Fúamnach, or Fuamnach, is

Midir In the Mythological Cycle of early Irish literature, Midir (Old Irish) or Midhir (Modern Irish) was a son of the Dagda of the Tuatha Dé Danann. After the Tuatha Dé were defeated by the Milesians, he lived in the sidh of Brí Léith (believed ...

's first wife and a

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

of the

Tuatha Dé Danann The Tuath(a) Dé Danann (, meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deities of pre-Christian Gae ...

in the medieval Irish text ''

Tochmarc Étaíne ''Tochmarc Étaíne'', meaning "The Wooing of Étaín/Éadaoin", is an early text of the Irish Mythological Cycle, and also features characters from the Ulster Cycle and the Cycles of the Kings. It is partially preserved in the manuscript known a ...

'' ("The Wooing of Étaín"). The text describes her as being intelligent (''gáeth''), cunning (''trebar'') and "versed in the knowledge and power of the Túatha Dé Danand", explaining that her fosterfather had been the wizard druid Bresal Etarlám. She is said to be of the progeny (''clann'') of Béothach son of Iardanél, who is probably identical with Béothach son of Iarbonel, the father of the Túatha Dé Danann in the ''

Lebor Gabála Érenn ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of the Taking of Ireland"), known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'', is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language intended to be a history of Ireland and the Irish fro ...

''.

Summary

When

fell in love with

Étaín Étaín or Édaín (Modern Irish spelling: Éadaoin) is a figure of Irish mythology, best known as the heroine of ''Tochmarc Étaíne'' (''The Wooing Of Étaín''), one of the oldest and richest stories of the Mythological Cycle. She also figu ...

and married her, Fúamnach got so jealous that she cast several spells on her as soon as the couple arrived in Midir's residence in Brí Léith: *First, having welcomed the couple and having seated Étáin in the centre of the house, she struck her wand of scarlet rowan (''cáerthann'') on her, transforming her rival into a pool of water. When Étaín changed from being a pool to a worm and subsequently a beautiful scarlet fly (''cuil corcrai''), she joined Midir once more as his companion. *Second, on a visit to Midir (escorted by Lug, the Dagdae and Ogmae), Fúamnach announced that she would drive Étaín away from him and employed a spell which she had learnt from her fosterfather: she conjured up a mighty wind which blew Étaín through the air for the duration of seven years, after which she came to Óengus (Mac Óc) in the Brug. He lovingly kept her with him in a specially designed, protective bower (''grianán''). *Third, on discovering what had come of Étaín, Fúamnach deceived Mac Óc into coming to Brí Léith on the pretext that she desired to establish peace between them. However, as Mac Óc was on his way, Fúamnach travelled to the Brug by an alternative route and conjured up yet another wind which forced Étaín to roam another seven years without setting foot on land. Étaín finally arrived at a house in Ulster, where she fell into the cup of the (anonymous) wife of the warrior Étar. As she emptied her cup, she swallowed Étaín and miraculously gave (re-)birth to Étaín as her own daughter (the tale goes on to say that Étaín grew up and met a mysterious horseman who had been looking for her). Fúamnach did not live long to see the fruits of her work. When Mac Óc met Midir at Brí Léith, he discovered what deceptive scheme had led him there. Mac Óc followed Fúamnach's trail to the house of her fosterfather Bresal and there struck off her head, which he carried as a trophy back to the Brug.

Name

The name Fúamnach may be an adjective noun derived from ''fúaimm'' "noise, sound". To cite one example, 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 ...

poem on Nás speaks of ''fáidiud find-gel fúamnach Fáil'' ("the lamentation of the fair-skinned vocal women of Fáil"). The form ''fúaimnech'' is also attested as a personal name for Fúaimnech, daughter of

Conn Cétchathach Conn Cétchathach (; "of the Hundred Battles"), son of Fedlimid Rechtmar, was a semi-legendary High King of Ireland and the ancestor of the Connachta, and, through his descendant Niall Noígiallach, the Uí Néill dynasties, which dominated Irelan ...

, who appears in the legal tract ''Mellbretha''. CIH 1589.1-48 and 1338.5-1341.7, tr. William Sayers, "Games, Sport and Para-Military Exercise in Early Ireland." ''Aethlon: The Journal of Sport Literature'' 10 (1992): 105-23.

Notes

{{Irish mythology (mythological) Characters in Irish mythology Women in mythology