Midsummer: For Áine, Banríon Sídhe

30 min readJun 8, 2023

Fa*ry Queens of the Irish Otherworld Series

Following the Pleiades to Midsummer

As promised from my previous article, here is a piece focusing soley on Irish Midsummer practices. Last month, I went beneath a Hawthorn tree and Journeyed with the Queens of Fa*ry for the first time. And to be fair, I did not get very far as there is much work and studying to do in order to be worthy of Their time. This all started with my intrigue in the Conjunction of the Pleiades, which tends to coincide currently with Bealtaine celebrations (but see the conclusion below for updates). By observing the daily rising and setting of the Pleiades on my SkyView app and recording it here on this Google Sheet, I have been able to project a few times and have started to notice some patterns: Stars/constellations rise 4 minutes earlier each new day, and so stars/constellations will thus rise 2 hours earlier at the end of the month than at the beginning.

As Morgan Daimler explains, latitude and hemispheric location matters! Just yesterday, I stayed over with friends in Hartford, CT and the rising and setting times were vastly outside the timelines for Cambridge, MA. This more than anything made me realise how important it is to learn how to observe the stars from where we are, but also of the incredible importance of these celestial movements IN and AROUND IRELAND, especially in Irish sacred locations where there are archaeoastronomical alignments and lore surrounding The An Streoillín (the Straggling), An Dreoilín (The Wren), An Tréidín (The Flock/Herd)... aka The Pleiades.

So, why is Midsummer so important in Fa*ry Faith?

I cannot highly recommend enough Kevin Danaher’s The Year In Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs (1972)! You can access and search it digitally for free on archives!

Midsummer and St. John (The Baptist)’s Eve have many stories in relation with the Good Neighbors. Some are harmless and filled with trickery like in Oíche Fhéile Eoin (Daimler 2017, MacLiammoir 1984), or in stories associated with Cnoc Áine where the Good Neighbors join in the celebrations (Daimler, 2017, p. 123). They often join in because sure who doesn’t enjoy a good time, but also the Good Neighbors have a vested interest in the harvest to come, as They are always given Their portion as it is Their due in accordance with the contract made between An Dagda and the Milesians. MacNeill recorded an “anecdotal tale from 1879 that said fa*ry men used to work the fields during the harvest alongside humans until Saint Patrick declared during holy mass that the Good People would not achieve Heaven until Judgement Day; from that moment on the fa*ries would do no work to help take in the harvest” (Daimler, 2017, p. 124). Daimler posits this, and I agree, is a reference to some sort of offense that was said against the Good Neighbors and so They removed Their help (but this didnt take away the necessary ‘tip-top pickle’ of which They are contractually owed.

Other stories around Midsummer, and all of June of course are not so harmless.

As I shared last time: “Midsummer was a time when evil influences affecting human beings and the animals and crops were usually potent. It is remembered that ‘the oldest woman in the town’ would go round the fire three times on her knees, reciting prayers. To walk three times sunwise round the fire was to ensure a year without sickness, and as the flames died down the cattle were driven through the embers and their backs were singed with a lighted hazel wand: the sticks were preserved and utilized for driving the cows. By tradition everyone carried home a burning stick from the fire, and whoever was first to take it into the house brought good luck of the year with him. A glowing turf from the fire was caried three times sunwise round the dwelling house, and others were thrown into the growing crops. Yarrow was hung in the house to ward off illness. Fernseed was gathered for its magic powers and divinations made from the roots of bracken and lilies…retaining some of the ashes from the Midsummer fires to mix with the following season’s seed corn” (Estyn Evans, pp. 274–275).

These midsummer bonfires for “luck, blessing, and protection” (Daimler, 2017) were accompanied with processions of people holding torches of burning straw to honour/appease the Fa*ry Queen Áine, and the so called “evil influences” are of course the direct danger of the Slua Sí (Fa*y Host), Sidhe gaoithe (Fa*ry Wind), An Amadán na Bruidhne (The Fa*ry Fool of the Otherworldly Hall) which are most active in June (Daimler 2018), or indirect harmful influences of other Good Neighbors. Appealing to one of the Queens of the Otherworld who happens to also be a Goddess is no stupid superstition during a time of Otherworldy increased contact!

If that isn’t enough, I would also like to go a bit further and also add in what Morgan Daimler calls the basdán: “beings who were diametrically opposed to the Othercrowd et al…which [seek] only chaos and death”.

I feel it is no cooincidence that the Bealtaine Ogham reading I received in communion with the Queens was Medb’s warning of incoming danger (Ceirt), especially so with requesting omens afterward as confirmation: Medb showing up *in name* all over from Harvard Square to a Wildlife Rehabitiliation Center in Maine, a dead rabbit showing up on my block, my iphone dieing rendering me communicationless for a whole week, and the new podcast “Feed the Fa*ries” premiering a public discussion about the unfolding Great War of Making vs. Unmaking. This all to say: shite got weird. And got weird fast. And I’m sure it will continue to get even weirder, as this world regains more and more of its enchantment.

‘Fa*ries and the Peasant Girl’ by Yuliya Litvinova

Let’s Talk More about Queen Áine: Áine na gClair “Áine of the Wisps” and Bean Fhionn, “White Lady”

In the words of Morgan Daimler: “Áine is extrememly powerful and also that whether as a goddess, fairy, or local legend she has been — effectively — continuously acknowledged until the present day” (Daimler, 2019).

Last month, on May 13th, I stumbled upon an altar and statue dedicated to Queen Áine in Salem, so I figured I should start off with Herself.

It is said that Áine can take the form of a red female horse, and her name means ‘shining’, ‘brightness’, or ‘splendor’ (Daimler, 2016, p. 26).

Áine is also said to take the shape of a hare and swan, and sometimes wears a cloak of swan feathers. This however, cannot be corroborated, as the only reference for this I can find is by Patricia Monaghan, and we know all too well that her writing was very much fictitious. No doubt, Monaghan fabricated (like she so often did) by not understanding the context, and also chose to ignore the research of MacKillop (1998) and O hOgain (1991) that emphatically state:

“the Geraldines, as the new Norman overlords of Munster, were not slow to expropriate such symbolism to themselves. Thus we find the professional poet Gofraidh Fionn O Dalaigh, who was in the employ of the Geraldines in teh 14th century, referring to Gerald’s father, Maurice the 1st Earl, as “Áine’s king” and to Gerald himself as “the son of Áine’s knight”. It is striking to find this idea embedded in a story which was curen tin the recent folklore of the Knockainey area. According to this, Maurice was walking one da by the shore of Lough Gur when he saw the beauitful otherworld woman Áine bathing. He seized her cloak, which act magically put her into his power, and then lay with her. In this way Gearoid Iarla was conceived, and when he was born Áine appeared at the castle of the Earl to present the chlid to him. This story is in reality a conflation of two distinct traditions — the Gaelic one whereby the Munster king lies with Áine, and a Continental legend which tells of how certain great families had a swan-maiden ancestress. The conflation must reflect actual policy of the Geraldines themselves, who wishes to place their Norman heritage within a Gaelic framework” (O hOgain, 1991, pp. 227–228).

In truth, shapeshifting swan stories are many in Irish folklore, but none I have found are related to Áine Herself. Derbforgaill, Caer, Midir, King Mongan, and of course the most popular children of Lir are well known examples. But none discussing Áine, which is both curious and annoying especially since many Amazon bronze statues depict Herself with a swan.

If we go to Duchas, we can see that there are currently 498 transcripts about Áine, (none of which include stories of swans) and like us, many of the tales of Her show Her strength, but also some are heartbreaking. Maybe this is why we love Her so much…

Áine is said to be the Queen of the Fa*ries of Munster, and She helped the TDD defeat the Firbolgs (Vol. 517, p. 50). So she is a Warrior Queen. A Warrior Queen who eventually would become something of a recluse (understandably) after the gruesome loss of one of her two daughters, and eventually dies of grief on Midsummer.

“Áine went back and brought in the younger daughter, that she might witness the fate of that one who disobeyed the mother’s warning. But what must have been her surprise when that younger daughter, on the night following eloped with a druid who was stopping in the house. Enraged at having her advice thus slighted, Áine now shut herself up and became a still more retired recluse than ever, mixing not with her neighbours, but communing still more closely with her invisible frineds. At last, when dying, which was on St. John’s eve, her friends ‘the good people’ crowded out from every lios or rath throughout Ireland, they came trooping towards Áines residence (Knockaney), each one carrying a lighted torch or cliar in honour of Áine, And thus it is that a custom which originated in honour of Áine, is still carried on as a remembrance of her, and from this custom she is known as “Áine Cliar” ever since.”” (Vol. 517, p. 58).

As we know, death is not the end in Irish folklore, especially when it comes to the Gods, who live Their Other Life in the Otherworld, and often reappear to humans and non-humans alike.

There are so many artist imaginings of Herself out there with twee-wings, or over-sexualised by the male gaze… This one by Sean Fitzgerald (an Irish artist) is really one of the best I could find that is true to folklore. It’s also quite fitting since She is known as the progenitor of the Fitzgeralds. https://www.instagram.com/p/CfBtgiirFoW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Not many detail what Áine Herself, looks like, but in The School’s Collection (Vol. 516, p. 75), and according to Mrs. Halpin in Kilballyowen, Co. Limerick, Áine is said to have “long flowing hair”, but in another (Vol. 516, p. 215) she is said “to live at the bottom of a lake. Each year she would emerge at midsummer to sit in her favorite spot called Suidheachán Bean-a’-tighe, where she would comb her long golden hair with a golden comb.” She is also described wearing “fine white robes” during a ball in The Legend of Seán Ó hAodh (Vol. 516 p. 222). In LGE, Macalister states that “Aine… white her countenance”. There may be more, however many of the transcripts are not yet translated (hint hint).

There is another connection between Áine and lakes. Limerick people would bring the sick to the lakes during the full moon for healing, and if they didnt get better after the 8th or 9th day, Aine and her brother would lull them to sleep until they died (Vol. 516, p. 216). Here is the full transcript:

On the 6th night of the full moon the people brought their sick close to the lakes so that the moonlight shone brightly on them near the waters of the lake. The old people called this night- “All-Heal” and if a sick person was not better by the 8th or 9th day of the moon he would then hear the “Ceol Side” which “Áine” the bean-sidhe and spirit of Lough Gur would sing or play to comfort the dying.
The sick person would fall asleep at the music “Suantraige:- which was said to be the whispering song of sleep which Aine’s brother Fer Fí played.
Fer Fí was a kindly red haired dwarf and it was said to be a sign of good luck to him laughing.
He played only 3 tunes — Wail, Sleep and Laughter — on his 3 Stringed harp.
1. Suantraighe 2. Geantraighe 3. Goltraighe

https://www.southernstar.ie/news/local-artist-sarahs-female-heads-adorn-new-macroom-n22-bypass-4288458

Áine in the Stories & Lore

Mythological Cycle (if I am missing any please comment below)

Lebor Gabála Érenn (LGE written 900–1200 CE) The Book of the Takings of Ireland or ‘The Book of Invasions’) has several passages mentioning Herself.
Aine was the daughter of Partholon and her husband may have been Ban or Bronnad. (source: Macalister, LGE, Vol. 3, p. 11, 27, 57, 109) https://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/lebor2.html#26
Aine Find was “the progeny of Allot, Manannan” of the Túatha Dé Danann. (source: Macalister, LGE, Vol. 4, p. 191)
Aine daughter of the Dagda died for the love that she gave to Banba”. (source: Macalister, LGE, Vol. 4, p. 231) https://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/lebor4.html#55
Aine was the son of Érimón in his second family, born in Ireland, “and that family is not brought into prominence”. (source: Macalister, LGE, Vol. 5, p. 27, 29, 99) https://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/lebor5.html https://archive.org/details/leborgablare00macauoft/page/26/mode/2up?view=theater&q=Aine
Aine was the daughter of Caindile, the king of the Saxons; wife of the king of Ulaid; mother of Tibraide Tírech. She is one of three women who escaped while pregnant from Elim son of Conrai. (source: Macalister, LGE, Vol. 5, p. 307, 483) https://archive.org/details/leborgablare00macauoft/page/306/mode/2up?view=theater&q=Aine
Aine was the daughter of Ugoine. (source: Macalister, LGE, Vol. 5, p. 469)https://archive.org/details/leborgablare00macauoft/page/468/mode/2up?view=theater&q=Aine
The Eoganacht of Aine are descended from Éber Finn. “Eochu son of Ailill Finn … slew the king of Cermna, Clair and Cliu in Aine of the yew-shields”. (source: Macalister, LGE, Vol. 5, p. 45, 511) https://archive.org/details/leborgablare00macauoft/page/510/mode/2up?view=theater&q=Aine

Other Tales

Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry Edited and Selected by W. B. Yeats, “The Legend of Knockmany” (1888) It doesnt name Aine Herself, but the location is associated with Her in other stories. *Reminder though that Yeats, as well as Lady Gregory, are sources that we need to take with a pinch of salt.* https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/yeats/fip/fip93.htm
Standish Hayes O’Grady’s (1892) Silva Gadelica (ii. 347–8), Aine is a daughter of Eogabal, a king of the Tuatha De Danann, and her abode is within the sidh, named on her account ‘Aine cliach, now Cnoc Aine, or Knockany’. In another passage we read that Manannan took Aine as his wife (ib., ii. 197). Also see in Silva Gadelica, ii, pp. 225, 576.
“AND as to Aine, that some said was a daughter of Manannan, but some said was the Morrigu herself, there was a stone belonging to her that was called Cathair Aine. And if any one would sit on that stone he would be in danger of losing his wits, and any one that would sit on it three times would lose them for ever. And people whose wits were astray would make their way to it, and mad dogs would come from all parts of the country, and would flock around it, and then they would go into the sea to Aine’s place there. But those that did cures by herbs said she had power over the whole body; and she used to give gifts of poetry and of music, and she often gave her love to men, and they called her the Leanan Sidhe, the Sweetheart of the Sidhe. And it was no safe thing to offend Aine, for she was very revengeful. Oilioll Oluim, a king of Ireland, killed her brother one time, and it is what she did, she made a great yew-tree by enchantment beside the river Maigh in Luimnech, and she put a little man in it, playing sweet music on a harp. And Oilioli’s son was passing the river with his step-brother, and they saw the tree and heard the sweet music from it. And first they quarrelled as to which of them would have the little harper, and then they quarrelled about the tree, and they asked a judgment from Ollioll, and he gave it for his own son. And it was the bad feeling about that judgment that led to the battle of Magh Mucruimhe, and Oilioll and his seven sons were killed there, and so Aine got her revenge.” (source: Gods and Fighting Men, by Lady Gregory, [1904]). https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/gafm/gafm15.htm
A bet for who is better hurlers: The Sidhe or Fianna (Áine’s man vs. Aiofe’s man). In The Tale of the Rowan Tree, this is shaped more into a story about who is worthy to take Áine as a bride: Curoi, the King of the Munster Fa*ries or Fergus. Part II Book VII: The Wood of Dubhros also in Gods and Fighting Men, by Lady Gregory (1904). https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/gafm/gafm73.htm
The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries, by W.Y. Evans-Wentz, p. 79 & p. 83 plus sooo much great info in the footnotes! (1911): “The Fairy Goddesses, Aine — and Fennel (or Finnen). — ‘There are two hills near Lough Gur upon whose summits sacrifices and sacred rites used to be celebrated according to living tradition. One, about three miles south-west of the lake, is called Knock Aine, Aine or Ane being the name of an ancient Irish goddess, derived from an, “bright.” The other, the highest hill on the lake-shores, is called Knock Fennel or Hill of the Goddess Fennel, from Finnen or Finnine or Fininne, a form of fin, “white.” The peasantry of the region call Aine one of the Good People; 1 and they say that”. “Pray to the Saints, but if by any chance such prayers remain unanswered they then invoke other powers, the fairies, the goddesses Aine and Fennel, or other pagan deities, whom they seem to remember in a vague subconscious manner through tradition.’”(page 83) https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/ffcc/ffcc240.htm
The Religion of the Ancient Celts By J. A. MacCulloch (1911) Chapter 5: The Tuatha De Danaan, p. 70. “Aine, one of the great fairy-queens of Ireland, has her seat at Knockainy in Limerick, where rites connected with her former cult are still performed for fertility on Midsummer eve. If they were neglected she and her troops performed them, according to local legend. 3 She is thus an old goddess of fertility, whose cult, even at a festival in which gods were latterly more prominent, is still remembered. She is also associated with the waters as a water-nymph captured for a time as a fairy-bride by the Earl of Desmond. 4 But older legends connect her with the síd. She was daughter of Eogabal, king of the síd of Knockainy, the grass on which was annually destroyed at Samhain by his people, because it had been taken from them, its rightful owners. Oilill Olomm and Ferchus resolved to watch the síd on Samhain-eve. They saw Eogabal and Aine emerge from it. Ferchus killed Eogabal, and Oilill tried to outrage [and r/pe] Aine, who bit the flesh from his ear. Hence his name of “Bare Ear.”” https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/rac/rac08.htm
The King of Ireland’s Son by Padraic Colum illustrations and decorations by Willy Pogány (1916). Part 5: The House of Crom Dubh: The Story of the Fairy Rowan Tree. https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/kis/kis55.htm
Fairy Queens: Meeting the Queens of the Otherworld by Morgan Daimler (2019).
The Fairy Faith in Ireland by Lora O’Brien (2021).

Áine’s 8 Sacred Sites

In The Fairy Faith in Ireland (2021) by Lora O’Brien, “Áine is known from the North to the South. In County Derry, in the North, she is throught to be the progenitor of the O’Corra clann. In County Louth, in the East, she sits at Dunany Point (Dún Áine, the strongholds of Áine). Whereas in the province of Munster, in the South, she is well remembered at Knockainey (Cnoc Áine [Cliach], the hill of Áine) in Limerick”. (O’Brien, p. 22).

Áine is also said to be the progenitor of not only the O’Corra clann, but also the Eoganachta and Fitzgeralds (Daimler, 2019, p. 42). Other places are sacred to Herself too. In truth, she has three hills: Cnoc Áine in Limerick, Cnoc Áine in Co. Derry, and Cnoc Áine in Donegal (Daimler 2019 and O hOgain, 2006). There is also a well called Tobar Áine in Ulster that we can discuss further, which brings us up to (at least) 7 Sacred Sites.

Above: Cathaoir Ana (Madman’s Chair) at Dunany Point, Co. Louth, was said to attract the mentally ill, who sat on it three times to be cured. Those who were not mentally ill and sat on it might become mad. According to another account, if a mad person sat on the rock during a period of lucidity, that lucidity would be maintained for life. https://www.historyireland.com/myths-madness-insane-ears/

1.) Rinn Dún Áine (Dunany Point) Co. Louth & Madman’s Chair/Cathaoir Ana. “The Mad chair of Dunany takes its name from a promontory fort that used to stand at Dunany Point, Dún Áine (the fort of Áine). A legend tells of Áine whose lover left to go to England after which she sat on the rock chair and went slowly mad with grief. The plentiful other rocks that dot the beach are said to have been an attempt at a causeway built by Áine” (Ed Hannon 2020).

Though Áine cannot be said to shapeshift into a swan in fact, swans are especially respected in Irish folklore with a taboo on harming them in any way. https://heritageireland.ie/assets/uploads/2021/07/Swans-at-Lough-Gur.jpg

https://loughgur.com/learn-more/lough-gur-map/

2.) Loch Goir (Lugh Gur), Co. Limerick: “The lake itself is replenished by a series of underground springs and forms the shape of a horseshoe” (Ann Massey). This connection between lakes fed by holy wellsprings makes sense to me, as springs in Irish tradition are incredibly pertinent for health (i.e. cures), and magic. According to the O’Kelleys’ (1981) Illustrated Guide to Lough Gur: “[Loch Goir] is one of Ireland’s most important archaeological sites. Humans have lived near Lough Gur since about 3000 BC and there are numerous megalithic remains there…[and Lios na Gráinsí or Fort of the Grange, also called Grange stone circle] (the largest stone circle in Ireland) and a dolmen are located near the lake. The remains of at least three crannogs are present, and remains of Stone Age houses have been unearthed (the house outlines are known as “The Spectacles”). A number of ring forts are found in the area, with one hill fort overlooking the lake. Some are Irish national monuments.”

https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=353

Ken Williams makes the first find of megalithic art in County Limerick at the wonderful Late Neolithic embanked stone circle at Grange, Lough Gur. Ken writes: I just dropped by when passing yesterday and discovered one or the stones has beautiful megalithic art, previously unrecorded. The style and technique used seems most like passage tomb art c. 3,200–2,900BC, or a small number of carved stones with unusual designs that seem to fit somewhere between the Neolithic and Bronze Age. Photo: Ken Williams https://www.megalithic.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=a312&file=index&do=showpic&pid=246175

https://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/1588/grange_lios_lough_gur.html

“It is here that the 14th-century lord of Munster and poet Gearóid Iarla, votary of the Goddess Áine, is said to sleep in a cave and emerge at the time of Ireland’s need to gallop around the lake on his great silver-shod white horse” (The O’Kelleys, 1981). It has been theorised that there is also a Summer Solstice alignment with this circle, especially the “V-shaped axial stones opposite the entrance” (Goldbaum) (White 2011). For more info, I highly recommend Goldbaum’s website linked below.

Pic © Derek Ryan Bawn — more information The Tipperary Antiquarian “Also known as Áine’s birthing chair and the Old Hag’s Chair, no mortal may sit on this stone without losing their wits.”

© 2015 National Folklore Collection, UCD.

3.) Suidheachán Bean-a’-tighe (The Housekeeper’s/Birthing Chair) also at Loch Goir/Lugh Gur, Co. Limerick): “At the foot of the Hill of Knockadoon, right at the shore of the lake, a natural rock formation resembling a ship’s prow juts out toward the water. It is known to folklore as the Suideachan Bean-tige, or the Housekeeper’s Chair. The Housekeeper, or Bean-tige, was the fairy that acted as the caretaker of Geároid Iarla’s submerged castle. Some consider her to be yet another manifestation of the enchantress Áine. As the story relates, she fell asleep on her chair and a little herdsboy passing by decided to steal her golden comb. The rock formation was also known as Áine’s birthing chair, and it was considered an entry point to the fairy kingdom. In years gone by, the stories relate, some would catch a glimpse of Áine sitting on her chair. Unfortunately, those who glanced at her unearthly beauty would afterwards meet an untimely end or go mad from the haunting vision of the goddess” (Goldbaum) (Dames 1992). Of note when visiting Loch Goir, there are two chairs popular with tourists at the Visitor Center: one carved from a tree and another that is stone called “The Wishing Seat”.

It was so very difficult to find an actual picture of Áine’s Chair, but thanks to the research of Jane Brideson, we have the one above! I recommend reading Jane’s full blog post about it.

Dames 1992 http://www.limerickcity.ie/media/lg05.pdf

Visible mound **LI032–139005-** which is called Doonainy Cairn and labelled as #6 in the map below. If you look closer you can also make out the other ringforts #3, 4, and 5.

Google StreetView of mound **LI032–139005-** which is called Doonainy Cairn and labelled as point #6 below.

4.) Cnoc Áine/ Sid Áine (“Áine’s hill/ Áine mound”)in Co. Limerick: According to the 2003 masters thesis of Alan John Dorymeade: “Cnoc Áine is a part of the complex surrounding Lough Gur, it lies four kilometres south east of the lake. The ritual in celebration of Áine took place on the hill at the summer solstice of the 23rd of June”. These 4 kilometres are very far, thats almost 2.3 miles away. Confusion I think contributes to not many photos of the hill, but thankfully in 2022, Manuel Scholian added in a Google Street View at the heart of the hill, which you can see above with a cluster of yellow gorse, and showcases mound LI032–139005- (labelled #6 in the map above) which is called Doonainy Cairn. Sadly, Aine’s Well (labelled on the Dames Map above) is not currently on the HEV, but there are a clump of trees and other vegetation on the google map. Only feet on the ground, can confirm though.

According to the Historic Environment Viewer (HEV): “Doonainy Cairn is described by O’Kelly (1944, 21) as following:

‘This occupies the highest point of the E. shoulder of Knockainy hill. The N.E. quadrant of the mound has been badly damaged by efforts to dig it away or to find treasure. It measures 70’ [21m] N-S and 45' [13m] E-W and seems to have been built of earth and stones. The height is about 7' [2.1m]. Westropp gives its diameter as between 48' [14.6m] and 55' [16.7m] and its height as 11' [3.3m]. It is difficult to decide exactly where the edge of the mound lies, and by taking the edge sufficiently far out one could find a height of 11' [3.3m]. Westropp also mentions a faintly marked enclosure and a fainter circular hollow adjoining the tumulus. The enclosure seems to be part of an ancient field, and the hollow seems to be a natural depression on the hill. The same author suggests that this is the cairn of Áine, but there would not appear to be much evidence for this identification. It is called Dunainy on the O.S. map’. An OS trig. station marking the spot height of 537ft. [163m] is marked at this location on the 1840 ed. OS 6-inch map.
The cairn was described in 2004 as following; ‘On the eastern summit of the hill at a height of 162m, this grass-covered cairn attains a maximum height of 2.5m, measuring 12m east-west by 20m north-south. The body of the cairn has been damaged by quarrying. A possible second cairn may be the result of localised quarrying. Nearby are the remnants of low field walls’ (Condit and Coyne 2004). Compiled by: Caimin O’Brien.”

A little more about the other labelled points from the HEV:

Point #1. ‘Carn of Uainide’ Barrow — ring-barrow (LI032–139004-). Description: A group of five contiguous barrows (LI032–139001-/008-) on Knockainy Hill described in 2004 as following; ‘A linear group of barrows is located to the west of Doonainy cairn [LI032–139005-] and towards the south-west end of the cursus monument [LI032–139007-]. It consists of five contiguous barrows, four of which are marked on the OS maps and arranged in a line in a north-south direction. All of the barrows are contained within the banks of the cursus, but it is difficult to determine whether portions of the banks of the barrows are built on top of or against the cursus banks. The first [LI032–139001-], most southerly example, 28m in diameter, consists of a bank and internal ditch enclosing a 15m-wide inner mound. The second barrow [LI032–139002-] is partially obscured by a field fence. It measures 25m in diameter and consists of a bank and internal ditch enclosing an 11.5m-wide inner mound. The third barrow [LI032–139003-] is partially obscured by the same field fence. It shares its bank with the fourth and northernmost barrow [LI032–139004-]. The bank and internal ditch enclose an 11m-wide inner mound. The fourth barrow is named ‘Carn of Uainide’ on the OS map. Its eastern perimeter is obscured by a field fence. The monument is 20m in diameter and consists of a bank and internal ditch enclosing an 11m-wide inner mound. Barrow 5 [LI032–139008-], a previously unrecorded barrow, lies directly to the east of ‘Carn of Uainide’. It consists of a central domed circular mound, 11 m in diameter, enclosed by a ditch, best preserved on its southern side. The outer bank appears to have been completely levelled, but on its western side it would have been contiguous with ‘Carn of Uainide’, from which it is now separated by a field fence’ (Condit and Coyne 2004).
These barrows were described by O’Kelly (1944, 21) as following; ‘A short distance to the W. of the tumulus [LI032–139005-] there are four ring-barrows. They lie close together in a line running N.S. The three southern barrows are low mounds surrounded by fosses, while the northern monument had a higher mound and seems to have had an outer bank between which and the mound there was a fosse. A large portion of it has been dug away — much of the mound and almost all of the bank. The overall diameter is 60’ [18.3m], the mound itself being 18' [5.5m] approx., and 4' [1.2m] high. The overall diameters of the other monuments vary between 66' [20m] and 75' [23m] and the heights are from 3' [0.9m] to 4' 6" [1.4m]. Westropp without much evidence to support his claim, identifies these sites as the habitations of Uainide, Eoghabal, Áine, and Fer Fi, legendary figures connected with the hill of Knockainy’. Compiled by: Caimin O’Brien.

Point #2. Barrow — ring-barrow (LI032–139008-)

Point #3. Barrow — ring-barrow (LI032–139003-)

Point #4. Barrow — ring-barrow (LI032–139002-)

Point #5. Barrow — ring-barrow (LI032–139001-)

Point #7. Barrow — ring-barrow (LI032–139006-) In upland pasture, on a spot height (524ft/160m) which is located 60m ENE of a mound ‘Doonainy’ (LI032–139005-) which crowns the summit (537ft/164m) of Knockainy and the archaeological complex which consists of five contiguous ring-barrows (LI032–139001-/02-/03-/04/08-). A cursus leading to the group of ring-barrows lies 115m to N. Not depicted on OSi historic maps. Identified by Grogan (1989, 234) as a ring-barrow which he labelled as ‘Knockainy West 7’.
Monument is visible as a subcircular-shaped earthwork on oblique aerial photograph (ASIAP 348, 2). Not visible on OSi orthoimages taken 2005–2012, or on Digital Globe orthoimages taken 2011–2013 or on Google Earth orthoimages taken 25/03/2017 or 20/09/2020. Compiled by: Alison McQueen and Vera Rahilly.

5.) Lios Áine (Lissan “Áine’s fort”)/Cnoc Áine, Co. Derry: As if our heads werent already spinning we have two other Cnoc Áines to go over before we finish this article up. However, it seems that the Cnoc Áine in Co. Derry is a confusion with Lios Áine, which in actuality is a townland. In general, Lissan “is a civil and Anglican and Roman Catholic ecclesiastical parish that spans parts of Co. Derry and Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The local Roman Catholic church was built in 1908.” This one is a bit of an enigma, and needs more dinnseanchas research.

6.) Cnoc Áine/Creig na Caillí, Co. Donegal: Supposedly, this hill is in Co. Donegal near Teelin, and is said to be situated along one of the main pathways to Sliabh Liag, and the hill is also called Creig na Caillí (Cailleach Rock). But I have hit a dead end in identitfying which rock and where.

According to the research of Aisling Ní Churraighín, it is said in Ó hEochaidh’s (1977) Fairy Legends of Donegal:

Long, long ago there was a man living in the townland of Cruachlann in Teelin, who had an only daughter named Áine. One evening of misty rain and threatening storm he told Áine to go out to the hills to search for the cattle and bring them home. She went off, and after she had been out for a long time and it was near midnight she came back home without the cattle and without tale or tidings of them.
“Where are the cattle?” asked her father as she came in.
“I did not find them,” said Áine.
A fit of rage came over the father when she said this, and he turned on her and said: “May the hills and the heights have you! Go out and do not come back here until you find the cattle!”
She went out the door, and at that very moment he repented what he had said, but when he rushed out to call her back she was walking into the crag which is called Creig na Caillí to this very day. The hill is also called Cnoc Áine ever since, and there is no hill in the country as gentle as it is.

Something really important to note here, is that just north of Cnoc Aine near Teelin, are two Cnoc Onna/Cnoc Una (another Queen of Fa*ry) mountains! The first is a little over 200 metres high next to Lough Unna and An Charraig Uachtarach, and the other anglisised to “Crockuna” (1,246 ft / 380m elevation) is near the Owenwee River Waterfalls. BUT I DIGRESS.

Vinegar Hill map. Note that there is a Rath around the https://www.christophersomerville.co.uk/?p=256

7.) Tobar Áine (Toberanna “Áine’s well”), Co. Tyrone: Located somewhere in the Sperrins, the Toberanna has been described as “being in a sheltered shrine with A Virgin Mary” statue somewhere in the Glenelly Valley, which is northwest of Lissan. This to me seems to be describing the well itself, as many wells are sheltered and tend to have Virgin Mary imagery. If you follow along from the linked article, it seems as if the well is a mile in along the Vinegar Hill Loop trail.

https://curiousireland.ie/knockmany-cairn-annyas-tomb-augher-co-tyrone-3000-b-c-100-a-d/

8.) Cnoc mBáine (Knockmany) Passage Tomb, Co. Tyrone: Also in County Tyrone there is also an ancient passage tomb that is referred to as Queen Anya’s Tomb, Anya’s Cove, or the Knockmany Passage Tomb. It is an “ancient burial monument on the summit of Knockmany Hill, near the village of Augher in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the remains of a Neolithic passage tomb and its stones are decorated with rare megalithic art. They are protected by a concrete chamber and mound, built in 1959 by the Department of the Environment, roughly resembling the mound that would have originally covered it. The stones can be viewed through the entrance gates.

Knockmany comes from Irish Cnoc mBáine ‘Báine’s hill’. Báine (meaning “whiteness”) was a supernatural being, probably a goddess, who became conflated with the more famous goddess Áine. According to legend, Queen Báine was wife of the 1st-century King Túathal Techtmar and was buried here, in the tomb of the earlier Queen Áine.

In Irish folklore, the location was the home of Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool) and his wife Oonagh.” You can read about the “Legend of Knockmany” here.

Anya Jenkins, Buffy — See what I did here? (At least she has golden hair)

Conclusion & Heliacal Rising of the Pleiades Reflections

I hope this helped frame a few things better, and help to the overall understanding of Áine and Her sacred places and stories.

According to Morgan Daimler in 2020, the Heliacal Rising should have taken place between June 18th-June 24th. A Heliacal Rising is “star rise of a star that occurs annually, or the similar phenomenon of a planet, when it first becomes visible above the eastern horizon at dawn just before sunrise (thus becoming “the morning star”) after a complete orbit of the earth around the sun.” This is when The Pleiades are once again visible in the sky just before dawn, and is called “The Returning” by those who practice Fa*ry Witchcraft and Fa*ry Faith.

UPDATE: However, as of September 22, 2023; I have finally come to understand things a bit more. The Helical Rising will not be remotely close to everyone in a similar latitude.

I found an incredible software thanks to Medieval Astrology Guide, called *ironically/syncrenistically* Alcyone Ephemeris 4.3 Software for a free Planetary, Lunar and Stellar Visibility calculator. This calculator shows the last visible (helical setting), first visible (helical rising), acronychal rising, and cosmic setting of all heavenly bodies. Sadly, it doesnt show conjunctions or culminations — so far as I can tell.

It also allows you to search by date and locations globally, however you may have to create your own location, and the MAG details how to go about this process. My only tip would be to make sure you add your latitude and longitude in DMS (degrees/minutes/seconds rather than the standard degree decimal number), add elevation in metres (not feet), and your GMT in minutes not hours.

This free software allowed me to also access the exact astronomical dates for an experiment: I wanted to compare Cambridge, MA to Tulsk in Co. Roscommon. If you are clever, you probably know why I chose Tulsk (*cough* rath Cruachan *cough*) and it shocked me how some dates were the same and others were different. This of course is because contrary to popular belief, the Boston area is NOT the same latitude as Ireland. Ireland is between 51–56 degrees N. Boston is 42 degrees N, thats a vastly different area of the world.

2023 Tulsk vs. Cambridge, MA Pleiades Processions

What I find significant is that the Tulsk (53 degrees N) dates match up with Bealtaine, Autumn Equinox, and the Winter Solstice, whereas the Cambridge, MA (42 degrees N) dates match up with Bealtaine, Summer Solstice and Winter Solstice.

The Conjunctions and Culminations should in theory be the same. What helped my brain get around what exactly a conjunction is was letting go of the obsession I had over whether I could or couldn’t see the Pleiades during the day time, but rather thinking about it astrologically. We know that the Sun is in Taurus every year from April 20-May 21, and then moves into Gemini May 21-June 20. We only think the Pleiades are in Taurus, but if we look they actually are positioned in between Taurus and Gemini.

According to smarter astrologers than I, the Pleiades constellation is located between the Taurus and Gemini zodiac spanning from about 28 degrees of Taurus to 0 degrees of Gemini. The Sun circles this part of the zodiac every year from around May 16–24. Some call this the opening of a healing “Pleiadean Portal”, a time where we can access the energy of the Pleiades with greater ease. Astrologers say that the portal reaches its full peak when our sun conjunts/transits Alcyone, the Pleiades’ brightest of stars. This normally occurs I guess around May 20–21. Which means the conjunction happens during the month of Bealtaine. How to calculate the exact degrees and dates is beyond me now, but the general timeframe is about a week long, which gives us a general idea to realise these processional things arent just a single day but several.

According to smarter astronomers than I, the Culimination of the Pleiades right now happens either on November 17th or November 18th in 2-year cycles during the month of Samhain. This explains Morgan Daimler is when the Pleiades will be directly overhead at midnight.

Cosmic setting is the first day when a star after it is visible sets before sunrise and is visible in the morning twilight. But how astronomers determine this is less subjective than our observations, the astronomical cosmic setting is when astar sets in the evening at the same time as the Sun. Likewise, less ambiguous is how the astronomical acronychal rising is determined: not just a general idea of when a star rises on the eastern horizon just after sunset, but rather when the star rises in the evening at the same time as the Sun sets West.

So in addition to finding the Alcyone software and astrology conjunction timeframes, I found this article by P. Rocher very helpful in understandind processional events.

The next big celestial event will be the Acronychal Rising (or “The Way Opening” in Fa*ry Witchcraft/Faith): when they are on the eastern horizon just after full dark, which normally happens around the Autumn Equinox; …

Finally, please take heart and be sure to stay as safe as you can this month from the Slua Sí (Fa*y Host), Sidhe gaoithe (Fa*ry Wind), An Amadán na Bruidhne (The Fa*ry Fool of the Otherworldly Hall) and forces of basdán.

The air quality alone and climate change wildfires (brought on by racist/cisheterosecist/imperialist/ableist/capitalistic greed, continued resource exploitation, and colonialism) are, at least in my own mind, a physical manifestation of the spiritual war we are seeing unfold.

Slán agus Grianstad an tsamhraidh sona duit!

Rosc Offering to Áine: Banríon Sídhe

Áine na gClair
Bean Fhionn
Banríon Sídhe

Áine of the Wisps
White Lady
Otherworld Queen

Loch Goir and Cnoc Áine are two of your homes.
but, Loch Áine needs more stories —
And as Suidheachán Bean-a’-tighe and Rinn Dún Áine are two of your seats
And Tobar Áine is also yours,
Let us sit by your waters and respect your gifts.

(Grand)Daughter of Manaan Mac Lir, God of the Seas;
Daughter of Eogabail the Druid & King.
Sister of Fer Í, Áillen, Fennen, and Grian.
Lover of Fergus

Cnoc mBáine and Creig na Caillí are also your places
but, Anya’s Tomb needs more stories —
And as you left with heartache for the Otherworld to start your Otherlife
And Grianstad an tsamhraidh is your day,
Let us walk your hills with light and respect your gifts.

Mother of daughters and Eogan,
Progenitor of the Eoganachta, Fitzgeralds, and Ó Corras.
Red mare and Shapeshifter
Let us honour the ancestors and respect your gifts.

King destroyer
Soother of the dying
Knower of the taste of justice, and grief, and loss
Let us lay by your moonlit lake and respect your gifts.

Áine —
Ba bhanríon agus gaiscíoch í
She is a Warrior Queen,
and is truly “the best hearted woman who ever lived”.

Let us sit by your waters, walk your hills, honour the ancestors, lay by your lake, and respect your gifts.
For you are: