
Long ago, people in Ireland believed that there was a beautiful land in the western sea called Tír na nÓg – The land of the young. It was a place where the trees were always green, the flowers were always in bloom and men and women never grew old. This is the story of how Oisín, the son of Fionn MacCumhail leader of the Fianna, came to go to Tír na n-óg.
One morning the Fianna were hunting deer on the shores of Lough Leane in County Kerry. As they rested on a hilltop, a beautiful girl came riding towards them on a snow white horse. She was dressed like a princess and her long golden hair hung to her waist.
As she drew near, Fionn called out “What is your name and what land have you come from?” – “I am Niamh of the Golden Hair and my father is King of Tír na nÓg. I have heard of a great warrior named Oisín. I have to come to find him and ask him to return with me to the Land of the Young.”