Who was Finn ? Tales of Finn and his warrior band known as the Fianna belong to what is known as the Ossianic Cycle of Irish history, when King Cormac MacArt reigned in the third century A.D. The old Annalists who wrote down the tales regard the exploits of Finn as true history and his defence of Ireland with his crack fighting band as absolute fact but modern historians value the tales for the wealth of knowledge and interest they provide about the time when fact and mythology are almost equally interwoven. Finn's son Ossian who was both a warrior and a poet gave his name to the period and the tales and poems ascribed to him are well known on the continent and many other parts of the world. The earliest tales are found in manuscripts of the 11th and 12th centuries but probably originated several centuries earlier. Finn may have been based on an historical character but in folklore he is descended from the gods, his mother being grand-daughter of one of the main Celtic gods, Nuada of the Silver Hand. More to come :o) Regards HLA - the Lady Endjineer !!! HLA@carebear.demon.co.uk http://www.carebear.demon.co.uk