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About the name "Grainne"
Grainne is a name of Irish/Gaelic origin and means "love", "grace" or "grain". The name rhymes with Sonia (so it is pronounced Grawn-yah) and has been anglicized to the name Grace.
In ancient Ireland, Grainne was the patron of the harvest, whilst in later legends Grainne was the name of the beautiful daughter of Cormac MacAirt, a High King of Ireland. A number of different version of the legend exist, all telling a similar story:
Grainne had been promised in marriage to the king Fionn (or Finn) MacCool, but at the wedding banquet she realised Fionn was too old for her and put a "geis," a love spell on Fionn's nephew, Diarmuid. Grainne and Diarmuid ran away together, but were pursued by Fionn.
Fionn's pursuit prevented them from spending two consecutive nights in the same place and megalithic sites throughout Ireland are still traditionally referred to as "the bed of Grainne and Diarmuid". One day Diarmuid was mortally wounded by a boar. A drink of water from Fionn's hands could have saved him, but Fionn initially refused and when he eventually brought the water Diarmuid was dead.
For longer versions of the story, see:
