Friday, September 23, 2005
UI's Celtic Mythology - Oscar
Oscar, in Irish mythology, was the son of Oisin and the grandson of Finn MacCool. His name means "dear lover" and recalls his grandmother, the goddess Sadb, whom Finn MacCool first encountered while he was out hunting. Sadb had been changed into a hind by a spell, which Finn MacCool briefly lifted. Oscar's mother was Eibhir, who was said to be "a yellow-haired maiden from a warm country".
Oscar was a mighty fighter, one of the best of all the Fianna, or Fenians, the warriors who acted as a bodyguard to the High King of Ireland. But he lived during a time when the ruler, Cairbe, felt that the Fenians had too much power, and a bloody struggle ensued. High King Cairbe refused to pay the Fenians for their services and raised another band of fighters to replace them. In a battle fought at Gabhra, near present-day Dublin, Oscar killed Cairbe in single combat but was himself mortally wounded. According to one version of the myth, Finn MacCool returned briefly from the otherworld to mourn Oscar's death.
Oscar was a mighty fighter, one of the best of all the Fianna, or Fenians, the warriors who acted as a bodyguard to the High King of Ireland. But he lived during a time when the ruler, Cairbe, felt that the Fenians had too much power, and a bloody struggle ensued. High King Cairbe refused to pay the Fenians for their services and raised another band of fighters to replace them. In a battle fought at Gabhra, near present-day Dublin, Oscar killed Cairbe in single combat but was himself mortally wounded. According to one version of the myth, Finn MacCool returned briefly from the otherworld to mourn Oscar's death.
# posted by United Irelander @ 12:00 AM 
© 2008 United Irelander.
