Oisin in the Land of Eternal Youth

Long ago in Ireland there lived a young man called Oisin. He was the son of mighty warrior Fionn Mac Cumhaill and he was a gifted poet. He loved hunting and one day while chasing deer he came upon a beautiful woman on a fabulous white horse. She spoke to him, saying “I am Niamh, the daughter of the sea god and I have come a long way to see the most handsome young poet in Ireland.” Oisin was bedazzled by the young woman and easily persuaded to go with her, without even asking where that might be. He climbed up on the horse which then flew over fields & forests and over the sea to the distant land of Tir n’a nOg. This was a paradise situated beyond the sea in the west and inhabited by supernatural beings. Here there was no passing of time in any human sense, the flowers and trees were forever in bloom, the wine and mead always flowing and there was no sickness or sorrow. Oisin loved being with Niamh in this dreamlike place and time indeed seemed to stop for the young poet. 

Above is a mural fabricated from mosaic glass tiles showing Oisin & Niamh going to Tir n’a nOg.

After a while in this paradise Oisin developed a yearning to see his homeland once again. He reckoned some months must have passed since their journey to this land. Niamh revealed to him that while in Tir n’a nOg no time had passed at all back in Ireland a full 300 years had passed. She told him “ if you wish to return to your country for a visit, you must remain on the magic horse. Do not dismount or there will be dire consequences for you.”

Oisin flew over the sea on the magic horse and hovering over Ireland he could see clearly  that everything there had changed beyond recognition. Fionn and his giant warriors were long gone, their heroic age was well and truly over; the people that Oisin saw appeared small and feeble. He saw some of them struggling to lift a heavy boulder so he dismounted the horse to help them. He immediately aged dramatically, lost all his strength and realised he would now never be able to return to Tir n’a nOg. 
  

 This story has been celebrated in a mural made by Kinney Design for the Mercer Institute of Successful Aging, a new clinic at St James Hospital, Dublin. The mural, based on painted designs by Desmond Kinney is fabricated with different types of coloured glass that sparkle and shine.



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