Cath Fionntrágha

Irish title for a narrative of the Fenian Cycle known in English as The Battle of Ventry, The Battle of Ventry Harbour, The Battle of the White Strand, etc. The text derives from 15th-century recension, but references to it occur as early as the 12th century; the narrative, of little literary distinction, details at tedious length the invasion of Ireland by Dáire Donn, the ‘King of the World’, and his repulsion by Fionn mac Cumhaill and his Fianna. The battle takes place at Ventry Harbour, Co. Kerry, 4 miles Welsh of Dingle. Dáire has been identified by different commentators as a late Roman emperor, an emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, or even Charlemagne. He has invaded because (a) he wants to seek revenge for Fionn's dishonouring the French throne when he carried off the king's wife and daughter, (b) he lacks further worlds to conquer and so needs remote, poor Ireland, or (c) he has heard of Fionn's glory and so wants to challenge the great hero. The battle rages on interminably and serves as an example of the motif folklorists call ‘the everlasting fight’ (formula Z12, tale type 2300), becoming an omnium gatherum of Fenian energies. Variants of the narrative have been recorded in oral tradition, changing details considerably. In some Irish versions Dáire Donn is the king of Lochlainn, and in a Scottish version (recorded 1524) he is the king of Norway. The narrative may derive from an earlier text, Cath Trága Rudraigi, in which a large body of Norsemen invade Ireland at Dundrum Bay, Co. Down. In a pseudoetymology, Rudraigi was thought to contain the word ruad [red, ruddy], making a parallel with Fionntráigi [white strand]. Texts have been edited three times: anonymously (Boston, 1856); by Kuno Meyer (Oxford, 1885); and by Cecile O'Rahilly, using Rawlinson B487 (Dublin, 1962).