Miscellaneous Myths: Fionn Mac Cumhaill

Hey, remember Cu Chulainn?
(five thousand comments complaining about my pronunciation rain from the heavens)
You DO! I'm so glad! Anyway, Fionn isn't DIRECTLY related to him, but the exploits of Fionn Mac Cumhaill make up the Fenian cycle of Irish mythology, while our buddy Cu's make up the Ulster Cycle. Two badasses, both alike in dignity, etc etc. And while there's significantly less mass murder and anime-levels of over-the-top combat, the Fenian cycle gives us romance, bromance, action, and the best kind of ending - a total LACK of an ending!

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[jamesgreene]

The fact that fionn is ment to return in Ireland’s greatest hour of need is terrifying once you realize that all of Irish history was NOT our hour of greatest need

[michaelcreech]

“He spots this gorgeous deer” Straying into Greek myth a bit there

[smergthedargon]

Fun fact: Oisín means "fawn".
He basically called his son "Deer son".

[robertelliott-bach]

"Defend Ireland in its greatest time of need.". Irish in 1169, 1315, 1529, 1601, 1649, 1796, 1798, 1845, 1919, and late 1960s to 1998: Where were you!

[josephr]

The apocalypse: **happens**
Literally every ancient and medieval hero that's been dead for hundreds or thousands of years: "Hello there"

[starlight]

I wonder if Finn was a real person and the whole “accessing infinite wisdom” thing was a story spawn from a personal quirk of “biting his thumb when he thinks deeply.”

[queenmarshmallow]

I love how Red's default wholesome couple doing cute couple things is one of them laying they're legs across the others lap and reading. Honestly I feel that on a spiritual level

[Gormathius]

"He could only access his wisdom by sucking his thumb" Ok that confirms it, he was definitely a real person. What happened there is he did that thing some people do where they stick their thumb between their lip and their teeth and people saw this and thought he had to suck his thumb to do high level pondering.

[nightmarefuel]

Can we just appreciate that the fisherman didn't go all angry pissed off at Fionn for getting the knowledge and instead was like: "Eh, its fine, here have the rest of the magic knowledge fish!"

[nomehables]

Soooo basicly....
You know you're destined to glory when your name is "Blondie Mac Cool"

[Getsugaru]

There's a moral to King in the Mountain stories that I feel often gets overlooked. The implication I receive from stories such as this is that the apocalypse ("greatest time of need") is when the problems have spiraled so out of control that the people themselves can no longer fix it. As such, the fact that these legendary heroes haven't appeared yet means that no matter how bad things are now, they can get worse. However, it also means that the problem hasn't gotten to the point that the people themselves cannot fix it. In other words, while it could be taken to mean "it can always be worse than it is now, " it can also mean "you can still fix it." The apocalypse isn't here yet, and the problems that currently plague us aren't something we cannot fix ourselves if we put in the effort. That's the moral I see from stories such as this, and while it could be double-edged in its meaning, it does still carry an important lesson and hope spot.

[godemperorhueylong]

Here's a great idea for a novel or TV show.

All these "King under the Mountain" stories are true but they all start appearing at once

[latverianbaklava]

I love the running joke you have in the myths of heroes.
"Hey kid, you like proving yourself?"
"Do I!"

[sesfilmsllc]

Fionn. “Ow! I burned my thumb.” *Sucks thumb* *Gains all knowledge of the universe* “I understand So he’s basically a badass Irish Linus.

[degenerate]

If Ireland hasn't hit it's greatest time of need yet then god help them when it actually happens

[brennanwallace]

My husband is a descendant from the Wallace Clan and knows a fair bit about his family's culture from his own research. I showed this video to him and he was smiling, nodding, and saying "yeah" or "yup" after every story beat. Then when Red was saying "Look, I'm sorry about pronouncing the names wrong. Here are the reasons why, " He sighed, nodded, and said "Yeah, I would have pronounced Fer Doirich with more of an "I" sound." I thought that was funny and felt I should share. He loved the video, btw.

[a.t.]

I was once asked why Irish people fought so much.
I then asked them to pronounce some names from their myths.
They got the point.

[HilariouslyScary]

Am I interested in ancient literature? No. Do I know anything about Ireland? No. Did I still watch this video and all of the miscellaneous myths and love them to death? Yes.

[timothymclean]

I now want to write a story where all of those "King under the Mountain" archetypes wake up at once, assume this means that The End Has Come, and in their panic and confusion accidentally start the apocalypse.

[cedartheyeah.justyeah.]

"Blondie obtains knowledge of infinitely wise salmon by sucking his thumb" SOUNDS like a stand alone shitpost, but no, there's an entire mythos behind said shitpost.
Aaaaand this is why I love mythology.