Findabair or Finnabair (

modern Irish Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was t ...

''Fionnabhair'' ) was a daughter of Ailill and Queen Medb of

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Del ...

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by Ch ...

. The meaning of the name is "white phantom" ( etymologically cognate with ''

Gwenhwyfar Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First ment ...

'', the original Welsh form of Guinevere). The

Dindsenchas ''Dindsenchas'' or ''Dindshenchas'' (modern spellings: ''Dinnseanchas'' or ''Dinnsheanchas'' or ''Dınnṡeanċas''), meaning "lore of places" (the modern Irish word ''dinnseanchas'' means "topography"), is a class of onomastic text in early Ir ...

also mention a Findabair who is the daughter of Lugaid Laigde. Though not considered a main character in the '' Táin'', Finnabair occupies a crucial role in the epic. During the war of the ''Táin'', her hand is offered to a succession of warriors in exchange for their sparring with

Cú Chulainn Cú Chulainn ( ), called the Hound of Ulster ( Irish: ''Cú Uladh''), is a warrior hero and demigod in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore. He is believed to be an incarnation of the Irish god L ...

. Ultimately her beauty and charms serve as the driving force behind the deaths of hundreds of men, even compelling Fer Diad to fight Cú Chulainn, his beloved foster-brother and best friend, in the

single combat Single combat is a duel between two single warriors which takes place in the context of a battle between two armies. Instances of single combat are known from Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The champions were often combatants who repre ...

which leads to his death by Cú Chulainn's

Gáe Bulg The ''Gáe Bulg'' () (also ''Gáe Bulga'', ''Gáe Bolg'', ''Gáe Bolga''), meaning "spear of mortal pain/death", "gapped/notched spear", or "belly spear", was the name of the spear of Cúchulainn in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. It was gi ...

. In the ''

Táin Bó Cúailnge (Modern ; "the driving-off of the cows of Cooley"), commonly known as ''The Táin'' or less commonly as ''The Cattle Raid of Cooley'', is an epic from Irish mythology. It is often called "The Irish Iliad", although like most other early Iri ...

'', Finnabair's husband

Fráech Fráech (Fróech, Fraích, Fraoch) is a Connacht hero (and half-divine as the son of goddess Bébinn) in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He is the nephew of Boann, goddess of the river Boyne, and son of Idath of the men of Connaught and ...

(whose story is told in the ''Táin Bo Fraích'') is killed by Cú Chulainn in a river. Afterwards, Medb repeatedly offers her daughter to prospective warriors, first to Nad Crantail, then to Láríne Mac Nóis, in a truce with Cú Chulainn with the condition that he not attack her army by night in exchange for his provision each day with a warrior with whom to engage in one-on-one combat. Finnabair is offered to Cú Chulainn when no warrior can be found. After he accepts, she is taken to him by a fool dressed as the king, not by Ailill himself. Upon discovering this, Cú Chulainn kills the fool and puts a pillar through him and a pillar through Finnabair's tunic, thus leaving two stones in that location, called the Fool's Stone and Finnabair's Stone. Finnabair is subsequently offered to Fer Diad, "saying that he was her only darling, her chosen lover from among all the men in the world." The slaying of Fer Diad on Finnabair's account is greatly lamented by Cú Chulainn, and spurs him to speak many poems about him: “And Medb’s daughter Finnabair,/ that beautiful bait you hoped/ would be yours? You might as well/try to tie sand with a rope.” Her last and perhaps genuine love interest, Rochad Mac Faithemain, joined the forces of Ulster before the last great battle. To persuade him to not fight against

, Medb uses her daughter's affection to strike a truce. Finnabair spends the night with Rochad, and eventually news of this reaches the 7 Kings of Munster, all of whom were also offered Finnabair for their allegiance. They take their complaints to Ailill's sons, which results in a battle and the eventual slaying of 700 men. Upon hearing how she has been used and had so many men die on her account, Finnabair drops dead of shame. "Hence the name Finnabair Sléibe, Finnabair of the Mountain." In the ''Táin Bo Fráich'', Findabair loved

but he would not pay her dowry, until bribed by Medb, he agreed to take her in return for his help in battle against

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

in the '' Táin Bó Cuailnge'' (Cattle Raid of Cooley).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Findabair Ulster Cycle Characters in Táin Bó Cúailnge