Irish Mythology and Folklore

Cessair the First Invader of Ireland, and the Legend of Fintan

Long after the humans and the old gods had abandoned Ireland for the mythical lands beyond, the first invasion of Ireland began. Cessair (Kes-eer) was said to be the granddaughter of the biblical figure Noah. After her and her people were denied entry to her grandfathers ark, she commanded them to build three ships, and her people set off to the west.

It was a long, terrible journey, during which two of the three ships were lost to the harsh oceans. But by the end, Cessair's ship ran aground on the shores of Ireland. Quickly, a problem arose. After the loss of their first two ships, and the deaths of those onboard the third, Cessair's ship carried forty nine women, not including Cessair herself, but only three men, Fintan, Bith, and Ladra. For a while, they found ways to make things work. The women were shared equally among the men, each one choosing a primary husband. Tragedy struck only a few weeks later however, when both Bith and Ladra died of disease, becoming the first men buried in Ireland.

Now faced with the duty of providing for, and caring for the remaining fifty women, not to mention the ever present threat of the great oncoming flood, Fintan slowly began to crumble under the pressure. Eventually, just days before the flood hit, Fintan threw himself from a cliff into a river, where he was transformed by Unknown manners of magic, into salmon.

In the coming days, the fifty women of the tribe were drowned in the great flood, but Fintan survived as a salmon, hiding in an underwater cave, known today as Fintan's Grave. For forty days and forty nights, Fintan waited until the flood waters subsided, and when they did, the man emerged from the cave, now in the form of a hawk, and took to the sky's to search the land for any other survivors. Unfortunately, there was none to be found. Fintan landed on the ground, once again, as a man, and waited.

For hundreds of years, Fintan wandered the lands, living amongst the animals in the forms of all of Ireland's native creatures, watching as history unfurled. It is said that occasionally, he would return to human form, and act as an advisor to the great kings of Ireland, granting them the knowledge he had gathered.

It is unclear what eventually happened to the great Fintan. Perhaps he grew weary, and after thousands of years, lay down and accepted death. Or perhaps he is still out there, roaming the wilderness amongst the animals, collecting knowledge and preparing to pass it on to the next great great King of Ireland...