Lí Ban (from Old Irish lí 'beauty' and ban 'of women';[1][2] thus 'paragon of women'[3]) may refer to an otherworldly female figure inIrish mythology.
This Lí Ban claimed the beautifulFand as sister, and was wife toLabraid Luathlám ar Claideb ("Labraid of the swift sword-hand"), the ruler ofMagh Mell.[3]
She appears primarily in the Irish tale ofSerglige Con Culainn (The Wasting Sickness of Cú Chulainn), where she is the daughter ofÁed Abrat. She appears first in the form of asea bird, then as an otherworldly woman who inflicts the story's eponymous sickness on Cú Chulainn. In the story, Lí Ban acts as messenger and mediator; she andCú Chulainn's charioteerLáeg work together to see that Cú Chulainn is healed in exchange for his aid in Fand's battle in theOtherworld.[3]
From this, Lí Ban may have derived her namesake,[3] a legendaryLí Ban ofLough Neagh.[3][4]