Tuan mac Cairill
Encyclopedia
In Irish mythology
Tuan mac Cairill was a follower of Partholon
who alone survived the plague that killed the rest of his people. Through a series of animal transformations he survived into Christian
times, and told the story of his people to St. Finnian
.
His legend is found in an 11th Century manuscript called Lebor na hUidre (The Book of Dun Cow). Tuan told St. Finnan that he was born 2000 years earlier and witnessed many of the waves of invaders who came to ancient Ireland - the Nemedians, Firbolg and the Tuatha De Dannan
.
As an old man he crawled off into a cave and fell asleep and when he awoke he had been reborn as a vigorous young stag. The process repeated itself each time he became old and he was reborn variously as a wild boar, an eagle and eventually as a salmon. However, during his existence as a salmon he was caught and eaten whole by the wife of a chieftain called Cairill and passed into her womb to be reborn again as Tuan mac (son of) Cairill.
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...
Tuan mac Cairill was a follower of Partholon
Partholón
Partholón, in medieval Irish historical tradition, was the leader of the second group of people to settle in Ireland, supposedly first to arrive after the biblical Flood. They arrived in 2680 BC according to the chronology of the Annals of the Four Masters, 2061 BC according to Geoffrey Keating's...
who alone survived the plague that killed the rest of his people. Through a series of animal transformations he survived into Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
times, and told the story of his people to St. Finnian
Finnian of Moville
Finnian of Movilla Abbey, Irish Christian missionary, 495–589.-Origins and life:Finnian was a Christian missionary who became a legendary figure in medieval Ireland. He should not to be confused with his namesake Finnian of Clonard...
.
His legend is found in an 11th Century manuscript called Lebor na hUidre (The Book of Dun Cow). Tuan told St. Finnan that he was born 2000 years earlier and witnessed many of the waves of invaders who came to ancient Ireland - the Nemedians, Firbolg and the Tuatha De Dannan
Tuatha Dé Danann
The Tuatha Dé Danann are a race of people in Irish mythology. In the invasions tradition which begins with the Lebor Gabála Érenn, they are the fifth group to settle Ireland, conquering the island from the Fir Bolg....
.
As an old man he crawled off into a cave and fell asleep and when he awoke he had been reborn as a vigorous young stag. The process repeated itself each time he became old and he was reborn variously as a wild boar, an eagle and eventually as a salmon. However, during his existence as a salmon he was caught and eaten whole by the wife of a chieftain called Cairill and passed into her womb to be reborn again as Tuan mac (son of) Cairill.