The Legend of Tir Na nOg - the Land of Youth.
Oisin was one of the great heroes and poets of Irish pre-history. Oisin's mother was Sadb,
a deer woman. His father was Finn Mac Cumhal, whose dog Bran found Sadb in the forest and
brought her to him unharmed. Sadb had a child by Finn who grew up away from his Finn's
people. Later, it was Bran who again found the young Oisin in the forest and took him back
to his father.
As Oisin grew up, he became a member of his father's band of heroes called the Fianna.
They were famed not only for their courage, strength and their prowess in hunting and war,
but also for their moral code. To join, a warrior had to accept four geasa: to marry only
for love, not money; never to be violent towards a woman; never to refuse to give anything
asked of them, no matter how precious and never to run away from enemies unless
outnumbered at least ten to one.
As the years passed however, and after many famous adventures the good times turned to bad. A feud with Aed Mac Morna of Connacht dragged on and some of the Fianna left. Eventually even Finn himself betrayed one of the heroes, Diarmuid and his betrothed, Grainne. The band split and when Finn and his few remaining companions fought the High King at Tara they were defeated. The final battle at Gabhra was the end of the Fianna and the end of the age of heroes.
It was not the end for Oisin, though. After the battle, Oisin was saved by Niamh of the Golden Hair and taken to the land of fairie, although Niamh called it Tir Na nOg. Here he recovered, feasted and told the old stories. As a warrior he was honoured and as a poet he was welcome at all their fires. Time passed, however, and he began to wonder about an old companion of his called Caoilte. Niamh lent him a horse to return to Ireland, but warned him not to dismount from the horse before he returned. He agreed as he only planned a short visit.
When he reached Ireland, however, he could find no landmarks that he recognised. He wandered through lanes all day, talking to no-one. Eventually, he saw a man struggling to lift a heavy stone and when the man asked him for help he rode towards him, but did not get off his horse. The man struggled to turn the stone and Oisin suddenly recognised it as the water trough belonging to his father, Finn. The trough, which had been kept polished clean was now overgrown with moss, cracked and stained. In confusion and disbelief, he slipped from his mount to check the object was what he believed it to be, but when his feet touched the ground, he felt his youth disappear and the years in his bone increased. In moments he became an old man, aged and shrivelled.
Oisin wandered on now, dazed and confused. All those he had known were long dead and their names forgotten. The old ways had passed and even their memory had faded. It was the weight of those years which had passed, oh so quickly, which had been added to his shoulders when he returned. After some days he met Saint Patrick, who recognised him as a stranger in the land. When Saint Patrick asked where he was from, he said he was from Tir Na nOg. When they talked, the poet in Oisin revived and he told the good saint about the Fianna and the heroes of old. Saint Patrick prayed and asked permission from God to record these old stories from the one person left who knew the old tales. With God's grace and Patrick's attention, the stories were recorded before Oisin's strength failed. In return Saint Patrick told Oisin about his Lord, Jesus Christ. Oisin was unimpressed, though, and refused Patrick's religion. Realising that he had no place in an Ireland so changed, Oisin finally died.