Oral traditions

Gaelic society in both Scotland and Ireland provided a fertile environment for oral tradition right down to modern times. This is nowhere more evident than in their shared tradition of story-telling, widely acknowledged as being among the most remarkable in Europe for its quality and diversity.

Among the characters featuring in old Gaelic tales is Fionn MacCumhail. The heroic deeds of Fionn and his followers, the Feinne, are well known in oral tradition both in Ireland and Scotland. Though his death was recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters in 283 AD, Fionn and his adventures were clearly mythical. In Skye, for example, he is reputed to have sat on the top of Suidhe Fhìnn (Fingal’s Seat) just to the west of Portree, and from there orchestrated deer hunts in the Strath area, more than 15 miles to the south.