Fionnguala inghean ui Murchaidh

Fionnguala inghean ui Murchaidh was born in 1331, in what is now known as county Clare in Northern Ireland. Her mother, the wayward daughter of the O'Neill Chief, married the leader of the gallowglass mercenaries her father had hired to protect the clan. Her noble born father, from Scotland originally, had become a gallowglass in search of adventure and had found love instead.

Fionnguala was taught martial defense and wilderness skills by her father, and industriousness and hand skills by her mother. When both of her parents were overcome by the plague in the summer of 1349, she was forced to depend on those skills as she rebuilt her life. She quickly married and produced two wee lasses; however, her husband died from the plague in the next outbreak and she was left a widow with two young children. At this point she retreated from society for a goodly length of time to raise her daughters in the relative safety of the country. She returned to civilization after a period of time and threw herself into all of the wonderful activities she had missed in her absence.

In an alternate universe, Fionnguala is known as Leyla Haslebacher, and surprisingly their story lines are quite similar. Leyla joined the SCA in 1998 and enjoyed several seasons as a war archer for Lionsdale. Although her husband didn't die of the plague, he did get divorced, and Leyla was forced to retreat from the game when she discovered making garb for two rapidly growing daughters was too much of a challenge for a newly single parent. Once the heaviest parts of childrearing had passed, Leyla returned to the SCA with enthusiasm.

Offices

Lionsgate A&S Champion (August 1998 - July 1999)

South Hartwood A&S Coordinator (2000)

Hartwood A&S Deputy (2018 - 2020)

Keeper of the North (March 2020 - March 2021)

Warden of An Tir (March 2021 - March 2023)

Hartwood Chamberlain (August 2018 - March 2023)

Hartwood Family and Youth Activities Officer (August 2018 - March 2023)

Seagirt Bardic Champion (December 2021-December 2023)

Hartwood Bardic Defender (November 2019 - November 2023)

Hartwood Deputy Master of Stables (August 2018 - March 2023)

Seagirt Deputy Master of Stables (August 2018 - March 2023)

Significant Awards

Tir Righ Silver Wolf May 2019
Hartwood Swan Tag Nov 2019
Hartwood Sable Hound Nov 2019
An Tir Award of Arms Dec 2019
Hartwood Stag Tag July 2022
Baroness' Inspiration in Combat Nov 2022
Seagirt Rock Dec 2022
Tir Righ Silver Lyre Dec 2022
Tir Righ Etoile d'Argent Dec 2022
Tir Righ Hafoc Dec 2022
An Tir Jambe de Lion March 2024

Events Stewarded

Los Leiden Autumn Masquerade Ball Oct 2000
Los Leiden Summer Tournament June 2001
May Day Feast and Demo May 2019
Hartwood TUTR Online May 2020
Seagirt Yule Dec 2021
Hartwood Yule Nov 2023

Guild Memberships

Incipient An Tir Forester's Guild 2018 to present
Highmaster Forester

An Tir Embellisher's Guild 2018 to present
Junior Craftsman

Research Interests and Ongoing A&S Projects

All things Wood
Making coronets
Embellishment of all kinds
Medieval foresters
Hawks and messenger pigeons
Girih tiles and other clay based projects

OP: https://op.antirheralds.org/index.php?who=10201
Roll of Arms: https://rollofarms.antirheralds.org/display.php?id=3345