Aine of the fair hair, a beauty to behold, easily swept away the hearts of those who dared to draw near her. Daughter of King Egobagal of the Tuatha de Danann, Aine was a goddess concerned with love and fertility, but beware! Her wrath was known to be terrible when love was used for harm. Aine held dominion over fertility of the land. Crops were said to spring up and prosper at her whim, and the animals set to breed at her command alone. Such was the power of Aine. She loved nothing more than to see people to happy. Aine was free with her gifts, and there was peace and joy in the lands she called her home.
One bright day whilst dancing among the flowers, Aine was enchanted and taken away by the Fae folk of Munster. She spent some time with them at party, ate of their food, and, while not a typical fate of one who supped with the Otherkin, Aine was sent back to the mortal realm, though not entirely mortal herself as a result. As a parting gift, she was given a magical ring by which she could reveal fairies in the mortal realm with a quick rub.
Aine was even more enthralling when she returned. So much so that she caught the greedy eye of the grey-haired King of Munster, Aillil Olom, whom she killed with magic when he tried to rape her. At that moment, Aine made a magical vow to never bed a man with grey hair.
Aine mated with mortal men over the years, producing several fairy children, but her heart was finally won by the mortal Fionnis. The two were madly in love and set to be wed when Aine’s jealous sister, Miluchrach, turned Fionnis’ hair to grey, preventing the lovers from ever consummating their marriage. Still, Aine stayed by his side for the rest of his mortal days for love is more than mere physical attraction.
One warm spring day, Aine was singing quietly to herself while bathing in a river, when Gerald, the Earl of Desmond came upon her and fell in love at first sight. He stole the fair maiden’s cloak and refused to return it to her lest she agreed to give him her hand in marriage, to which she consented.
Aine and Gerald had a son, Geroid Iarla, Earl Fitzgerald, and it became apparent immediately that Geroid was of magical blood. Aine, in her foresight, cast a spell on Gerald that he never be surprised by anything Geroid did. One day, when Geroid jumped out of a bottle, Gerald broke the taboo with a bellow, causing Geroid to turn into a wild goose and fly away. Aine was so disgusted at her mortal husband’s display that she retreated in the realm of fairy at Knock Aine, where she is still said to dwell today.
