RIGFENNIDH BEAR'S
FIANNA ORGANIZATION PAGES FOR THE FIAN OF THE LIGHTNING ARM


"HEROS NEVER TURN TO LOOK BACK, THEY JUST RIDE THROUGH THE SANDS OF TIME."


"The Fenians were hunting near Lake Killarney when a lady of more than human beauty came to them and said she was Niamh, daughter of the Son of the Sea. They were all astounded when Niamh of the golden Hair, Manannan's daughter, chose Ossian from the sons of men to be her lover. All of Finn's (his father) supplications could not keep him. He mounted behind her on her fairy horse, and they rode across the land to the sea-shore, and then over the tops of the waves. As they went, she described the country of the Gods to him in just the same terms Manannan himself had pictured it to Bran, son of Febal, as Mider had painted it to Etain, and as everyone that went there limned it to those that stayed at home on Earth. As they went they saw wonders. Fairy palaces with bright sun-bowers and lime-white walls appeared on the surface of the sea. At one of these they halted, and Ossian, at Niamh's request, attacked a fierce Formor who lived there, and set free a damsel of the Tuatha De Danann whom he kept imprisoned. He saw a hornless fawn leap from wave to wave, chased by a strange hound of pure white, with red ears. At last they reached "Land of the Young", and there ossian dwelt with Niamh for three hundred years before he remembered Erin and the Fenians. Then a great wish came upon him to see his own country and his own people again, and Niamh gave him leave to go, and mounted him upon a fairy steed for the journey. One thimg alone she made him swear-not to let his feet touch earthly soil. Ossian promised and reached Ireland on the wings of the wind. But,like the children of Lir at the end of their penance, he found all changed. He asked of his father Finn and the Fenians, and was told that those were the names of people who had lived long ago, and whose deeds were written of in old books. The battle of Gabhra had been fought, and St. Patrick had come to Ireland, and made all thing new. The very forms of men had altered; they seemed dwarfs compared to the giants of his day. Seeing three hundred of them trying in vain to raise a marble slab, he rode up to them in contemptuous kindness, and lifted it with one hand. But, as he did so, the golden saddle-girth broke from the strain, and he touched the earth with his feet. The fairy horse vanished, and Ossian rose from the ground, no longer divinely young and fair and strong, but a blind, gray-haired, withered old man. Standed in his old age on earthly soil, unable to help himself or find food on his own, he is taken by St. Patrick into his house to be converted. Patrick paints to him in the brightest colours the heaven which may be his own if he will but repent, and in the darkest the hell in which he tells him his old comrades now lie in anguish. Ossian replies to the saints arguments, entreaties, and threats in language which is extraordinarily frank. He will not believe that heaven could be closed to the Fenians if they wished to enter it, or that God himself would not be proud to claim friendship with Finn. And if it not be so, what is the use to him of eternal life where there is no hunting, or the wooing fair women, or listening to the songs and tales of Bards? No, he will go to the Fenians, whether they sit at the feast or in the fire; and so he dies as he had lived."


The Fianna Organization's Mission Statement

In honor of the spirit and traditions of the ancient Indo European warrior cultures, those of us who seek to emulate the old ways, do come together and form the Fianna Organization.

The goal of the Fianna Organization is to research, recreate, and train in the martial skills of our ancient Celtic and other Indo-European ancestors.We do this through the study of myths, legends, tales, and archaelogical knowledge of our people, and by our own martial experiences in order to develop a literary interpretation of these skills and practices as we believe they may have been done by our honored ancestors.


REQUIREMENTS

TRUTH

HONOR

A CELTIC HEART

Membership shall be open to anyone who meets all of the following requirements:

1.Are above the age of majority in their local states of residence or nation of citizenship.

2.Agree to be bonded, by oath,
to the training requirements prescribed by the RigFennidheact and agree to live a lifestyle which is consistent with the principles and ideals of the Fianna Organization as set forth by the RigFennidheact.

3. Must be able to demonstrate some level of skill in two of the three forms of fighting (With weapon, weaponless, or verbal).

4. Must possess no obvious physical defects, The Fianna Organization accepts Brehon law in that none shall lead who has any flaw.

5. Accepts or espouses beliefs which are known to be beliefs and traditions that were practiced by our ancestors.

6.Must be sponsored by a recognized RigFennidh of the Organization who will pledge assurities as to the honorableness of the petitioner.


Some history of the Fianna in ancient Ireland and it's greatest leader, Finn.

During Finn's captaincy, the Fianna reached the heights of thier renown. For he ruled them as no other captain ever did, both strongly and wisely, and he never bore a grudge against any, but freely forgave a man all offenses save disloyalty to his lord. During this time he set some maxims
for the Fianna.


The Fian of the Lightning Arm

Welcome to Rigfennidh Bear's Fianna Oganization Pages for the Fian of the Lightning Arm. We are located in Orange County of Southern California, U.S.A., but there are Fians all over N. America including Canada. As an organization, we research the myths, legends, and historical information of the Celtic peoples, couple this with our training in the fighting arts, and to the best of our abilities we redevelop and recreate the war skills of our anscestors as we interpret them. Our training includes hand-to-hand combat, many weapons including; sword, shield, spear, dagger, axe, staff, stick, quite a few others and any combination of them. We train hard, but have a blast doing so. We do this for the love of our heritage and the arts of war/combat. We hold Honor in the highest regaurds, and deplore dishonorable behavior. One is always responsible for thier own actions.


Contact Information

If you are in the Southern California area and interested in the Fianna Organization, please contact me at the address provided below. Include your name, area of SoCal where you live, age, brief history/discription of yourself, and why you wish to join the Fianna and what qualities you have to offer. If you are in a different area of N. America I'll forward your reply to the closest Fian. Also, after looking over my whole site, please follow the link to the Fianna Organization's main pages that is listed on my Fianna Links Page provided below. A lot of the information about us is there. Read this thoroughly, to see if you are truly interested. Thank you.

RigFennidh Bear

Also, visit these other Fianna & Friends websites. Plus a great link for geneaological research at:
MY FIANNA ORGANIZATION'S LINKS PAGE

If you are interested, join a Fianna E-list open to the public by going to Yahoo Groups
, scrolling down to Join Group, and typing in Craic_Fianna. Then follow the directions to subscribe.


Page Two

Old Training Photos


THE FIANNA ORGANIZATION'S FENNIDH OATH

For some insights into the ancient Celtic culture and beliefs, click HERE.

AN ESSAY ON THE WARRIOR AND OUR TIMES



PICS PAGE
PICS PAGE 2
CELTIC PAGAN FOREST

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