The Fianna & Fenian Tradition
Hunting, wandering and the passing of an older heroic world.
The tradition
The Fenian tradition is a major body of Irish heroic storytelling centred on Fionn mac Cumhaill and the Fianna.
The stories combine heroic adventure, hunting, supernatural encounters, landscape lore and themes of loyalty, ageing and the passing of an older heroic world.
Oisín is traditionally presented as Fionn's son and one of the most famous figures of the Fianna tradition.
Fionn's legendary wisdom is connected in the best-known later version of the story with the Salmon of Knowledge. The salmon is associated with the Boyne tradition and the poet Finnéces / Finegas.
Fionn and the Fianna became attached through folklore to many physical landscapes across Ireland.
The world behind the cards
Fionn mac Cumhaill and Oisín come from this tradition rather than from the Ulster Cycle, and the Salmon of Knowledge Relic belongs with them. The Cailleach also appears in the Slieve Gullion tradition connected with Fionn.
More than one version
Different traditions explain Fionn's acquisition of supernatural knowledge differently. The Salmon of Knowledge is the best-known later version, not the only surviving one, and no exact site for the event can be given.
