The Story of Oisin

A traditional Irish Story

A long time ago, in a land across the sea, from the time of Conn Ceadchathach in the second century of our Lord until the death of Cairpre Liffchair in the third century, lived a band of poet warriors called the Fianna, who defended their island from invasion. Their leader was the famous Champion Fionn mac Cumhail, the son of Cumhail mac Art, who also was a great champion in the west of Ireland. Fionn had a beloved son called Oisin whose name meant young deer. As a young man, Oisin, was the best of the Fianna. He ran like the wind, fastest of all. He ran silently through the wood not rustling a leaf or twig. He leapt over hills, highest of all. And he possessed the gift of poetry and wrote the finest verse of all.

One dewy morning, the Fianna was hunting on the shores of Lough Leane, in the hills of Kerry, where lavender and heather grew among the white rocks. As the mist lingered in the meadow, the hounds chased a stag into the thick woods. The Fianna gave chase but lost the stag in the thick brush only later to find him on a ridge above. As they discussed the next chase, Fionn heard the sound of hoofs coming towards them. They looked around but saw nothing until Oisin pointing out on the lake where they found a woman riding on the water and her long blonde hair flowing in the wind. All the Fianna marveled at her magic, riding over the water, handling the great animal. Her clothing was bright against the drab white rock along the lakeside. She wore a bright red silken cloak, embroidered with golden stars, and gem studded flowers. Oisin’s young heart was easily beguiled. He never saw anyone who was as beautiful as her. The mighty warrior poet of the Fianna felt his knees tremble as she approached him and his father, and the Fianna.

She addressed Fionn with all the respect he deserved of the warrior king and he responded "Welcome, Madam, to this wild place. Although we are far from home, may we offer you hospitality?" She rejected their offer with much grace, and Fionn responded "I do not know who you are, but my warriors and I will be at your service." The women responded " I am Niamh, and I know of you Fionn, and your band of warrior poets, the Fianna. I have watched you for many months even though you could not see me. I came here today because there is something I want from you." Fionn replied "Speak and if I posses it I shall give to you, and if I do not possess the item I will find it for you." She responded "You have it but do not possess it, it is yours but you can not get it." Fionn was puzzled by her response and asked "Am I to solve your riddle?" "No," she replied "I pay you homage with word games of your people. I came here not for you but your son, Oisin." Fionn looked at Oisin to find his eyes fixed on her and he looked back at her and asked "Where do you come from?" She responded in verse:

She caused a trance to come over the Fianna, the air and lake lie still, not a sound was heard, not the lapping of water nor the rustling of leaves. She broke her spell as she addressed Fionn "I came her to take your son as my husband. My father and I have passed through this land many times. We have seen your son run like the dear, a warrior and huntsman through and through. I fell in love with his strong arms and singsong voice. After watching him many times from a far, my father gave me permission to come here and ask for him to become my husband." Fionn was speechless for the first time in all his life. She continued "How am I to marry him?" Fionn after a moment replied "All you need to do is ask him." She turns to Oisin and asks "will you come to my father’s kingdom, where you will have horses that can run faster than the wind, and hounds that can out run the horses. My father will give you a hundred warriors each one a chieftain to do your bidding. I will give you a hundred maidens to sing you to sleep in my arms. You will wear a golden crown and Tir na nog will be your kingdom and I your queen. Will you marry me and come to Tir na nog." Oisin, who has not spoken a word since she arrived said "Lady, I will, until the world ends."

Oisin mounted the horse behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. They galloped away towards the Lough Leane and light followed them as the morning mist lifted. They rode across the lough, and down the river, to the sea.

As they rode farther into the sea with the mist engulfing them both, Niamh waved her hand and the mist disappeared. In the distance, Oisin saw a huge bright castle. Oisin had laid his eyes upon Tir na Nog for the first time. They rode onto the land and up to the crest of a small hill. Niamh turned to Oisin and pointed down to the people in the valley below. Niamh told him "Those are the people who will become your subjects and this is the beautiful country that you shall rule. The crops never fail, rain falls only when summoned, and people are always friendly." Oisin looked over the land and replied "What must I do to make this all mine?" and Niamh replied "All need to do is let your feet touch the green grass in front of my father's castle. You will cease to age and those years will never catch up to you as long as you stay in Tir na Nog."

Oisin never saw a country as wonderful or beautiful as Tir na Nog. They continued to ride down the hill and into the orchard. "How many orchards are there in this land?" Oisin asked. Niamh rode to a tree and picked a piece of fruit and took a bite. "There is as many orchards as you desire." She replied. Miraculously, another fruit appeared in the spot where the other was just plucked. "And the fruit never dies, nor suffers disease."

As they continued towards the castle, they passed a large meadow, and Oisin asked, "What lies in this meadow?" Niamh answers "This is the land of silence, where our subjects contemplate the wonder of this land. Over the hills, lye the farms which harvest dreams."

They crossed a long glittering drawbridge built of pure silver over which beautiful white swans swim in the moat. They passed under an archway beneath large rainbow banners. As they came into the courtyard, a man who bore a striking resemblance to Niamh met them, and she greeted him with love and respect. "Father, I have come back with my prize the deer, Oisin."

As the three rode through a large gate, a trumpet sounded and crowds cheered heralding their arrival. The King stopped and addressed the people "Today you have gained a new prince. My beloved daughter, Niamh Cinn-Oir, has come back from across the oceans with the great hunter, the mighty warrior-poet she desired. As soon as his feet touches the grass before my castle, he will become the Lord of Tir na Nog."

Niamh turned to Oisin looked deep into his eyes and said, "As soon as your feet touches the grass, you will become ruler of this land. You will hunt and you will sport and you shall have chieftains as your warriors and your verse will be applauded as music, and your stories will be told in this land for ever -- but all of this can only happen in this country. If you ever leave without my blessing, you will lose your youth and gained all the years that has past and you will never be able to come back."

Oisin dismounted his horse and the crowd cheered. He bent to his knee and said, "I gave you my word, as a warrior of the Fianna, that I would come to this land to be your husband. I will become Lord of Tir na Nog and you will be my wife. I will always cherish my days hunting with my father and the Fianna. That will never change, but now I am your Lord and husband."

As his walked onto the grass he appearance changed; his skin became darker; his hair lightened became more abundant, and curly; his shoulders became more square; and he looked as he did in his early youth. His new subjects brought him gifts. Tunics of blue silk of a king to replace the tunic with the rough weave of a hunter, an emerald brooch to hold his cloak, and new boots with panels of gold at the toe and heel.

Niamh and Oisin were married and they ruled over Tir na Nog. The years did not pass and time did not impinge. Oisin had many adventures. He conducted hundreds of hunts, and built a mighty castle. He sang like the angels, and wrote many stories. Niamh became lovelier and lovelier and their love grew stronger. With all these wonders and dreams come true, Oisin was not satisfied. He went to Niamh admitted that he longed to visit his father and his friends, the Fianna, at Lough Leanne just one more time. Niamh, after much thought, lent him her white horse against her wishes, to visit Ireland just one more time. Just before he left, she warned him that if he were to touch the ground in Ireland he could not return to Tir na Nog and the years that had passed would come back to him.

Oisin rode over the ocean has he had come many years earlier, and eventually made landfall just a few miles form the ancestral land of the Fianna. He rode towards the woods and lakes where the Fianna had hunted for many years but could not find any sign of their hunts. He looked anxiously for signs of his old family and friends but could not find any sign that they were still alive. As he rode through the countryside, the people looked at him as an oddity. They were tilling soil where hounds and horses once roamed.

As Oisin approached his ancestral home, he found the ramparts overgrown with tall thick grass. In anguish, he called out the name of his beloved father "Finn", brother "Oscar", and his hounds "Bran", and "Scaoling", but neither a shout nor bark returned. In sorrow, he rode back to Lough Leanne where he spent his youth. Along the way, he came across a group of men building a stone structure and as he approached them they spoke a language that he could barely understand. He announced that he was Oisin, son of Fionn mac Cumhail, Warrior-poet of the Fianna. They replied that the Fianna had died in battle many years earlier and a new regime rules the land.

In shock, he pulled the reins of the horse hard and the girth bolted depositing him in the sand around Lough Leanne. Immediately, he began to age, his hair thinned and turned white, and his clothing blew away like dust. Oisin the young deer had become a man of over a hundred years. The workman went to find Patrick who managed to write down many of the old stories as he accepted Oisin into the new religion. Within moments, Oisin had died.

Thus ended, sadly and with little dignity, the ancient regime of the Celts.

Read more about Oisin and the old legends in the book "Legends of the Celts" by Frank Delaney.