Conway Mill Trust

In Celtic folk lore there is the Tale of the Enchanted Deer: Finn MacCool was hunting with his hounds when he came upon a doe.  The hounds take chase but cannot catch the doe.  It was as if she was enchanted.  She follows Finn to his camp where she turns into a beautiful woman called Sadb who had been enchanted by an evil Druid who said the spell would be broken if she went to Finn’s camp.  They fall in love and after several years, Finn must go off to war.  Shortly after, Sadb discovers she is pregnant and she travels across Ireland to find Finn.  When she leaves, she again becomes a deer.  Unable to find Finn, she gives birth to a human boy and leaves him under a tree where he is found by his father. Finn called him Oisin, which means ‘little deer.’ The boy grew into a famous warrior and champion of his people.