Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally Oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era. In the History of Ireland (795–1169), early medieval era, myths were ...

, Finnguala (modern spellings: Fionnghuala, Fionnuala , or Finola; literally meaning "white shoulder") was the daughter of

Lir Lir or Ler (meaning "Sea" in Old Irish; ''Ler'' and ''Lir'' are the nominative and genitive forms, respectively) is a sea god in Irish mythology. His name suggests that he is a personification of the sea, rather than a distinct deity. He is na ...

of the

Tuatha Dé Danann The Tuatha Dé Danann (, meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deities of pre-Christian Gaelic ...

. In the legend of the ''

Children of Lir The ''Children of Lir'' () is a legend from Irish mythology. It is a tale from the post-Christianisation period that mixes magical elements such as druidic wands and spells with a Christian message of Christian faith bringing freedom from su ...

'', she was changed into a

swan Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...

and

curse A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...

d by her stepmother, Aoife, to wander the

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

s and

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

s of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, with her brothers Fiachra, Conn and Aodh, for 900 years until saved by the marriage of Lairgren, son of Colman, son of Cobthach, and Deoch, daughter of Finghin, whose union broke the curse. 'The Song of Fionnuala', with lyrics by

Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852), was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist who was widely regarded as Ireland's "National poet, national bard" during the late Georgian era. The acclaim rested primarily on the popularity of his ''I ...

Silent, O Moyle , Thomas Moore - N. Clifford Page
/ref> speaks of her wanderings. The name is anglicized as Fenella. The shortened version

Nuala Nuala ( , ) or Fionnuala is an Irish feminine given name, derived from Irish mythology - being either a diminutive form of Fionnuala ("fair shoulder"), the daughter of Lir, or an alternate name for Úna (perhaps meaning "lamb"), wife of Finvar ...

is commonly used as a first name in contemporary Ireland.

People

People named Fionnuala *

Fionnuala Boyd Fionnuala Boyd (born 1944) is a British artist. Biography Fionnuala Boyd was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire in 1944. She studied at the St Albans School of Art. Much of her work has been in collaboration with her husband, Les Evans ...

* Fionnuala Carr *

Fionnuala Ellwood Fionnuala Ellwood (born 3 July 1964 in Dublin, Ireland) is an actress best known for portraying Lynn Whiteley in the ITV soap ''Emmerdale'' between 1989 and 1994. Early life She attended Wilmslow County Grammar School for Girls. Career Other ...

* Fionnuala Kenny *

Fionnuala McCormack Fionnuala McCormack ( Britton; born 24 September 1984 in Wicklow) is an Irish runner who has competed at a range of distance running events. She was the gold medallist at the 2011 and 2012 European Cross Country Championships, becoming the firs ...

Fionnuala Ní Aoláin Fionnuala Ní Aoláin (; born 1967 in Galway) is an Irish academic lawyer specialising in human rights law. She was the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism for ...

Fionnuala Ní Fhlatharta Fionnuala Ní Fhlatharta is an Irish actress. She is best known for her role as Bernie in the Irish language television drama '' Ros na Rún''. Biography Ní Fhlatharta has played the role of cafe owner Bernie Ní Neachtain Seoighe on '' Ros na ...

* Fionnuala Ní Flaithbheartaigh *

Fionnuala Sherry Fionnuala Sherry (born 20 September 1962) is an Irish violinist and vocalist. Together with Norwegian musician Rolf Løvland, she makes up the Celtic-Nordic group Secret Garden, which won the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 with the predominantly ...

Fionnuala Sweeney Fionnuala Sweeney ( , ; born 1965) is an Irish anchorwoman and reporter. Based at CNN's headquarters in Atlanta and at CNN London, Fionnuala was also the solo host of the Eurovision Song Contest 1993 from Millstreet, County Cork. Early life an ...

People named Fionnula *

Fionnula Flanagan Fionnghuala Manon "Fionnula" Flanagan (born 10 December 1941) is an Irish actress. Flanagan is known for her roles in the films '' James Joyce's Women'' (1985), '' Some Mother's Son'' (1996), '' Waking Ned Devine'' (1998), '' The Others'' (200 ...

People named Finola *

Finola Dwyer Finola Dwyer (born 10 July 1963) is a UK-based New Zealand film producer and editor, best known for her films '' An Education'' and ''Brooklyn'', produced with frequent collaborator Amanda Posey. Career In 2015, Dwyer produced an historical ...

Finola Hughes Finola Hughes (born 29 October 1959) is a British actress, best known for her role as Anna Devane on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC soap operas ''General Hospital'' and ''All My Children'', and her portrayal of Laura in the 1983 film '' ...

Finola Moorhead Finola Moorhead (born 1947) is an Australian novelist, playwright, essayist, poet, and reviewer. Her topics include women and writing, switching between reality and fiction, with themes of subversion and survival. Moorhead participates in the ...

Finola O'Donnell Finola O'Donnell (), also known as Nuala O'Donnell, was a 15th-century Irish noblewoman remembered for cofounding the Franciscan Monastery in Donegal. Finola was born to O’Brien (Conor-na-Srona) and later married to Hugh Roe O’Donnell, son o ...

* Finola O'Donnell (Iníon Dubh) *

Finola O'Farrell Dame Finola Mary Lucy O'Farrell, DBE KC (born 15 December 1960), commonly called The Honourable Mrs Justice O'Farrell, is a British high court judge and barrister. Early life Finola O'Farrell was educated at St Philomena's Catholic High Schoo ...

References

Mythological Cycle Shapeshifting Legendary birds Female legendary creatures {{Celt-myth-stub