him in the forest.
Fenian Cycle
The Fenian Cycle , also referred to as the Ossianic Cycle after its narrator Oisín, is a body of prose and verse centering on the exploits of the mythical hero Fionn mac Cumhaill and his warriors the Fianna. It is one of the four major cycles of Irish mythology along with the Mythological Cycle,...
of Irish mythology
Irish mythology
The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...
.
She had many suitors, but her father, the druid
Druid
A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....
Tadg mac Nuadat
Tadg mac Nuadat
Tadg, son of Nuada, was a druid and the maternal grandfather of Fionn mac Cumhail in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. It is unclear whether his father was the short-lived High King Nuada Necht, the god Nuada Airgetlam of the Tuatha Dé Danann, or another figure of a similar name...
, had foreseen that her marriage would lead to the loss of his home on the hill of Almu, so he refused them all. But one of them, Cumhal
Cumhal
Cumhall son of Trénmór is a figure in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology, a leader of the fianna and the father of Fionn mac Cumhaill....
, leader of the fianna
Fianna
Fianna were small, semi-independent warrior bands in Irish mythology and Scottish mythology, most notably in the stories of the Fenian Cycle, where they are led by Fionn mac Cumhaill....
, abducted her. Tadg appealed to the High King
High King of Ireland
The High Kings of Ireland were sometimes historical and sometimes legendary figures who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over the whole of Ireland. Medieval and early modern Irish literature portrays an almost unbroken sequence of High Kings, ruling from Tara over a hierarchy of...
, Conn of the Hundred Battles
Conn of the Hundred Battles
Conn Cétchathach , son of Fedlimid Rechtmar, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland, and the ancestor of the Connachta, and, through his descendant Niall Noígiallach, the Uí Néill dynasties, which dominated Ireland in the early middle ages, and...
, who outlawed and pursued Cumhal.
Cumhal was killed in the Battle of Cnucha, but Muirne was already pregnant, so her father rejected her and told his followers to burn her. Conn prevented this, and sent Muirne into the protection of Fiacal mac Conchinn and his wife, the druidess Bodhmall
Bodhmall
Bodhmall or Bodmall is one of Fionn mac Cumhaill's childhood caretakers in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. She is a druidess and the sister of Fionn's father Cumhal, and both she and her associate Liath Luachra are known as great warriors....
, who was Cumhal's sister. She gave birth to a son, whom she called Deimne, but who later became known as Fionn.
Muirne left the boy in the care of Bodhmall and a warrior woman called Liath Luachra
Liath Luachra
Liath Luachra, the "Gray of Luachair", is the name of two characters in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. Both appear in The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn, which details the young life and adventures of the hero Fionn mac Cumhaill....
, who brought him up in secret in the forest. She went on to marry a local king, Gleor Lámderg, and saw her son again only once, six years later, when she came to visit him in the forest.