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 ...

, Caer Ibormeith was the daughter of Prince Ethal Anbuail of Sid Uamuin in

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

. In

Óengus In Irish mythology, Aengus or Óengus is one of the Tuatha Dé Danann and probably originally a god associated with youth, love,Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopedia of the Irish folk tradition''. Prentice-Hall Press, ...

’s dream, which lasted over a year, Caer Ibormeith stood beside his bed. However, when he reached out for her, she would disappear. Every alternate

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 ...

she would turn to human form for one day, which begins at sunset, and after that, she would revert into being a

swan Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...

, in which form she would remain for a year before becoming human again the following Samhain.

went in search for this girl in his dreams at the lake of the Dragon's Mouth and found 150 girls chained in pairs, his lady Caer Ibormeith, among them. Óengus was told he could marry Caer if he could identify her in her swan form. He chose correctly and with that Óengus turned himself into a swan and they flew away together, to the

Brú na Bóinne (, "mansion or palace of the Boyne"), also called the Boyne Valley tombs, is an ancient monument complex and ritual landscape in County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, located in a bend of the River Boyne. It is one of the world's most im ...

/palace on the River Boyne near

Slane Slane () is a village in County Meath, in Ireland. The village stands on a steep hillside on the left bank of the River Boyne at the intersection of the N2 (Dublin to Monaghan road) and the N51 (Drogheda to Navan road). As of the 2022 census ...

, which was his long standing place of residence. The pair sang beautiful music as they went, that put all listeners throughout Ireland asleep for three days and nights.The Dream of Oengus
The Celtic Literature Collective Caer would marry with

of the Tuatha de Dannan, and, amongst other things, become foster-mother of Diarmuid. The story of

Fionnuala In Irish mythology, Finnguala (modern spellings: Fionnghuala, Fionnuala , or Finola; literally meaning "white shoulder") was the daughter of Lir of the Tuatha Dé Danann. In the legend of the ''Children of Lir'', she was changed into a swan ...

and the other

children of Lir The ''Children of Lir'' () is a legend from Irish mythology. It is a tale from the post-Christianisation period that mixes magical elements such as druidic wands and spells with a Christian message of Christian faith bringing freedom from su ...

shares the motif of transformation into swans, as swans and the associated cranes ("grús") share Irish mythological reverence due to, especially in the latter case, being equally at home in flight, on land, and in water, which made it an especially magical creature able to transition to other worlds. Moreover, as the tall Crane stands upright when on land, it was associated with shape-shifting, back into human form.

References

* Jeffrey Gantz. 1982. ''Early Irish Myths and Sagas.'' Penguin. Mythological Cycle {{Celt-myth-stub