Cumhaill

Cumhaill is not the name of a tribe, but it is an Irish familyname, deriving from Fionn mac Cumhail (roughly pronounced as Finn mac Cool), the hunter-warrior of Irish mythology. Stories of Fionn and his followers, the Fianna, form the Fenian Cycle, supposedly told by Fionn’s son, the poet Oisín.

Fionn or Finn is a nickname meaning ‘white’, ‘bright’ or ‘fair’ and several legends tell the story of how Deimne, his childhood name, got the nickname Fionn when his hair turned prematurely white.

Fionn was the son of Cumhal, leader of the Fianna, and Muirne, daughter of the druid Tadg mac Nuadat. Because her father refused to give Muirne to Cumhal in marriage, he abducted her and was outlawed by the High King, Conn of the Hundred Battles. The Battle of Cnucha was fought between Cumhal and the High King and Cumhal was killed by Goll mac Morna, who then became leader of the Fianna. Muirne was already pregnant and had a son, who she called Deimne and he grew up in secret in the forest of Sliab Bladma, because Muirne feared for her son’s life at the hands of Clan Morna. Deimne was raised by Bodhmall and her sister, Liath Luachra, a warrior woman and became a fierce warrior, skilled in weaponry and magical arts. He could never reveal his name though, lest someone from Clan Morna would discover him, so as he grew and interacted with people, he became known as Fionn (‘fair haired’).

The young Fionn met the poet Finn Eces (or Finnegas) and studied under him. Finneces had spent several years trying to catch the salmon of knowledge, which lived in a pool on the Boyne: whoever ate the salmon would gain all the knowledge in the world. Eventually he caught it, and told Fionn to cook it for him. While cooking it Fionn burned his thumb, and putting his thumb in his mouth, swallowed a piece of the salmon's skin. This imparted the salmon’s wisdom on him. He then knew how to gain revenge against Goll, and in subsequent stories was able to call on the knowledge of the salmon by sucking his thumb.

Every year for twenty-three years at Samhain, the fairy Aillen would lull the men of Tara to sleep with his music before burning the palace to the ground. The Fianna, led by Goll mac Morna, were powerless to prevent it. Fionn arrived at Tara, armed with his father's bag of magical weapons. He kept himself awake with the point of his own spear and then killed Aillen with it. After that his heritage was recognized and he was given command of the Fianna: Goll willingly stepped aside, and became a loyal follower of Fionn.

There are a lot of legends and tales about Fionn mac Cumhail and the Fenian Cycle is argued to be the basis of the tales of Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table with Arthur as their leader as Fionn was the leader of the Fianna.

There are several stories about Fionn’s death. The most popular one is that he is not dead at all but asleep in a cave below Dublin, to awake and defend Ireland in the hour of her greatest need. Here you see another similarity between the Fenian Cycle and the Arthurian legends.

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