Diarmuid and Gráinne
The love of Diarmuid and Gráinne is a central tale of the Irish cycle concerning the hero Finn MacCumhal and his warriors, the Fianna.
The story shares many features with the legend of Tristan and Iseult. Welsh storytellers are thought to have adapted it, setting it within the tale of Drust the Pict.
Gráinne, daughter of the High King of Ireland, was betrothed to Finn, but during the wedding feast she falls hopelessly in love with his nephew Diarmuid, who bore a love-spot on his forehead that made him irresistible. Gráinne places a geis on Diarmuid, leaving him no choice but to follow her and become her lover.
After a long pursuit, Finn finds Diarmuid dying, wounded by a boar. Although Finn possessed the power to save him — as a child he had burned his thumb on the Salmon of Knowledge and, as a result, could restore youth and health to anyone who drank from his cupped hands — he does not do so. Twice he filled his hands with water and let it slip through his fingers. On the third attempt he drew near to Diarmuid, but the latter was already dead.
Unlike Iseult, Gráinne does not die of love; instead she is reconciled with Finn.