Leader of the Fianna, Father of Fionn
Cumhall mac Trénmhóir was the leader of the Fianna and of Clan Baíscne before Fionn mac Cumhaill — the man Goll mac Morna killed at the Battle of Cnucha, whose death set the entire Fenian Cycle in motion.
He took Muirne Muncháem as his wife against the will of her father, the druid Tadg mac Nuadat. Tadg went to the High King Conn of the Hundred Battles and demanded the match be stopped. Goll mac Morna led the Clan Morna against Cumhall at Cnucha — Castleknock in what is now County Dublin — and Cumhall was killed.
Muirne was already pregnant when he died. The child would be raised in hiding by Bodhmall and Liath Luachra, his identity concealed for years. Cumhall never knew his son existed.
He held the Treasure Bag of the Fianna — the Crane Bag, made from the skin of a transformed woman, full at high tide and empty at low, containing the most sacred objects of the institution he led. Liath Luachra guarded it after his death until Fionn was old enough to recover it.
His name is in his son’s throughout the tradition: Fionn mac Cumhaill — Fionn, son of Cumhall. The dead father carried in the living hero’s name.
He was already gone before the Fenian Cycle properly began. Everything in it is the consequence of what was done to him at Cnucha.
Link/cite this page
If you use any of the content on this page in your own work, please use the code below to cite this page as the source of the content.
Link will appear as Cumhall: https://irishgodsandgoddesses.net - Irish Gods & Goddesses, March 22, 2026