In Irish mythology and folklore, the fairy stronghold associated with the goddess Áine is Cnoc Áine.
Cnoc Áine means “Áine’s Hill” in Irish and is identified with Knockainey in County Limerick. The site is closely linked with Áine as a goddess of summer, fertility, wealth, beauty, and sovereignty. Later local tradition also remembers her as a queen of the fairies or the sídhe.
The hill was the focus of midsummer observances. On Saint John’s Eve, people traditionally gathered there with clíars—bundles of straw or hay carried as torches. Processions passed through fields and among cattle, symbolically extending Áine’s blessing to crops, livestock, and the land. Records describe such rites as continuing into the nineteenth century.
Cnoc Áine is sometimes treated as though it were the name of a castle or underground palace, but the Irish name literally identifies a hill. Folklore places Áine’s fort or dwelling on the hill itself. It should also not be confused with the Hill of Tara or Brú na Bóinne, major ceremonial and mythological sites with different traditions.