Uirne, or Tuirn(e),[1] ("sharp-mouth") was the sister of Muirne and the aunt of Fionn mac Cumhail in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology.[2]

The daughter of the druid Tadg mac Nuadat, Uirne is married three times. First, she and Conall have a son named Dáire. Then, she is wed to Imcad, the son of the king of Dal n-Araide. The queen transforms a pregnant Uirne into a dog, and her offspring from that union, Bran and Sceólang, are born as dogs. Finally, she and her third husband, Lugaid Lága, have three human children: Eogan Ruad, Sciath Brecc, and Cael Croda.[3]

It has been argued by at least one scholar that Uirne is actually a variant of Muirne, and not a separate figure.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Nagy, Joseph Falaky (1985). The Wisdom of the Outlaw: The Boyhood Deeds of Finn in Gaelic Narrative Tradition. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press. p. 95. ISBN 0-520-05284-6. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  2. ^ Chadbourne, Kate (1996). "The Beagle's Cry: Dogs in the Finn Ballads and Tales". Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium. 16/17: 1–14. JSTOR 20557312. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  3. ^ Reinhard, John R.; Hull, Vernam E. (January 1936). "Bran and Sceolang". Speculum. 11 (1): 42–58. doi:10.2307/2846874. JSTOR 2846874. Retrieved 19 March 2021.


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