Celtachor
Fiannaíocht
1. Sons of Morna
Many years ago Cumhal led the Fianna,
He was killed by the sons of Morna.
Muirne his wife gave birth, to a son!
Finn would lead them again.
Raised by druids Liath and Bodhmall,
He learned hunting and its craft,
He was kept at Slieve Bladhma in secrecy,
‘Till the sons of Morna stopped at last.
He grew up strong with long fair hair,
And ran as fast as mighty stags,
He left their care and travelled far,
Reaching the shores of Loch Lein...
For a time he served King of Finntraigh,
Later looking for Crimall in Connacht.
In fright he saw a woman covered in blood.
A great warrior stood in the distance,
As tall as old and sacred Oaks.
Finn ran fuming and fought him,
Blow for blow, both matched well.
The sword delved deep,
Killing one of the Sons of Morna!
The King of Lochlann’s Helmet,
Manannan’s Shirt and Knife,
The Smith Hook of Goibhnu,
King of Alban’s Shears...
From Manannan to Lugh,
To Ethlinn then to Cumhnal,
To Finn! His legacy foretold...
Down by the river Boinn,
Finegas the druid found,
Finn stayed and learned his ways,
He fed from the Salmon of Knowledge!
The Salmon of Knowledge!
Wisdom and Knowledge!
2. King of Tara
Finn went to the High King of great Teamhair,
Inside sat Goll a son of Morna,
Among the Fianna Brave...
Hatred in his eyes,
Revenge marked on his mind.
Finn grabbed a great horn,
And proclaimed Loud and far:
"I am Finn! Son Of Cumhal! Son Of Cumhal!
He who was a King and friend to you all!!
With that the King bade him welcome,
And brought him into the great hall,
But worry yet still stifled him,
A great enemy from afar was to come...
A man came alone, from the Tuatha he was,
Breathing in flames spat,
From his cursed mouth,
He would burn up all of Teamhair.
Aillen was his name,
A Son of the Midhna proud,
He played music of the Sidhe,
Putting all to sleep.
And then he would burn them alive...
The King made a call to all his men,
To go and fight this threat.
Silence fell on that great hall,
Till Finn spoke loud and great!
"I will fight him on the morrow
And rid the land of him."
“Take my magic spear!” Proclaimed Fiachra.
The day of battle came,
The skies were black as sulphur,
Aillen came playing with his harp,
Fire burst from his mouth,
Finn raised his crimson cloak.
No damage befell him…
protected from his spells...
He ran to Slieve Fuad,
Finn chasing him at his back.
Finn gave chase,
Armed with his spear and made a cast.
Aillen did fall,
His heart pierced by the magic spear.
He cut off his head,
And returned back to great Teamhair.
On the top of a pole it stayed,
On their highest wall.
The great deed that Finn had done,
Would be remembered by one and all.
The Fianna raised up Finn,
And they celebrated into the night!
A new leader and king proclaimed:
“It was his right!”
King of Tara! Hail! Hail!
King of Tara! Hail! Hail!
King of Tara! Hail!
3. Tuiren
Muirne came to Almhuin with Tuiren,
To reach Iollain Eachtach,
Chief of Fianna strong and old.
They fell in a deep love,
And they asked Finn to give his word.
“Protect her and she will be yours!”
In the blackest corners of the Sidhe,
An old flame of Iollain did burn.
Uchtdealb burned with jealousy at this union.
She changed herself into
The guise of Finn’s messenger.
She entered the halls and told Tuiren:
“You must create a great feast,
And come with me now.”
And with that the dark druid rod appeared.
She changed poor Tuiren into a hound.
She brought her then to Fergus Fionnlaith,
King Of Gallimh.
Uchtdealb proclaimed to him that he must
Look after the hound till it goes to Finn,
Tuiren gave birth to two pups.
With Tuiren forever lost,
Iollain went to the hill
To meet with Uchtdealb.
He offered himself instead of Tuiren to Finn.
She made a new offer and told him.
“If you stay with me forever,
I will change her back.”
He agreed and Tuiren was sent back
To Finn in Human form.
She married Lugaidh Lamha.
Finn named the hounds: Bran and Sceolan.
4. The Search for Sadbh
On the plains of Almhuin,
I lost her there, to that druid.
Searching with Bran and Sceolan,
Over every land and the rivers.
With every passing year, the pain grows.
My heart crushed with her loss.
A crown empty, useless,
A light shines through the trees.
In my mind a deer appears,
In the glade of the forest.
Lonely halls of mine,
Lost to the ages.
In the forest black.
Her name is marked in the trees,
In my mind she appears,
In the glade of the forest.
5. Caolite
On a dark and stormy night,
Finn was kidnapped,
By the High King of Teamhair,
Blamed for battles due to the Fianna.
His warrior Caoilte came to his aid.
Caoilte rose up and went searching for him,
First killing Cuireach, a Leinster King.
A madness took him with sorrow and flame
Burning and hacking the fields.
Wherever the blistering red wind blew,
He would destroy all in his sight.
He killed one in every house,
And set their homes alight...
He cloaked himself in darkness,
And entered the ivory palace,
A candle burning in his hands.
He watched the great kings feast.
The King suddenly took notice,
Finn closed his mind to this thought.
Caoilte came to the king and asked him
What he must do to free Finn.
“Collect every wild animal of Ireland”
Caoilte left as soon as it was said,
He ran as fast as the steeds of Macha,
Gathering birds of every type and shape.
After this feat he would tackle the beasts,
Strong and wild as Ireland itself.
To save Finn this would be the task,
All the greatness for Caoilte till the end.
Two ravens from Fiodh Da Bheann,
Two swans from blue Dobhran,
Two owls from Faradhruim,
Two herons from Corrain Cleibh,
Two redbreasts from the Great Wood,
Two foxes from Slieve Cuilinn,
Two oxen from the Burren,
Two wolves from Broit Cliathach,
Two salmons from Eas Mhic Muirne,
Two deers from Gleann na Smoil,
Ten hounds of the Fianna,
One of Manannan's steeds,
Two pigs of the son of Lir,
An old ram from Innis.
Caoilte had a great chaos on his hands,
With all the birds and beast to control.
When he returned to Teamhair,
The King gave him a house with nine doors.
The next day he arrived,
To thank Caoilte for the task,
No sooner had he spoke,
All the birds and beasts escaped,
Like rays of the Sun in every direction!
Finn had gained his freedom,
Caoilte remained by his side,
Till the end of his days.
One of the finest of the Fianna...
6. Great Ships from over the Waves
7. The Battle on the Shore
Great battalions of the Fianna rose,
That day to fight the armies of Mal,
Banners and flags cover the skies.
The sun blinding the warriors,
Swords and shields clash,
Blood curdling screams,
Many bodies pile high,
A horn bellows,
A standing stone to the sky!
Smoke and flame,
Spears and banners ablaze,
Embers crumbling into the earth,
Warriors and heroes dead.
The waves of the shore pass over them…
With many dead on both sides,
The Fianna came with Luideagh’s son
To put an end to Mal for good.
Luidheagh’s son and Mal met face to face,
Ready to deliver the finishing blow,
To this battle.
In the end Luidheagh made a cast
Pouring power into his spear.
It broke through Mal and burst his heart,
Exploding out through his body clear.
The Fianna roared and sang out loud,
From every field and every plain.
Luideagh’s son and Aoife,
Would stay together ‘till the end.
Finn climbed high,
And called the Fianna brave.
“The enemy has broken,
We have won!”
8. Tears of Aoife
9. Cauldron of Plenty
One day in Almhuin, head to toe in skins,
A man came with his wife,
They offered their service to Finn.
Hunting in the marshlands,
With the Fianna by his side,
Conan began to worry,
This man killed more than Finn.
“Send him to the King of Floods,
Send him far away,
Bring back that cauldron,
That could feed all in a day!”
Finn bade him to go, to meet with that King,
And with that he went to shores of the sea.
Two arms outstretched,
And struck two sticks together,
A great boat rose up and came into view.
He went across the vast seas,
The house in his sight.
The king had a great feast,
The opportunity was rife!
The lad of the skins feigned hunger and thirst,
With that outburst the cauldron was passed,
But no sooner that he had the vessels,
The King of the Floods came with his army,
To get his treasure back.
The lad fought them,
And went to make an end to them.
The silence that befell the shores,
As silent as the dead.
He headed back to Almhuin,
With the cauldron in his grasp,
Back to mighty Finn.
Finn and the lad fought strong and well,
They ran to the King’s Dun,
And beheaded him,
Many were slain, Victory turned to Misery!
When they went back they were attacked, The lad took many forms,
And never held back.
He died of his wounds in the form of a bird, A red flag raised to the shore!
His wife bade Finn
To push her out to the sea,
Violent and chaotic the waves crashed,
A silhouette of warriors stood,
Looking into the horizon.
Finn pushed the boat out,
And the wind and waves heard the call.
Lir took her in his outstretched arms,
And she disappeared...
10. Dubh, Dun Agus Liath
In Teamhair dark and old, Finn was hunting,
When three great heroes came,
In search of him.
“We are Dubh, Dun and Liath,
And we wish to serve you!”
Finn then cut a tree into three and said:
“Each of you will stay guard
For a part of the night,
Until your piece of log has burnt out.”
Dubh with Bran claimed a cup that could Never empty, from an ancient house.
Dun went out at the second watch,
And saw a great house in flame!
A crowd fighting inside it.
It was the Knife of Division at work,
Dun stole it quick,
And returned back into the shadow.
Liath took his flaming torch,
For the third and final watch!
He journeyed far into the night,
‘Till he came to another house.
The stench of death in the air,
Bodies littered the hall.
Fear consumed him,
And he hid himself inside,
Under the shields and bodies
Of those fallen warriors.
There he did wait...
A monstrous old Hag came into the house And began to eat the dead.
One after one she preferred fat
And left the lean.
When she was full she fell asleep,
A thud on the bloody floor.
Liath grabbed his mighty sword
And bided his time.
He lept quickly and killed her there and then.
Three bodies fled from her corpse...
Killing the first two with Bran’s help,
The third escaped!
Returning to Finn, the three told all their tales
Finn thanked Dubh and Dun, but told Liath:
“It would have been best to leave the Hag be,
I fear the third man may be trouble!”
In Teamhair dark and old,
Finn now King, sits with the Fianna.
This is only the beginning of his story.
Warriors dead and gone,
Stags roam the countryside,
And the wind sings of the past...
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