Áine - card

Áine is an Irish goddess of summer, wealth and sovereignty. She is associated with midsummer and the sun, and is sometimes represented by a red mare. She is the daughter of Egobail, the sister of Aillen and/or Fennen, and is claimed as an ancestor by multiple Irish families. As the goddess of love and fertility, she has command over crops and animals and is also associated with agriculture.

Áine is strongly associated with County Limerick. The hill of Knockainey (Irish: Cnoc Áine) is named after her, and was site of rites in her honour, involving fire and the blessing of the land, recorded as recently as 1879. She is also associated with sites such as Toberanna (Irish: Tobar Áine), County Tyrone; Dunany (Irish: Dun Áine), County Louth; Lissan (Irish: Lios Áine), County Derry; and Cnoc Áine near Teelin, County Donegal.

Illustration from an original by Margaret McKenna