Fin. Manx equivalent of Fionn Mac Cumhail.

Findbhair. [I] "Fair eyebrows." A daughter of Ailill and Medb who fell in love with Fraoch and helped him kill the water demon or dragon. She was offered to Ferdia by her parents in order to coax him into single combat with Cuchulainn during the Tain war.

Finegas. [I] A druid who taught Fionn Mac Cumhail: It was actually Finegas who caught the Salmon of Knowledge and gave it to Fionn to cook. Fionn burnt his thumb while cooking it and sucked the burn, thus acquiring knowledge. Finegas, realising that he was not destined to eat of the Salmon of Knowledge, gave it to Fionn to eat. Fingal. Scots equivalent of Fionn Mac Cumhail. This form was made famous by MacPherson in his Ossian and by Mendelssohn with his overture movement "Fingal's Cave," which was not inspired by Ossian but rather by a visit to Fingal's Cave in Scotland. The name is not actually cognate with Fionn, for Fingal means "fair foreigner." The name was also borne by a king of the Isle of Man called Fingal Mac Godred (1070-1077), a name demonstrating the intermarriage betWeen Gael and Viking.

Finnbhenach. [I] The White Horned Bull of Connacht, born into the herd of Medb of Connacht. The bull was originally the swineherd of Ochall of Connacht and archrival of the swineherd of the Bodb Dearg. Finnbhenach considered it unseemly that he should be born into the herd of a woman and so transferred himself to the herd of Ailill, thus starting off the chain of events that led to the war of the Tain.

Fintan. [I] First appears as the husband of Cesair, the first "invader" , of Ireland. He survives the Deluge by changing himself into a salmon. It is argued that Fintan, the Salmon of Knowledge, is actually a separate entity. The fish ate of the Nuts of Knowledge before swimming to a pool on the River Boyne. Finegas the druid caught him but gave him to Fionn Mac Cumhail to cook. Fionn burnt his thumb while cooking the fish and thus acquired wisdom. :

Fionn. [I] While there are many named Fionn who emerge in the Irish sagas, the most famous is undoubtedly Fionn Mac Cumhail, often Anglicised as Finn Mac Cool. He is one of the most celebrated heroes in Irish myth, and the. stories related to him have been argued as the basis of many of the Arthurian tales, which were developed in the medieval period when the tales,of Fionn and the Fianna were at their most popular . His father was Cumal of Clan Bascna. He fell in love with Murna but was opposed by her father, a druid. He eloped with her but her father sends Goll of the Clan Morna after him. Goll kills him, but Murna bears his son Demna. The child is so fair that he becomes known as Fionn. He received his education from the druid Finegas, who catches the Salmon of Knowledge and gives it to him to cook. Fionn burns himself while doing so and sucks his thumb, thus acquiring knowledge. He set out on his adventures, killing Lia, lord ofLuachtar, the keeper of the Treasure Bag of the Fianna. He saves the life of Cormac Mac Art, the High King, and is made head of the royal bodyguard, the Fianna. From then on there occurs a series of adventures involving hunting, fighting, sorcery, love, and passion. Fionn has many romances but it is with the goddess Sadb that he begets his famous son, Oisin (Ossian). In the story "Cath Fionntragha" (Battle of Fionn's Strand, which is in Ventry, Co. Kerry), Fionn overcomes Daire Donn, the King of the World, in one of the great military exploits of his career. This is described in a fifteenth century manuscript now kept in the Bodleian Library. Accounts of Fionn's death vary. Some tales record he was killed by Aichleach while trying to quell an uprising among his own Fianna. Another version contains a typical Celtic motif; the tale concludes that Fionn is not dead but sleeping in a cave, waiting for the call to help Ireland in her hour of need. This is, of course, paralleled in the legends of Arthur of Britain.

Fionnbharr. [I] A De Danaan assigned to the sidhe of Meadha (Knockma, five miles west of Tuam). He took part in the war between Midir and the Bodb Dearg. His wife was Oonagh. As the memories of the old gods faded, they degenerated in folk memory as fairies, and Fionnbhatr and Oonagh became king and queen of all the fairies in Ireland.

Firbolg. [I] The name signifies "bag men." They came to Ireland after the Nemedians and may represent a genuine pre-Goidelic population of Ireland. In some accounts it is said they descended from the Nemedian survivors who had fled to Thrace, where they became enslaved. The name was given to them because they were made to carry bags of earth from the fertile valleys to the rocky hills during their enslavement. They came to Ireland in three groups, although all three took on the general name Firbolg. They play no spectacular part in the myths.

Fomorii. [I] The dwellers under the sea. A misshapen and violent people who are the evil gods of Irish myth and whose centre appears to be Tory Island. They reached Ireland about the same time as Partholon and battled with him, the Nemedians, and the Tuatha De Danaan. Sometimes they succeed in their battles and sometimes they fail. They often appear with only a single hand, foot, or eye. Their power was eventually broken for all time at the second battle of Magh Tuireadh.

Fosterage. An important feature of Celtic sociery that lasted in Scotland until the eighteenth century. Boys entered fosterage at the age of seven, when they were sent to the household of a distinguished druid, chieftain, or, later, Christian monk. Here they received their education. They would live and study with them until they reached the "age of choice," which was seventeen for a boy but fourteen for a gitl. During the period of fosterage they would be taught many subjects-music, literature, poetry, the art of warfare, the virtues of single combat, and the high value of honour-and pursue such recreational pursuits as board games as well as team games. They were also taught to be efficient in the hunt. In Christian times they were taught Latin, Hebrew, and Greek in addition to their own languages. Fosterage as a concept occurs both in the Irish myths and the Welsh myths.

Fraoch. [I] The hero of the Tain Bo Fraoch. One of the most handsome warriors in Ireland. He fell in love with Findbhair, daughter of Ailill and Medb. While she returned this love, he could not persuade her to elope with him, nor could he pay the bridal price. Ailill and Medb plot his death and suggest he swim in a lake where a monster dwells. He does so. The monster eventually attacks him, but Findbhair comes to his rescue and they manage to kill the creature. Fraoch is wounded but is nursed by the gods and goddesses and Ailill and Medb are persuaded to consent to the wedding of their daughter. There is a second part to the tale in which Findbhair and her three children and cattle herds are carried off and Fraoch sets out after them in the company of Conall Cearnach. They overtake the kidnappers and rescue Fraoch's family and possessions.

Freagarthach. [I] The Answerer. The sword of the sea god Manannan Mac Lir.

Friuch. [I] The swineherd of Ochall Ochne of Connacht, who is in perpetual rivalry with Nar, the swineherd of the Bodb 'Dearg of Munster. They fight through many reincarnations before being reborn as Finnbhenach, the White Horned Bull of Connacht, and Donn, the Brown Bull of Cuailgne.

Fuamnach. [I] The first wife of Midir the Proud who grew jealous when he took Etain Echraidhe as his second wife. She turned her into a pool, then a worm, and finally a fly in order to part her from Midir. Then she raised a tempest that blew the fly/Etain away ftom Midir's palace. Aonghus Og slew her and took her head to his palace at Bruigh na Boinne as atrophy .