Fionn mac Cumhal: The Stag/Hunting God of Ireland

by John Machate

Ireland is awash with various gods and goddesses which serve as Patrons of the various arts and crafts as well as elements. However, Ireland appears to be missing one aspect that is found in most every other Indo-European culture, and that is the stag or hunter god. Based on research and personal insight I propose that Ireland does in fact have a stag deity, found as Fionn mac Cumhal.

Fionn mac Cumhal was one of the last mythological leaders of the Fianna, a warrior band that lived in the wild places and defended Ireland from invaders. Fionn, like other hero's in Irish myth, has a divine genealogy. He was descended of the god Nuada of the Silverarm who was twice the king of the Tuathe De Danaan.

The connection with stags becomes obvious when we begin looking into the names of the descendants of Fionn as well as the name Fianna itself. Fianna, in modern Irish, is the plural form of fia which translated to "deer" in English, a fianna is a herd of deer. Oisin, the son of Fionn translates as "little deer" or "fawn." Oisin also has a son, named Oscar which translated as "deer-love." It should also be noted that the mother of Oisin is a woman magically changed into a deer.

Crossing the sea to Wales we find another man whose name and ancestry closely matches that of Fionn. Gwynn ap Nudd is leader of the "wild hunt" in Wales. His name Gwynn is cognate with that of Fionn (Finn) and his fathers name Nudd is the cognate of Nuada, who we already said was an ancestor of Fionn. Taking into account that the differences may exist as a result of years of separation or even changes as a result of translations it is easily noted that Gwynn and Fionn may in fact be two names of the same god.

Another connection between the two is the "wild hunt", which Gwynn leads in Wales. Fionn’s version of the wild hunt is found in the initiation rites of the Fianna. A prospective member of the Fianna must run through the woods as fast as possible while be chased by Fionn and the Fianna. Gwynn’s version of the wild hunt is him leading a pack of dogs on a chase for deer or as told in later stories,chasing souls.

The final connection between Fionn and Gwynn are their relationships with the Otherworld. Gwynn ap Nudd was a King of Annwfn, the Otherworld. Fionn himself was never named as a king of anything but in reading his tales, the ease with which he and the Fianna passed between this world on the Otherworld can only indicate a strong connection with the Otherworld. Even if Fionn never was king, he was very much a part of the Otherworld.

The purpose of this article was to present Fionn as a stag/hunter god, however it should be noted that like other deities of Ireland he has other attributes that have not been addressed. So while Ireland may not appear to have a hunting or stag deity we have shown that they have at least one. By comparing the Irish myths to the myths of Wales and I feel that we have presented a solid case for Fionn being a god of the hunt.

Bibliography:

MacCrossan, Tadhg. The Sacred Cauldron. St. Paul, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications, Inc. , 1992

Rees, Alwyn and Brinley Rees. Celtic Heritage. London: Thames and Hudson, 1961

Rolleston, T.W. Celtic Myths and Legends. New York: Dover Publications 1990

Ross, Anne. Pagan Celtic Britain. Chicago: Academy Chicago Publishers 1996