DeDanaan

Danaan, Tuatha Dé : Literally, “the people of the goddess Dana / Danu.” The gods and goddesses of the pre-Christian Irish who inhabited the land before the coming of the Milesian Gaels. Their history is chronicled in the Leabhar Gabhala Erenn (’Book of Invasions’) and other ancient texts, as well as in oral folktales passed from generation to generation. When Christian monks started to write down the sagas, these gods and goddesses were demoted into heroes and heroines, although much remains to demonstrate their god-like abilities. Under their leader, Nuada of the Silver Hand, the Dé Danaan came to Ireland from an unknown northern country where they had four fabulous cities - Falias, Gorias, Finias, and Murias. In these great places they studied with learned sages. They became masters of the arts and sciences, both magical and mundane until they advanced to the point where they embodied the supernatural. They could go back and forth between the worlds at will, conjure weather, shape-shift, and they attained the utmost skills in poetry, magic, music, art, and weaponry. From each of the four cities the Tuatha Dé Danaan brought with them magical treasures : the Dagda’s Cauldron (’Undry’), the magical Spear of Lugh, the Stone of Fal (Lia Fáil, Stone of Destiny - the Lia Fáil would roar its approval when a rightful leader was elected to take leadership), and the Sword of Nuada (Cliamh Solais, for it was the Sword of Light). They defeated the FirBolg (”bag men”) and then overcame the Fomorii.

This is not to say that they were without vice. All human passion was experienced by them. Eventually, they were overcome by the Milesian Gaels, with whom in some texts they are also related and are regarded as the Ancestors of the Gaels. The Milesians drove them underground. The gods and goddesses of the Dé Danaan were common to all Celtic peoples : their names are cognate with many deities who appear in the Welsh myths. As they were pushed underground, they were demoted in the eyes of the people and became Faeries.

Dagda, the Good God, was their greatest and wisest ruler when the Milesian Gaels arrived. His daughter Brigit was the patroness of craftsmen and poets and came to be loved by the people of Ireland. Lugh was worshipped as a Sun God, and Badb, Macha, and Morrigan as triple War Goddesses. The triple goddesses would shape-shift and appear as old crones at times, and often as young maidens, as well. They (and some of the other goddesses) would take the form of crows or ravens, and fly over battle fields, goading the warriors into a frenzy. Many other of the Dé Danaans became well known in various Celtic legends, and were known as gods and goddesses and Ancestors. Whether they were or were not in fact deities, what the old texts tell us is that they were god-like beings (something between deities and humans), and were the basis for the Irish Faerie race. Many of them intermarried with humans. In fact, it is believed that almost all of the main clanns in Ireland were descended from the Tuatha Dé Danaan somewhere along their family lines, and many of the great genealogies of these clanns show direct lineage from the Danaans. Known as the Fair Folk, Good Neighbors, Little People, fae, elves, and a whole host of other names, there are numerous faeries of all types and descriptions all over the world today. (Continued)

Source: Part 11 of The History of Ireland (BOOK I-II) by Geoffrey Keating.

In the first place, we shall set down every name that was at any time on Ireland.

The first name which was given to Ireland was Inis na bhfiodhbhadh, that is to say Island of the Woods; and the person who called that name to it was a warrior of the people of Nin, son of Bel, who came from him to spy out Ireland, and on his coming thither he found it to be all one forest-wood, except Magh-n-ealta alone. Three times, indeed, Ireland was one continuous wood, according to this old saying, which is in the ancient record : “Three times Eire put three coverings and three barenesses off her.” (p.99)

The second name was Críoch na bhfuineadhach from its being at the limit or end of the three divisions of the world which had then been discovered; fuin indeed, from the Latin word finis being equivalent to ‘end’.

The third name was Inis Ealga, that is, noble island; for inis and oiléan are equivalent, and likewise ealga and uasal: and it is during the time of the Firbolg it was usual to have that name on it.

The fourth name was Eire, and it is said that wherefore that name is called to it, according to a certain author, is from this word Aeria, which was an old name for the island which is now called Creta or Candia; and why that author thinks that is because the posterity of the Gaedheal glas dwelt in that island some space of time after Sru, son of Easru, son of Gaedheal, had been driven out of Egypt: and, moreover, Aere is given as a name for Egypt whence the Gael proceeded. However, it is the common opinion of antiquaries that why it is Eire is from the name of the queen of the Tuatha Dé Danann who was in the land a the time of the coming of the of the Clann Míleadh into it: Eire, daughter of Dealbhaoth, was her name, and it is she was wife to Mac Gréine who was called Ceathúr who was king of Ireland when the sons of Míleadh came to it.

The fifth name was Fódhla, from a queen of the Tuath Dé Danann, who was called Fódhla: it is she was wife to Mac Cécht, whose proper name was Teathúr.

The sixth name was Banbha, from a queen of the Tuatha (p.101) Dé Danann, that was in the land, who was called Banbha: it is she was wife to Mac Cuill, whose proper name was Eathúr. These three kings held the sovereignty of Ireland each year by turns; and it is the name of the wife of each one of them would be on the island the year he was himself king. It is why the island is called Eire oftener than Fódhla or Banbha, because that is the husband of the woman whose name was Eire was king the year the sons of Míleadh came there.

The seventh name was Inis Fail; and it is the Tuatha Dé Danann gave that name to it, from a stone they brought with them into it, which was called the Lia Fail: and Saxum fatale, i.e. ‘Stone of Destiny’, Hector Boece calls it in the history of Scotland; and it was a stone on which were enchantments, for it used to roar under the person who had the best right to obtain the sovereignty of Ireland at the time of the men of Ireland being in assembly at Tara to choose a king over them. However, it has not roared from the time of Conchubhar forward, for the false images of the world were silenced when Christ was born. Here is a verse of quotation proving that it is from this stone Ireland is called Inis Fail, as Cionaoth the poet said : –

1. The stone which is under my two heels,
from it is named Inisfail;
Between two shores of a mighty flood,
the plain of Fál on all Ireland.

The eighth name was Muicinis; and it is the children of Míleadh who gave it that name before they arrived in it. When, indeed, they had come to the mouth of Innbhear Sláinghe, which today is called the Haven of Lochgarman, the Tuatha Dé Danann, with their druids, assemble to oppose (p.103) them there, and they practise magic on them, so that the island was not visible to them but in the likeness of a pig, so it is, therefore, they gave (the name) Muicinis to Ireland.

The ninth name was Scotia; and it is the sons of Míleadh who gave that name to it, from their mother, whose name was Scota, daughter of Pharao Nectonibus; or it is why they called it Scotia, because that they are themselves the Scottish race from Scythia.

The tenth name was Hibernia; and it is the sons of Míleadh gave that name to it. However, it is said that it is from a river that is in Spain which is called Iberus (the name) Hibernia is given to it. It is said also that it is from Eibhear (Eber), son of Míleadh, it is called Hibernia; but, however, holy Cormac, son of Cuileannan, says, that why it is called Hibernia is from this compound Greek word ‘hiberoc’ (ie. occasus in Latin) and ‘nyaon’ (i.e. insula) that is equivalent to saying insula occidentalis, i.e. ‘western island’.

The eleventh name was Iuernia, according to Ptolemy, or Iuerna, according to Solinus, or Ierna according to Claudian, or Vernia according to Eustatius. I think there is no meaning in the difference which is between these authors concerning this word Hibernia, but that they did not understand whence came the word itself; and, accordingly, that each one of them separately gave a guess from himself at it, so that from that came this variation on the word.

The twelfth name was Irin, according to Diodorus Siculus.

The thirteenth name was Irlanda; and I think that the reason why that name was given to it is, because that (p.105) it was Ir, son of Míleadh, was the first man of the Clanna Míleadh who was buried under the soil of Ireland, and accordingly, the island was named from him: ‘Irlanda’ and ‘land of Ir’ being indeed equivalent, for ‘land’ in English, and ‘fonn’ or ‘fearann’ in Gaelic are alike. The truth of this thing is the more admissible, since the book of Armagh says that a name for this island is Ireo, that is to say, the grave of Ir, because that it is there is the sepulchre or grave of Ir.

The fourteenth name was Ogygia, according to Plutarch: indeed, ‘Ogygia’ in Greek and insula perantiqua, i.e. most ancient island, are equivalent; and that is a suitable name for Ireland, because that it is long since it was first inhabited, and that perfect is the sound information which its antiquaries possess on the transactions of their ancestors from the beginning of eras, one after another.

For information on other Irish names, such as for people, see this page.

The Book of Kells contains a wealth of decoration, featuring not only abstract interlacing patterns and zoomorphic motifs but portraits of the Evangelists, of Christ, and of the Virgin and Child. The patterns that flank this portrait are typical of the Hiberno-Saxon style of manuscript illumination.

Book of Kells : Book of Kells, largest and most sumptuously decorated of the few illuminated Gospel books to survive from monasteries in Ireland and the north of Britain between the 7th and the 9th centuries. The date and place of origin of the Book of Kells have long been disputed. The rich monasteries of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland, and Kells, in County Meath, Ireland, could well have produced such a lavish illuminated manuscript, whose vellum pages required over 185 calf-skins. It may have been begun at Iona in the late 8th century and then taken to Kells, where in ad 807 a monastery was established as a refuge from Viking raids.

The manuscript is incomplete and now comprises 680 pages of the Gospels in Latin preceded by canon tables and other introductory text pages usual in such manuscripts. Much of the Gospel of St John is missing.

The manuscript’s glory lies in its decoration. Illustrations include the symbols of the Evangelists, their portraits, and those of Christ, and the Virgin and Child. The additional scenes of the Temptation and Arrest of Christ are the earliest narrative scenes to survive in a Gospel manuscript. Each Gospel opens with a richly decorated initial. The text is filled with abstract and zoomorphic (animal-form) interlace patterns which characterize not only this manuscript but also the other Hiberno-Saxon gospel books, such as the Lindisfarne Gospels or the Book of Durrow. It is the use of the human figure, the unusual colours, and the wealth of decoration that set aside the Book of Kells from the other manuscripts. It is not known how many scribes contributed to the elegant and confident majuscule text (written in large letters), nor whether they were also the artists who produced the intricate and magnificent decoration that makes the Book of Kells one of the finest exemplars of the Insular, or Hiberno-Saxon, style (the British and Irish style of manuscript illumination).

The Book of Kells is in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin. [Image : Bridgeman Art Library, London / New York / The Board of Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland]

Cailleach Beara, (Beare, Bera) : (kill-ogh vayra) “Crone of Beare” The ancient mountain mother of the south-west of Ireland. South-west Munster was believed to be the abode of the dead and here the Cailleach had lived for countless ages so that her successive husbands died of old age while she enjoyed endless youth. She is almost identical with the Cailleach Bheur of the Highlands except that she is not so closely connected with winter nor with the wild beasts. She is a great mountain builder, and, like many other gigantic Hags, she carried loads of stone in her apron and dropped them when the string broke. She is considered a goddess of sovereignty giving the kings the right to rule their lands. She usually appears as an old woman who asks a hero to sleep with her, if the hero agrees to sleep with the old hag she then transforms into a beautiful woman.

Cailleach is referred to as the “Mother of All” in parts of Scotland. Also known as Scotia, she is depicted as an old hag with the teeth of a wild bear and boar’s tusks. She is believed to be a great sorceress. She is also known to have created the earth. “With her hammer she alternately splinters mountains, prevents the growth of grass, or raises storms. Numerous wild animals follow her…” — Encyclopedia of the Occult, 1920

Cruachan (Rath Cruachan) : The cave at Cruachan is an ‘Entrance to The Otherworld’ and is traditionally regarded as a place from which spirit forces and entities emerge. Caves such as this feature strongly in ancient beliefs. The Cruachan region of County Roscommon, modern day Rathcroghan, is rich in locations associated with ancient magic, ritual and religion. The Rathcroghan mound itself is reputedly the remnants of the palace of Queen Medb of Connacht. It was used by rulers of that era as a place to consult magicians and sorcerers, particularly at the time of Samhain. Cruachan was the seat of the chieftains of the Uí­ Briáin Aí­ and remained for centuries the tribal meeting place and symbolic center until late in medieval history. It has never been thoroughly explored by archaeologists. According to Joyce (Irish Place Names Vol. II), its original name was Druim-na-ndruadh, the ridge of the druids.

Anu : Mother Goddess and Earth Goddess. Her name is sometimes Ana, or Dana, or Danu. The Tuatha dé Danaan are one of the ‘races’ or ‘peoples’ of ancient Ireland. God-like, their leaders are, in effect, the Gods of Ireland. Generally regarded nowadays as benign and the ‘powers of light’, their name Tuatha dé Danann is translated as meaning ‘People of the Goddess Anu’. While one automatically assumes one’s Gods to be benign, evidence for the nature of the dé Danaan is not conclusive. While the Irish-language word tuath does mean ‘people’ or ‘tribe’, it can also mean ’sinister, perverse, malign, evil’. The word ‘tuathal’ implies spell-making and witchcraft, and the conjuring up of sinister forces.

In one of the most ancient of the Irish manuscripts there is a description of Anu, along with her two ’sisters’ Badb and Macha, as ‘na ban tuathige’, meaning ‘the sinister women’. In one of his battles the Hero Cuchulainn was supported by entities associated with Anu. ‘Ra gairester imme baccanaig, ocus bananagaig, ocus geniti glinni, ocus Demna aeoir’. ‘The satyrs, and sprites, and maniacs of the valleys, and demons of the air shouted about him. . .’ None of this sounds particularly ‘benign’. Further, we know that in Britain Anu was worshipped as Andate. The ceremonies involved the suspension of sacrificial women in groves of trees and the severance of their breasts which were pinned up about the place in grisly fecundity rituals. Breasts as symbols of nourishment are important to Anu. In Ireland’s County Kerry we have placenames such as The Paps of Anu and The Paps of Morrigan, this latter being a poor translation from Da Cich na Morrigna, actually meaning the Two Breasts of the Great Queen.

Airbe Druad : A mystical protective barrier (’druid’s hedge’) created round an army by a druid. It sometimes seems that a similar barrier protects the ancient wisdoms and understandings from ourselves…

Eremon and Eber : Eremon was the seventh son of Milesius. Eber was his eldest brother. Joint rule in 3500. Eremon killed Eber and his wife in 3500 (1700 B.C.?) in a quarrel over territory, and ruled alone into 3516. During Eremon’s reign alone, a “. . . colony called by the Irish Cruithneaigh, in English ‘Cruthneans’ or Picts, arrived in Ireland and requested Eremon to assign them a part of the country to settle in, which he refused; but, giving them as wives the widows of the Tuatha de Danaans, slain in battle, he sent them with a strong party of his own forces to conquer the country then called ‘Alba,’ but now Scotland; conditionally, that they and their posterity should be tributary, to the Monarchs of Ireland.”

Conn Cétchathach (Conn of the Hundred Battles) : legendary ancestor of the Connachta kings of Ireland. Son of Feidhlimidh Reachtmhar and Una, daughter of the king of Lochloinn. Married to Eithne. Conn and Eoghan Mor, also called Mogha Nuadhad, fought a great battle at Maynooth in 123 AD and split Ireland in half. “Resulting from this battle, Mogha forced Conn to divide Ireland with him into two equal parts by the boundary of Esker Riada, a long ridge of hills from Dublin to Galway, the south part he termed his and called it after his own name, Leath Mogha, or ‘Mogha’s Half of Ireland’. The northern part was called Leath Cuinn, or Conn’s Half.” “Conn also gave his daughter, Sadbh, in marriage to Oiloll Olum, Son of Eoghan Mor.” Descent from the Great Kings of Ireland. “Conn’s life and reign were ended by his assassination at Tara. Fifty robbers hired by the king of Ulster, came to Tara, dressed as women, and treacherously despatched the Monarch.” A History of the Irish Race. Another version of his death is: Slain by Tibraite (Tiobraide) Tireach, son of Mal, son of Rochraidhe [Tipraiti Tírech la mc Máil m. Rochride], King of Ulster, at Tuath Amrois. Father of Art