 |
|
  
Other names for Tír na nÓg are Oilean na mBeo - the Island of the Living, Tír na mBuadha - the land of Virtues, Hy na Beatha - the island of Life, Tír na mBeo - the land of the Living and Hy Brasail - Brasil's Island, The Land of Promise, and the Land of Youth. Also known as the Land Over Sea, and the Land Under-Wave. Time stopped still on Tír na nÓg, one never grew old or suffered from any illness, it was always of a temperate climate neither too hot nor too cold. The flowers bloomed perpetually and never died. There was no sorrow or pain, love was eternal it was without wars or famine or any of the ills of the earth. To get to Tír na nÓg it was necessary to cross a stretch of water and then to go under the waves for a time before coming again to dry land. The 'horses' of the sidhe crossed the waves as if they were a solid surface. People have been fascinated by the legend of Tír na nÓg for countless generations. During the twelfth century Giraldus Cambrensis tells the story of how an island appeared suddenly off the west coast of Ireland but when people tried to approach and land it immediately vanished. A group of people went out again in search of the island and having steered within bowshot of it struck the island with a red-hot arrow in consequence the island immediately remained stationary. It has long been the subject of poetry and bardic literature. In 1853 the Ossianic Society was founded by Mr. Hardiman and Mr. O' Flanagan and others to preserve and collect all literature and poems regarding the legendary heroes Fionn mac Cumhaill, Oisín and Oscar and the land of Tír na nÓg.
There once was a far off land unattainable by any human before until a man, Oisin, was invited to stay there. The land was called Tír na nÓg - a far off land of mystical beauty where faeries of the world inhabit. The air is fresh and unpolluted by humans, as is the waters. The land is pure and nature is respected and tended to. No humans are allowed in this land because they have ruined the Earth, where they live. The faeries found the one place untouched by humans and named it Tír na nÓg banishing them from it forever.
 Oisin was invited because he had Finn blood running through his veins. His father was the chief of Fenian warriors in Ireland. One day Osin was hunting in the forest and a fair maiden approached him. Her name was Niamh and her father was the god of the sea. She chose Osin for her love and asked him to come to Tír na nÓg to live with her.
 They rode for several weeks over many seas on her faerie steed and stayed in many mystical places along their travels. They arrived at one stop on their journey where Formor, an evil demon, held a damsel. Niamh begged Oisin to help her and he slew the demon in three days freeing the damsel. This only made Niamh fall even more deeply in love with Oisin and they stayed together in Tír na nÓg for over 300 years.
Oisin became very homesick for the mortals he once knew and his birth land. Niamh understood and left him with her faerie steed telling him that he was no longer completely mortal and therefore wasn't allowed to step upon earthly soil any longer. With that warning, he was off to Ireland to see what had changed. It was not at all what he was expecting, the Fenians were only a myth, and men were smaller and weaker. One day he was riding his steed when he encountered a man trying to lift a boulder. Oisin leaned over to help him and fell to the earth, instantly turning into an old, blind man. He spent many years wondering Ireland when St. Patrick took him into his home and tried to convert him to a Christian. Oisin was appalled and refused, shouting how he would rather spend eternity in hell with his ancestors, the Fenians, than go to St. Patrick's heaven.
The Tuatha de Danann of Ireland fled to Tír na nÓg after their defeat by the Milesians, however those who remained in Ireland became the Daoine Sidhe. Side (Shee) is gaelic for 'people of the hills' Originally, it referred to the mounds in which faeries lived, though it has now come to refer to the inhabitants as well. With the introduction of Christianity to Ireland, the Daoine Sidhe diminished in importance, and also shrank in size, from the gigantic Tuatha de Danann to that of more traditionally sized faeries. Their king is Finvarra, who like all of his clan is a skilled warrior. He is also fond of chess playing and womanizing. Despite the fact that his wife, Donagh, is one of the most beautiful women above or below the ground, he is known to abduct brides-to-be. Like the Seelie Court, the Daoine Sidhe, enjoy riding and are famous for their faerie steeds, which can carry a rider faster than the wind over land or water.
 
©2002 Used with permission. 
Thank you sisterfriend! Graphics ©Selkywolf's Den
FastCounter by LinkExchange    
|