Aed (Aodh)

Two alternative, partially conflicting traditions are preserved. In one set of accounts Aed is recorded as the eldest son of Lir and Aoibh (daughter of Bodb Dearg) and thus one of the four Children of Lir who, after the death or displacement of Aoibh, are cursed by Aoife to live as swans. In a separate tradition Aed is counted among the children of the Dagda and thus sibling to figures such as Aengus and Cermait; in that narrative his life ends when he is slain by Corrgend (Corrchenn/Corggend) of Cruach for seducing Corrgend's wife. These variant placements reflect multiple genealogical strands in the Tuatha Dé Danann material rather than a single unified origin.

Direct descriptive statements in the sources are limited. In the Dagda-son tradition Aed is called a 'faultless' and 'bright-faced youth.' In Dindsenchas verse he is given the epithet 'of the wind-swift horses' and the byname 'Aed Luirgnech' (glossed as 'big-shins'). As one of the Children of Lir he is transformed into a swan as part of Aoife's curse, and in that form he shares the collective physical description of the swan-children in the tale.

The supplied accounts do not ascribe a catalogue of explicit magical powers to Aed beyond those implied by his membership in the Tuatha Dé Danann/Daoine Sidhe and the etymological association of his name with 'fire.' In the Children of Lir tradition the transformation into a swan is performed by Aoife's curse rather than by Aed, and the narrative stresses that the swan-children retained their voices and knowledge of songs and tales. In the Dagda tradition Aed's role is chiefly genealogical and narrative (his seduction, death, and the Dagda's pursuit of his killer); no specific personal magical acts are recorded in the provided material.