Liath Luachra or the "Grey one of Luachair", is the name of two characters in the

Fenian Cycle The Fenian Cycle (), Fianna Cycle or Finn Cycle ( ga, an Fhiannaíocht) is a body of early Irish literature focusing on the exploits of the mythical hero Finn or Fionn mac Cumhaill and his warrior band the Fianna. Sometimes called the Ossi ...

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later Early Irish ...

. Both appear in ''

The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn ''The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn'' ( ga, Macgnímartha Finn) is a medieval Irish narrative belonging to the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. As its title implies, it recounts the boyhood exploits of Fionn mac Cumhaill, the cycle's central figure. O ...

'', which details the young life and adventures of the hero

Fionn mac Cumhaill Fionn mac Cumhaill ( ; Old and mga, Find or ''mac Cumail'' or ''mac Umaill''), often anglicized Finn McCool or MacCool, is a hero in Irish mythology, as well as in later Scottish and Manx folklore. He is leader of the ''Fianna'' bands of y ...

. Alfred Nutt for example distinguished the two as figures of different gender. The first Liath Luachra is one of Fionn's foster mothers who raise him after the death of his father

Cumhal Cumhall (earlier Cumall, pronounced roughly "Coo-al" or "Cool") or Cumhall mac Trénmhoir ("son of Trénmór/Tréanmór" meaning "strong-great") is a figure in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology, a leader of the fianna and the father of Fionn m ...

at the hands of Goll mac Morna. She is a great warrior and a companion of Fionn's aunt, the druidess

Bodhmall Bodhmall (or bodhmann, Bómall,''Dóiteoir na Samhna'', by Darach Ó Scalaí, Bodmall, or Bodbmall) is one of Fionn mac Cumhaill's childhood foster mothers in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology and the daughter of Tréanmór mac Suailt. She ...

; together they raise the boy in secret in the forest of Sliabh Bladhma. Eventually Fionn's ever-spreading fame threatens to bring his father's killers to him, and his caretakers send him to find his own way. By this point they have taught him enough that he can survive on his own, and he goes into the king of

Bantry Bantry () is a town in the civil parish of Kilmocomoge in the barony of Bantry on the southwest coast of County Cork, Ireland. It lies in West Cork at the head of Bantry Bay, a deep-water gulf extending for to the west. The Beara Peninsula ...

's service.Liath Luchra
, MacKillop, James (1998). ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology''. Oxford. . The second Liath Luachra is a tall, hideous warrior and a member of the

Fianna ''Fianna'' ( , ; singular ''Fian''; gd, Fèinne ) were small warrior-hunter bands in Gaelic Ireland during the Iron Age and early Middle Ages. A ''fian'' was made up of freeborn young males, often aristocrats, "who had left fosterage but had ...

. He had been an enemy of Cumhal, and even dealt him the first blow in the battle at which he died. Later Goll mac Morna gave him possession of Cumhal's treasures, and made him the Fianna's official treasurer. His ''corrbolg'' or ''crane bag'' is one of the warrior band's great treasures. Eventually he kills a young warrior named Glonda; Fionn sees the man's mother crying blood over the murder and decides to avenge him. He kills Liath easily and takes his treasure from him. This Liath has a son,

Conán mac Lia Conán mac Lia is a figure in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. A member of the warrior band the fianna, he is, in a way, less famous than the group's other Conán, Conán mac Morna. Conán mac Lia is the son of Liath Luachra, a member of t ...

, who becomes lord of Luchair and a marauder against Fionn and the Fianna. He is eventually reconciled with the group and joins them."The Boyish Exploits of Finn" ¶2, ¶16,

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * Fenian Cycle {{Celt-myth-stub