Ailne
Also known as: Ailne of the Bright Face / pleasant Ailne · Role: queen · First appears: The Fianna · Cnoc-an-air · Meargach's Wife · Part 1
Ailne, queen and wife of Meargach of the Green Spears, was mother to Ciardan the Swift and Liagan the Nimble. After the Fianna killed her husband and sons, she demanded satisfaction, escalating the challenge until she would accept nothing less than Finn’s head or the deaths of all his men.
At her dun, Ailne and her brother Grey Man brought the Fianna inside and bound them. She ordered Grey Man to lift the spells from Glanluadh, then gave her an enchanted drink that restored her strength and appearance. Though Glanluadh was permitted to bring food and drink to the bound Finn and Daire, Ailne had no pity for Finn. She also used an enchanted sheepskin to cover Conan’s wounds, and died from grief and dread when she saw Grey Man dead.
Relationship record
Life events
- Ailne demanded satisfaction for her husband and sons’ deaths, eventually insisting on Finn’s head or the deaths of his men.(The Fianna · Cnoc-an-air · Meargach's Wife · Part 2)
- With: Finn
- “And first it was settled for two men of each side to go out against one another; and then Ailne said that there should be thirty men on each side, and then she said she would not be satisfied to go back to her own country till she brought the head of Finn with her, or till the last of his men had fallen.”
- Ailne ordered the Grey Man to remove Glanluadh’s spells and set her free.(The Fianna · Cnoc-an-air · Ailne's Revenge · Part 1)
- Ailne gave Glanluadh an enchanted drink that restored her strength and appearance.(The Fianna · Cnoc-an-air · Ailne's Revenge · Part 1)
- With: Glanluadh
- “And no sooner did Glanluadh drink from the cup than her strength and her own appearance came back to her again; but for all that, she was fretting after Finn and Daire in their bonds.”
- Ailne allowed Glanluadh to give food and drink to Finn and Daire.(The Fianna · Cnoc-an-air · Ailne's Revenge · Part 1)
- The Grey Man and Ailne bring the Fianna into the dun and bind them.(The Fianna · Cnoc-an-air · Ailne's Revenge · Part 2 · 📍 Ailne's dun)
- With: Grey Man Fianna
- “And then the Grey Man and Ailne came out quietly from where they were, and they brought the whole of the men of the Fianna that were there into the dun. And they put hard bonds on them, and put them where Finn and Daire were.”
- Ailne covers Conan's wounds with an enchanted sheepskin that grows to him.(The Fianna · Cnoc-an-air · Ailne's Revenge · Part 2 · 📍 Ailne's dun)
- With: Conan
- “When Ailne heard that, she brought a sheepskin and she put it on Conan's back, and it fitted and grew to him, and covered his wounds.”
- Ailne dies from grief and dread after seeing the Grey Man's death.(The Fianna · Cnoc-an-air · Ailne's Revenge · Part 2 · 📍 Ailne's dun)
- “And when Ailne saw that, with the grief and the dread that came on her, she fell dead then and there.”
The Fianna · Cnoc-an-air · Meargach's Wife · Part 1
- child: Ciardan the Swift “My grief! to have lost my husband, my head, by the treachery of the Fianna; my two sons, my two men that were rough in the fight.”
- child: Liagan the Nimble “My grief! to have lost my husband, my head, by the treachery of the Fianna; my two sons, my two men that were rough in the fight.”
- married with Meargach of the Green Spears “My grief! to have lost my husband, my head, by the treachery of the Fianna; my two sons, my two men that were rough in the fight.”
The Fianna · Cnoc-an-air · Meargach's Wife · Part 2
- enemies with Finn “And first it was settled for two men of each side to go out against one another; and then Ailne said that there should be thirty men on each side, and then she said she would not be satisfied to go back to her own country till she brought the head of Finn with her, or till the last of his men had fallen.”
The Fianna · Cnoc-an-air · Ailne's Revenge · Part 1
- married with Meargach of the Green Spears “The woman of the house came to them, and they knew her to be Ailne, wife of Meargach.”
- enemies with Finn “It is long I am looking for you, Finn,” she said, “to get satisfaction for the treachery you did on Meargach and on my two comely young sons, and on Tailc, son of Treon, and all his people.”
- patron: Grania “I know well I got kind treatment from Grania,” said Ailne in a sorrowful voice;”
The Fianna · Cnoc-an-air · Ailne's Revenge · Part 2
- protégé: Glanluadh “And the reason he said that was because he knew Ailne to have an enchanted cup in the dun, that had cured Glanluadh.”
- siblings with Grey Man “And sometimes Ailne's brother would come in and strike the heads off some of them, for none of them could rise up from the seats they were sitting on through his enchantments.”
- protégé: Conan “When Ailne heard that, she brought a sheepskin and she put it on Conan's back, and it fitted and grew to him, and covered his wounds.”
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Extracted from the original text of Gods and Fighting Men. Made with Rho MD.