Dermot

MEANING: “”without enemy.”” The name of early kings, legendary heroes and saints, Diarmuid was the lover of Grainne and the most beloved of that warrior band, the Fianna (read the legend). Grainne, as the daughter of Cormac Mac Airt, the High King of Tara, was betrothed to a much older man, the legendary Fionn Mac Cool (read the legend). When Grainne saw Fionn at the wedding banquet she realised he “”was not for her”” and put a a “”geis,”” a spell, on his nephew, Diarmuid, to run away with her. For sixteen years the lovers were forced to roam the countryside, all the time knowing that they were being constantly pursued by the furious Fionn. Each night they made a fresh bed in a sheltered spot and legend has it that these beds can still be seen today in many remote places. (Read the legend of Diarmuid and Grainne).