Finn mac Cumhail, Fionn mac Cumhail, or Finn MacCool [key], semimythical Irish hero. His exploits are recorded in long narrative poems by Ossian and in many ballads, called Fenian ballads after the Fenians, or Fianna, professional fighters whom Finn was said to have headed in the 3d cent. Certain tales involve such events as Finn's pursuit of the lovers Diarmuid and Grania, who was Finn's wife. The stories of Finn inspired the Fingal of James Macpherson and played an important part in the Irish literary renaissance.
See Duanaire Finn: The Book of the Lays of Fionn, ed. and tr. by E. MacNeill (3 vol., 1908–53).
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