Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings. For this week’s Femme Fatale Friday, I will be discussing the Celtic tale of Liban the Mermaid! Liban is also spelled Li Ban, and her biggest claim to fame is as the Irish Mermaid who became a Saint, which makes her one of the Faery and Goddess figures to be made Saint, another example of a Goddess made Saint would be Brigid.
Liban was the daughter of Etain, one of the Tuatha Dé Danann, and Eochaid, one of the Fir Bolg. Liban is remembered as the sister of the Sidhe Faery Queen and Goddess named Fand. In her story, Liban and Fand took the form of Sea Birds and were struck down in that form by Cu Chulainn. Of course, as Faery Queens, the sisters took revenge on Cu Chulainn by cursing him with a strange and incurable illness while he slept.
Later on, Liban and her beloved dog were swept away in a flood and took shelter in an underwater cave, and it is stated in some versions of the story that she stayed in the cave for a year. While stuck in the cave, she prayed to become a Salmon, like the Salmon she saw swimming in the water. Her prayer was granted when she was turned into a half-Salmon, half-Woman Mermaid! It is said that she roamed the Seas for 300 years with her dog by her side until she was caught in the net of a member of the Clergy. At this point, she was given the choice to roam the Seas for 300 more years or ascend to Heaven, and legend tells that she chose the latter. She was said to have been baptized at this point, taking on the Christianized name of Muirgein (meaning sea-born) or Muirgeilt (meaning sea-wander). This is very likely why she would go on to be canonized as St. Murgan. Her Feast Day as St. Murgan is celebrated on January 27th!
I find the 300 years being specified as the time frame of how long she roamed as a Mermaid to be very intriguing, as that is the same length of time that Hans Christian Andersen gave as the lifespan of Mermaids. Now, in the Andersen tale, Mermaids do not have immortal souls, which is the real reason that the Little Mermaid of the title sought to marry a human man, as that is what would grant her a human, immortal soul! This also aligns with Liban being given the choice of whether or not to continue to roam for 300 more years or ascend to Heaven, as if she remained in the Sea it can be assumed that she would never ascend to Heaven, and in choosing to go to Heaven it can be assumed she was given an eternal and immortal soul! Another interesting link to the Andersen story is that at the end, the Little Mermaid is given the chance to earn an immortal soul by serving 300 years as a Spirit of the Air doing good deeds. So in the Andersen story, we also have the repetition of the 300-year time span, meaning it appears in both stories.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this short post about the Mermaid Saint of Ireland, Liban. What part of Liban’s story do you find the most fascinating? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Notes on Image: The image at the top of the post is an artwork depicting Liban. I found the art on https://historyofmermaids.com/feast-of-li-ban-muirgen-the-irish-mermaid-saint/.
LINK TO AVALONIAN ROSE FAERY MYSTERIES PATREON: patreon.com/AvalonianRoseFaeryMysteries
Further Reading
- Water Witchcraft: Magic and Lore from the Celtic Tradition by Annwyn Avalon
- Faery Craft: Weaving Connections with the Enchanted Realm by Emily Carding
- The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen
- https://medium.com/@e.ardincaple/the-irish-princess-who-became-a-mermaid-lí-ban-of-lough-neagh-9a87ce45090b
- https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/irelands-little-known-mermaid-saint
- https://historyofmermaids.com/mermaid/liban/