In the Fianna Cycle of Irish mythology, Niamh or Niam is the lover or spouse of Oisín, the son of Fionn mac Cumhail. In the legend of Niamh the Golden-headed or Golden-haired (in Irish: Niaṁ Cinn-Óir, Niamh Cinn-Óir) , a supernatural being who took Oisín to live with her in the realm of Tír na nÓg, the Land of Youth. With Oisín, she gave birth to two sons and a girl. After more than 300 years of cohabitation, Oisín was unwillingly granted permission to visit Ireland by Niamh, who imposed a stigma on him not to touch the ground there. After he broke this prohibition, he became elderly and withered and was unable to go back to Niamh ever again. In the medieval account, Niamh was a human princess of Munster who fled to Ulster with Oisín before killing herself as the army of her father closed in on them. Around 1750, a poem credited to Mícheál Coimín told the well-known tale of Niamh of Tír na nÓg . The Fianna were out on a deer hunt close to Loch Léin when Niamh, riding a white stallion, arrived from beyond the sea from west. As Niamh the Golden-headed, the daughter of the King of the Land of Youth, she identified herself and professed her love for Oisín, the son of Finn. She explained the promises of the Land of Youth (Tír na nÓg), where she hoped to take him. Oisín, who was already in love, agreed to the proposal, and the two departed on the white horse together. They made a side trip to the Land of Virtues where Oisín defended the maiden of the Land of the Living (Tír na mBeo) against the monster (Fomhor Builleach of Dromloghach) who was aggressively pursuing the maiden and slewed the monster in the process. When Niamh and Oisín arrived in the Land of Youth, they were wed after meeting the King and Queen. Three kids were born to the couple. Two sons they named Oscar and Finn and a girl named Plor na mBan meaning the Flower of Women. After 300 years, which to Oisín only felt like three years, Oisín started to feel homesick and yearned to return to Ireland to visit his father and the Fianna. Niamh though unwillingly permitted him to ride the white steed to his home, but she warned him from touching the Irish soil for fear of growing old and withered. She informed him that the journey would be useless because the Fianna were no longer present in Ireland. On his way, Oisín was requested to assist in lifting a marble flagstone because the men holding it up below it were collapsing under its weight at a location known as Gleann-an-Smoil i.e. Glen of the Thrushes. When Oisín attempted to lift the stone, the belt of the horse broke, causing him to fall to the ground and become a weak, blind old man. And thus the tale of Oisín came to tragic end. [Information and Image Credit: Niamh_(mythology) , Wikipedia] [Image: Niamh, illustrated by Beatrice Elvery in Heroes of the Dawn (1914)] [Image Availed Under Public Domain because it is a mere mechanical scan or photocopy of a public domain original, or – from the available evidence – is so similar to such a scan or photocopy that no copyright protection can be expected to arise. This work is in the Public Domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 70 years or fewer. The Work is also in Public Domain in the United States (Please Also Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [Original Source Image URL:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Heroes_of_the_dawn_-_illustration_to_face_page_212.jpg ] #Mythology
Legends and Myths
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