Irish Stories 21st edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture: Aine Queen of the Fairies

I have spent much time trying to figure out what I would use as my Irish story.  The main claim I personal have to Ireland is my first born daughter's name, Aine.  I made a post about naming her before, click here to read about that.

The Irish have many stories/legends about Aine, Queen of the Fairies.  She was a Celtic goddess that they moved to fairy status when Ireland became Christian. 
She lives in a invisible world to our eyes, although a few have seen her.

According to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Áine:  Áine (Irish pronunciation: [ˈaːnʲə]) is an Irish goddess of love, summer, wealth and sovereignty and Áine is strongly associated with County Limerick.
An appealing legend comes from stories of the the Sidhe.
Aine was a mortal woman who was taken but the fairies and became was of the clan O'Corra. And, my favorite, because she does not slay the mortal who was overcome by her beauty is: 
"The Earl of Desmond once saw Aine combing her hair on the bank of a river. He fell in love with her and seizing her cloak made her his wife. The offspring of this union was Aine's enchanted son Geroid Iarla, who lives under the lake awaiting his return to the world of men. Once every seven years he emerges from the water as a phantom riding on a white horse."
I see her as a beautiful woman, with striking eyes, flowing hair, and a bewitching smile. 

My daughter could have been Aine.  ; )


I will look for our family connection as I search Limerick for my Dyer family. 

Surname Saturday....Well Sort of... It Is Related.

 

When my first daughter was born, my Hero and I were clueless as to the sex.   There were no ultra sounds, or tests back in the dark ages.
We were also clueless about our genealogy.  We knew there were some Irish strains in both back grounds, so we decided an Irish name for a child would be apt.  The name for a boy was a given.  The Hero was intent on continuing his family's tradition.  If a boy, he would be the IVth.  If a girl, now that was a different story.
I searched for names. 
There was Sister (nun) who was a guest student at the Catholic college I was attending.  Her name was Aine.  The reason I knew this was, because it was the first year the Vatican allowed the Sisters to use their personal names.  I loved this Sister.  She was funny, sandy red hair, sparking blue eyes, and bright.  She always brought sun shine into a room.  This was what I wanted my daughter to be like.  Well, I got everything but the red hair and blue eyes, (forgot genes take a play there, lol).  But I digress, names, stay on track.  My favorite name was Aine.  It was a Gaelic name, it's closest English equivalent was Ann. The Hero said, " hmmm, that would be great, my family is Catholic and the Ellsworth's were Irish.  (Now grandchildren, you know how you mom or aunt, became Aine.)
My next task was to find a middle name.  Middle names are a tradition in my family and his.  Finally, I came up with Maura.  My mother was Mary, and Maura in English would be Mary.  It was a fit.  This could be the end of the story, but it wasn't. 
When I finally, got around to doing genealogical research, we found out Hero's great grandmother's middle name was Maloura, how is that for getting close to a name without knowing it.  The origin of the name Maloura is unknown to us.  Martha Ann Maloura Wells grandparents were Wells, White, Hollands, and Reynolds.  I have not found a traditional teaching in any family about being Irish, nor have I found in any line this name.
If you have a clue, I could use it.