Fionn mac Cumhaill: Images of the Gaelic Hero

Dáithí Ó hÓgáin examines the changing images of Fionn mac Cumhaill, the celebrated hero of Gaelic tradition. The book considers how legends about Fionn and the Fianna developed across Irish literary and folkloric sources, treating them as cultural narratives rather than straightforward historical records.

Its discussion ranges from Acallamh na Senórach, a major medieval prose source, to narrative poems composed between the 12th and 15th centuries and later Early Modern Gaelic material. Ó hÓgáin also considers magical features of the tradition, including Fionn’s associations with wisdom, restored youth and transformation. The result is a study of how one heroic figure acquired lasting significance in Gaelic storytelling.