Táim réidh, Fionn.
‘ Sure, are ya? ‘ he smiles, broadly, mischievously. ‘Ready?’
‘Take me there. Take me home’.
‘Erin’s home now?’ He exclaims, amused. ‘ I thought Wales was, leannán’.
His green eyes twinkling, he pulls me up into the saddle.
‘Only teasing, leannán. Only teasing. We, gardai, have no home except the one we call home. My heart belongs to this land, my blood sings its songs. Mannanan will tell you that – Is treise an dúchas ná an oillúint, – nature is stronger than nurture. You were born of the huntsman, you were not made to sit and watch. If the road calls, we follow. If the wind rises, we ride it.
An té a bhíónn siúlach, bíonn scéalach, keep that in mind. We are the stories we tell, leannan- and you shall see that when you become one. You dance among the sidhe, you ride the sea horses, you walk in the great green – how can you be of one place? I saw that from the start”.
‘How can you tell?’
‘Aithníonn ciaróg eile’ he answers, with a glint in his eyes,’ shouldn’t I know kin? I do. I have seen you dance in the hills, I’ve seen you fly and have seen you ride. Isn’t that enough? You have the tunes of my land in your soul, you know the bagpipes and fiddles, you know the speech. How can you not be, leannan? Buckle up now!’
The white steed speeds up, and soon enough seas below become hills, lakes and plains, emerald and sapphire turn to silver and gold.
‘That is Erin’ Fionn says, and I feel the pride in his voice ‘My only love. My home. My land. Your land. Feel its might. Drink it up. Oh, and Fáilte abhaile!’
He laughs and laughter feels the air, colouring it into million shades – till I lose the sense of reality.
‘Fáilte abhaile’ Fionn repeats ‘I’ve been waiting for so long ‘
Into the Unknown 