DeDanaan

Filed by Aine MacDermot

Bres : The son of Ériu, begotten of her by an otherworld youth, Elatha who was of the Fomorians. Eriu herself was of the Tuatha Dé Danaan. Although he was a child of mixed parentage, he was elected leader on the understanding that he would relinquish sovereignty if any misdeed should give cause. But Bres treated his mother’s people poorly, inflicting grave insults upon the Danaans. He created a monopoly over the food supplies of Ireland, making the Danaans obliged to serve him in order to be fed. He was then satirized by the Tuatha’s poet. (A poet’s satire could cause personal disfigurement, in the case of Bres, he was considered maimed and therefore unfit to reign.) Eventually the Danaans rose against him and Bres joined the Fomorian side during the Second Battle of Mag Tuireadh. Here, he bargained with Lugh in a magical contest, which he lost. He was forced to drink 300 buckets of tainted milk and died.