Diarmuid and Grainne : Legendary Love Stories

The Irish Cycles is a collective term given to the stories of Ireland about the doings of otherworld or legendary beings. (The Irish themselves didn't divide their myths into cycles). The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Grainne is from the Fenian Cycle.

The story begins with the aging Fionn mac Cumhaill, leader of the warrior band, the Fianna. And a better fighting man than Finn never struck his hand into a king's hand, and whatever anyone ever said of him, he was three times better.

Now, Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn MacCool) was a legend of a man, and his Fianna were the fearless standing army charged with defending Ireland against foreign invasion and upholding the authority of the High King of Ireland, Cormac mac Airt, (although their oath of allegiance was given, and it should be so, to their leader Fionn).

Fionn is disconsolate over the death of his wife Maignes.

I am without a wife since Maignes, the daughter of Garad Glundub mac Moirne, died; for he is not wont to have slumber nor sweet sleep who happens to be without a fitting wife.

Grainne was the daughter of Cormac mac Airt, the High King of Ireland, and renowned for her beauty, wit and also her wilful nature. She was deemed the fairest of feature, and form, and speech, of all the women of the world together and was courted by Ireland's most eligible Chieftains.

After searching the whole of the land for a suitable wife for Fionn, the Fianna decide that she is the worthiest. Arrangements are made for the wedding. Cattle are counted, guests summoned, great cooking pots prepared and Grainne's women prepare a fine rich gown for her.

At their betrothal feast, however, Grainne is distressed to find that Fionn is older than her own father. Repulsed by his age, her eye falls on Diarmuid.

Diarmuid ua Duibne himself, a freckled sweet-worded man of curling dusky-black hair and two red ruddy cheeks, was the most renowned member of the Fianna, a young warrior trusted and honoured by the great Fionn.

Grainne, sitting at the window of her grianan (a sunny chamber), looked out to watch the young men at their game of hurling, and could not fail to see how Diarmuid surpassed the others in strength, agility and fleetness of foot. She could not avoid comparing him to her intended husband.

Some say that Grainne became enamoured of Diarmuid because of a ball seirce, a beauty spot, on his shoulder, for it is said that these magical spots make men irresistible. But perhaps it was just the attraction of youth to youth. Given a choice, what young women would prefer a stooped greybeard over a lusty youth?

Grainne is determined to have Diarmuid, in place of Fionn. But the betrothal arrangements have gone too far, the tributes have been paid, the gifts handed out, and she cannot break the union without spilled blood between Fionn and her father, the High King. She has only one way to stop the wedding, she must leave before the vows are taken.

She slips a sleeping potion to the rest of the guests and demands that Diarmuid run off with her!

He refuses at first out of loyalty to Fionn, but Grainne lays a geis on him which forces him to agree with her wishes. "Evil bonds are these under which you lay me", he says.

The Irish did not regard spoken curses lightly. A geis can be a curse or, paradoxically, a gift. If someone under a geis violates the associated taboo, they will suffer dishonour or even death. On the other hand, to obey the geis brings power and good fortune.

Traditionally, the doom of heroes come about due to their violation of their geis, either by accident, or by having multiple geasa and then being placed in a position where they have no option but to violate one geis in order to maintain another. For instance, Cuchulainn has a geis to never eat dog meat, and he is also bound by a geis to eat any food offered to him by a woman. When an old woman offers him dog meat, he has no choice but to break one of them, and this leads to his death.

A beneficial geis might involve a prophecy that a person would die in a particular way. The particulars of their death might be so bizarre that death could be avoided entirely.

All across Ireland the eloping couple ran and there is scarce a place in the land that does not have a cave, a tree, and all kinds of nooks and crannies under which, or inside of which, Diarmuid and Grainne lay together and hid.

They hid in a forest across the River Shannon, and Fionn pursued them over the water. They concealed themselves under a tree near Lawrencetown in Galway, made a bed at Lough Gur in Co. Limerick and lay hidden from their pursuers in numerous other places all across the land.

They evaded Fionn several times, once with the help of Diarmuid's foster father, Aengus Og, who concealed Grainne in his cloak of invisibility while Diarmuid made an incredible leap high over the heads of the pursuing Fianna.

In time, Finn appears to call off his ruthless quest for bloody vengeance and Diarmuid and Grainne are left to live in peace. But a final act of treachery shatters their contentment!

Fionn organises a boar hunt near Benbulbin in Co. Sligo, and Diarmuid joins, in spite of a prophesy that he will be killed by a boar. Indeed, the creature wounds him mortally as he deals it a fatal blow.

Fionn and his men come upon Diarmuid dying and Grainne knows she has just one chance to save him. She implores Fionn to show mercy and save his former friend by curing Diarmuid with a drink of water cupped by his magical hands. But Fionn refuses.

Fionn's men beg him to help this once great warrior to live. But still Fionn refuses.

Finally, after his grandson Oscar threatens to fight him, Fionn reluctantly agrees to save Diarmuid. But it was too late, before he could get the water, Diarmuid dies.

Thus, then, the Pursuit of Diarmuid and Grainne

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