Chickens, Irish, and Finn McCool...

I hope you all enjoyed the humor of my friend Larry.  He is a funny chicken and a great friend to fill in for me when I wasn't feeling well.  When I read that he admitted to not being Irish, it made me think of something to tell you all.  You DO NOT need to be Irish to enjoy Irish Fest.  In my kids club, we are happy to see any and all kids enjoying themselves.  We love all kids.  You might learn a thing or two Irish, but you don't have to be Irish to enjoy reading or listening to stories of Ireland.

Anyway, today I want to tell you one of many stories of Fionn mac Cumhaill or Fionn McCool as he is known in English.  Pretty cool name, huh?  I am going to start with one of his later stories because it tells of Fionn coming to Tara and by helping the King, he gets his own people, whom he dubs the Fianna.

A Story of Fionn...

After many adventures, Fionn finds himself back in Tara, at the court of the Irish High King, Cormac mac Art, near the time of Samhain. Instead of the holiday preparations he expects, Fionn finds the kingdom in an uproar of panic. During Fionn's absence, Cormac's kingdom has been plagued by a rogue specter, a wandering fairy of the Tuatha Dé Danann. This is Aillen mac Midna, a musician who appears every year at Samhain. Aillen always approaches as a musician — at first by invoking the king's hospitality, but later by charming his way through the doors. He then plays a melody of enchantment, putting all of the court to sleep, after which he roams the countryside all night, breathing fire and laying waste to the kingdom.

Fionn offers his services to King Cormac, offering to guard the land against their supernatural enemy in return for a request granted. Like some others, Fionn is possessed of a magical spear created in the Otherworld. At the fairy's approach, Fionn uses the spear to prod himself awake, avoiding the sleep-spell. When Aillen opens his mouth to loose his flames, Fionn lets fly his infallible spear and dispatches the murderous fairy with a blow to the back. His quest fulfilled, Fionn returns to King Cormac for his boon: He requests the leadership of the Fianna, a force of 20,000 men.


The Fianna are an elite force of warriors, highly skilled in poetry as well as in the arts of war. The members of this small army are skilled bards as well as accomplished fighters. Additionally, the warriors are subjected to extraordinary tests of strength and skill — a man wishing to join the Fianna must be able to leap over a stave of his own height, dive under one the height of his knee, and pluck a thorn from his foot — all while running paces. Another test involves burying the candidate up to his waist in sand, where he must defend himself from spear-wielding warriors using only a staff and a wooden shield.  These warriors were the best of their time.

Fionn mac Cumhaill, illustration by Stephen Reid.