Fionn mac Cumhaill and the Fire-breathing Goblin
'To celebrate the day,' I tells me grandkids, 'I'd like to tell ye a tale from long ago,'
'Oh, this ought to be grand!' says Daibhidh.
'Ye may have heard me mention a time or two the hero Cú Chulainn,' I says.
'One or two dozen,' says me eldest grandson Dooli under his breath.
Ignorin' him I continue...
'He were born with the name Sétanta,' I begins, 'but were given the name Cú Chulainn, meanin' "Hound of Culann", after slayin' Culann the smith's ferocious guard dog; I should add that it were in self-defence. In a grand gesture, Sétanta offered to take the dog's place until a pup could be reared to serve as the new guard dog.'
'You skipped the part about Sétanta defeatin' a pack of lads at hurley,' interjects Diolun.
'No, I did not forget, lad,' I tells him, 'but thanks for remindin' the others.'
'As if we could forget,' mumbles Dooli.
'Happy to help!' says a smilin' Diolun. The wee lad had not yet learned to recognise sarcasm.
'Are ye goin' to tell us how Cú Chulainn defeated the armies of Queen Medb of Connacht in the famous Cattle Raid of Cooley?' asks Daibhdh.
'No lad,' I tells him, 'I will not tell ye about Táin Bó Cúailnge.'
'Why not?' says a disappointed Daibhidh.
'Because you just did!' shouts a frustrated Darowva. 'Can we all be quiet and let Granda tell his Samhain story?'
A moment of silence followed.
'I've changed me mind,' says I, 'for it seems ye have heard all me stories about Cú Chulainn. Instead, I'll tell ye about Fionn mac Cumhaill and Aillén Mac Midgna, the fire-breathin' goblin.
The goblin Aillén Mac Midgna possessed a magical harp. When he played it all about fell into a deep sleep. Every year for twenty-three years the goblin travelled to the great halls of the High King. Playin' his harp, the goblin put all the King's guards to sleep. Aillén then set alight to the halls with his fiery breath. Every year the folk would rebuild the halls, and every year Aillén Mac Midgna would burn the halls to naught but cinders.'
One day, Fionn mac Cumhaill, a warrior and chieftain, went to the High King. Fionn told the King that he would slay the goblin Aillén Mac Midgna in exchange for bein' made the leader of the King's warband. The High King agreed.
Fionn possessed a magical spear, the Birga. From this spear Fionn acquired the ability to avoid bein' put to sleep by the goblin's harp.
On Samhain eve, Fionn lay in wait for when Aillén would come to burn the High King's halls yet again. When the goblin drew close, Fionn pierced him with the Birga, killin' him straight away.
Good to his word, the High King made Fionn mac Cumhaill the captain of his warband. The people rejoiced for they'd no longer have to rebuild the halls every year.'
'Wait, is this fella what killed the fire-breathin' goblin the same as Finn MacCool?' asks Daibhdh.
'Aye, one and the same,' I tells him.
'The one who created the Giant's Causeway?' Diolun asks.
'Aye, that's him,' I says.
'Well, he was quite a fella, wasn't he?' observes Dooli with a grin.
'Aye, he was,' I agrees with a sigh.
Tryin' to tell me grandkids stories about the legends seems a bit like the Cinnín Óir (Goldilocks)* experience all over again.
*See An Unlikely Champion, Part 1, Chapter 2
Source: Your Irish: Aillén Mac Midgna - The Fire Breathing Goblin
