Aillen or Áillen is an incendiary being in

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally Oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era. In the History of Ireland (795–1169), early medieval era, myths were ...

. He played the harp or timpán and would lull his victims into a deep sleep with his music.

Character

Called "the burner", According to the most frequently repeated story, Aillén harasses Cormac's court at Tara every November 1 at Samhain.

Deeds

According to ''

The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn ''The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn'' () 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. Origin and development T ...

'', he would burn Tara to the ground every year at

Samhain Samhain ( , , , ) or () is a Gaels, Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the "Celtic calendar#Medieval Irish and Welsh calendars, darker half" of the year.Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, Ó hÓ ...

with his fiery breath after lulling all the inhabitants to sleep with his music. This only ended with the arrival of

Fionn mac Cumhaill Fionn mac Cumhaill, often anglicised Finn McCool or MacCool, is a hero in Irish mythology, as well as in later Scottish and Manx folklore. He is the leader of the ''Fianna'' bands of young roving hunter-warriors, as well as being a seer a ...

, who inhaled the poison from his spear to keep himself awake and slew Aillen. The act won him the leadership of the

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

Names

Áillen was also a popular personal name in

ancient Ireland The prehistory of Ireland has been pieced together from Archaeology, archaeological evidence, which has grown at an increasing rate over recent decades. It begins with the first evidence of permanent human residence in Ireland around 10,500 BC ...

and was used by several personages.

References

Fenian Cycle Fire gods Tuatha Dé Danann {{celt-myth-stub