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Celtic Gods and Heroes: The Gods of Ancient
Ireland |
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Celtic peoples established themselves in Ireland about
2,500 years ago. But humans had inhabited the island long before that,
as evidenced by the monument site at Newgrange dating to 3000 B.C.,
as well as the prehistoric megaliths at Carrowmore in Sligo, and other
dolmens and cairns. The Celts formed myth to make an accounting for
these earlier peoples, and to fit the existing Celtic gods into the
Irish landscape.
What resulted from such myth-making was the Lebor Gabala, or in English,
the "Book of Invasions," written with the Roman alphabet in
the Gaelic tongue, presumably originating in the Dark Ages. Two general
threads of myth exist in this work. First, stories recount the successive
waves of conquests of Ireland up to the coming of the Celtic Milesians,
and including the entry of the gods and divine beings onto Ireland.
Second, intricate stories tell the beginnings and successive wanderings
of the Celtic Milesians before they came to the Emerald Isle.
According to the Book of Invasions, there were five earlier conquests
or "takings" of Ireland before the arrivals of the Celts:
1) Cessair and her group; 2) the Race of Parthelon; 3) the Race of Nemed;
4) the Fir Bolgs; and 5) the Tuatha Dé Danann, or gods and goddesses
of the ancient Celts in Ireland. To review these briefly:
Cessair, as fashioned a bit by the monk transcribers, was said to be
the granddaughter of Noah, and arrived in Ireland forty days before
the Flood, thus becoming the first human on the island. She came with
a entourage of fifty maidens and three men. These men quickly did their
arithmetic and divvied up Cessair's women, such that each man had 17
maidens for himself. Well, this didn't last long. Though Noah calculated
that the Flood would not reach the Western World, his estimates were
wrong, and the waters swept Ireland and all of Cessair's following--except
for Fintan, a male who pops up now and again over the centuries to help
retell various other myths. (Such is the freedom of the Celtic mind!)
The Race of Parthelon, according to the Book of Invasions, arrived in
Ireland about three hundred years after the Flood, during the age of
the Biblical Abraham. Parthelon and his people were an industrious lot,
clearing plains for planting and constructing buildings. They rewarded
themselves by brewing the first beer in Ireland. Although they began
only as a group of forty-eight men and women, over the three centuries
they lived in Ireland, their numbers grew to five thousand. But ill-luck
came upon them by way of a plague, wiping out the Race of Parthelon.
Next came the Race of Nemed, a people who carried on the diligent work
of Parthelon. But bad fortune struck again, as Nemed and many of his
followers died in an epidemic, and the remaining population experienced
other sore pains and eventually left Ireland. The next colonizers were
the Fir Bolgs, who some experts believe were the Celts' representation
of the pre-Celtic indigenous peoples of Ireland. The Fir Bolgs were
said to be the first to divide Ireland into its historical provinces:
Leinster, Munster, Connaught, Meath, and Ulster. A famous mythic king
of the Fir Bolgs was Eochaid the Proud.
Another breed of beings were a source of menace to the peoples of Parthelon,
Nemed, and the Fir Bolgs. These were the Fomors, often called the Fomhoire,
or "under-demons." The Fomors were malevolent giants, fearsome
diabolical creatures, who lived beneath the sea near the northwest part
of Ireland. They had a Glass Castle on Tory Island, their surface stronghold
off of the coast of County Sligo. Awful stories abound about the Fomors,
for instance, that two-thirds of the children born to the Race of Nemed
were surrendered to the Fomors every Samhain.
The Tuatha Dé Danann
In the age when the Fir Bolgs and Fomors roamed Ireland, the gods and
goddesses made their appearance on the feast of Beltaine. Some sources
say they descended from the sky. The deities brought with them four
important talismen: the magic sword of Nuada, the enchanted spear of
Lugh, the charmed cauldron of Dagda, and the Stone of Destiny (which
uttered a loud cry when touched by the rightful king of Ireland). The
gods and goddesses were called the Tuatha Dé Danann, or the "Tribe
of the Goddess Danu." They became the divine beings homaged by
Gaelic peoples, though not before an ironic story of conquest.
The divine pantheon of the Gaels were children of Danu, a symbol of
the universal mother. Among the greatest of her children was Nuada the
Silver Handed, the early king of the gods. He possessed an invincible
sword, as well as the powers of the throne. A table of the successive
deity kings is given below. Morrigan (or Morrigú) was a supreme
war goddess, someone you didn't mess with. She had a triad of female
personifications: Nemen the Venomous, Badb the Fury, and Macha the Battle.
Morrigan's favorite shape-shifting disguise was a crow.
The doyen of the gods was the Dagda, or the "Good God." The
Dagda had three prized possessions. First was his eight-pronged war-club,
which he moved with the help of a wheel. Second was his magic cauldron,
called "The Undry," which was sort of a cornucopia for porridge
(Dagda's favorite food), and from which none went away unnourished.
Dagda's third prized possession was his enchanted oak harp, which enabled
the seasons to follow in order when he played on its strings. The Dagda
had numerous children, including Brigid, Angus, Mider, Ogma, and Bodb
the Red.
Brigid was the goddess of fire and the hearth, as well as of poetry.
She invented keening, the Irish wailing song for loved ones at death.
Brigid also had some fertility aspects, for the Celtic feast of Imbolc
in early February was in her honor. For sake of diplomacy, Brigid married
Bress the Fomor, and they had a son named Ruadan.
Kings of the Irish Gods (in succession over time)
1. Nuada (king when the gods came to Ireland)
2. Bress the Fomor (made king for diplomatic reasons)
3. Nuada (reinstated as king upon Bress's downfall)
4. Lugh (one of the kings after Nuada's death)
5. Mac Cuill, Mac Cecht, Mac Greiné (sons of Ogma; these three
kings were on the throne when the Celtic Milesians arrived; their wives:
Banba, Fotla, and Eriu)
6. The Dagda (assigned sídh "fairymounds" to gods after
Celtic conquests)
7. Bodb the Red (king even to the time of the Fenians)
8. Finvarra (present king of the fairies; also called Fionnbharr)
NOTE: Other sources include additional names of kings of the Gaelic
gods, such as Delbaeth and Fiachna.
Angus the Young was a sort of Gaelic god of love. He was very handsome
and had a golden harp that played so sweetly that maidens were naturally
drawn to it. The kisses of Angus were transformed into birds which whispered
thoughts of love into the ears of girls. In one story, Angus is visited
by a beautiful dream maiden each night during sleep. Angus pines for
her, and being lovesick, refuses nourishment. Finally he discovers that
the dream maiden is named Caer, an enchantress surrounded by thrice
times fifty attending nymphs. After much wooing, Caer finally agrees
to marry Angus, and they find much happiness at his palace.
Lir was the primary sea god of the Gaels. Among his children were Finola,
a daughter, and three sons: Aed, Fiachra, and Conn. A jealous stepmother
named Aeife cast a cruel spell with a magic wand, turning these four
children of Lir into swans, and they flew and wandered about Ireland
until the coming of St. Patrick. This is one of the saddest stories
in Celtic mythology.
Another son of Lir was Manannán, a Gaelic god for whom the Isle
of Man is named. Manannán had a whole array of treasured possessions:
three magic swords, called The Retaliator, The Great Fury, and The Little
Fury; two magic spears, called Yellow Shaft and the Red Javelin; a boat
propelled and guided by his wishes, called the Wave-sweeper; a horse
that could run swiftly over the sea, named Splendid Mane; invincible
armor and helmet; and a cloak that made the wearer invisible. Manannán
was the host of the Feast of Age, a banquet where the guests never grew
old.
Among others of the Irish pantheon were Goibniu, the metal worker of
the gods, and the brewer of the ale of immortality, a beer that enabled
the drinkers to live forever. Diancecht was the god of medicine, and
was responsible for naming the River Barrow. Ogma was the divine champion,
a patron of literature, and the inventor of the ogham alphabet. Among
his sons was Cairpré, the bard of the Tuatha Dé Danann.
The Conquest by the Gods
When the Tuatha Dé Danann arrived in Ireland, being gods and
goddesses, they realized immediately what a marvelous isle it was. Of
course, they wanted Ireland for themselves, to serve as their new home.
But first they needed to contend with the Fir Bolgs and the Fomor giants.
The Tuatha Dé Danann moved on the Fir Bolgs first. Morrigan with
the help of Badb and Macha sent a shower of fire and blood upon the
Fir Bolgs for three days and nights, to warn them that change was impending.
Nuada, the king of the gods, attempted to work diplomacy with the Fir
Bolg king Eochaid the Proud, offering to divide Ireland in half between
the gods and the humans. But Eochaid rejected this, saying: "If
we once give these beings half, they will soon have the whole."
So the winds of war stirred between the Tuatha Dé Danann and
the Fir Bolgs. Their two armies met near the village of Cong in the
province on Connaught, in western Ireland. At first, fighting began
as a sort of deadly hurling match where thrice nine warriors on each
side fought to the death. Then single combats commenced, and continued
on for four days. In one, Streng the Fir Bolg shore off the hand of
King Nuada. But, the Fir Bolgs, thirsty and in search of water, then
travelled as far as Ballysadare in County Sligo. They were pursued by
the gods, and there, King Eochaid of the Fir Bolgs was killed. By then
the Fir Bolgs were down to three hundred men. The Tuatha Dé Danann
offered them peace and a fifth of Ireland. The Fir Bolgs consented,
and chose Connaught as theirs. And even up to the 17th century of our
age, there were men in Connaught who claimed their lineage traced back
to Streng the Fir Bolg!
But the war with the Fir Bolgs left a toll on the Tuatha Dé Danann.
Nuada had lost his hand in battle. Diancecht, the physician of the gods,
made Nuada a silver artificial hand that worked nearly perfectly (hence
Nuada's name, the Silver Handed). But this artificial hand was still
a blemish, the gods could not have an impaired being sitting on their
throne. So Nuada was required to step down.
The gods decided that it would be wise to make a diplomatic move with
the Fomor giants, and form a peaceful alliance with them. So, they offered
the throne of the gods to Bress, the son of the Fomor king. And too,
marriage unions were formed: Brigid of the gods married Bress the Fomor;
and Cian, the son of the god Diancecht, married Ethniu, the daughter
of Balor the Fomor.
But, the idea of Bress the Fomor being king of the Tuatha Dé
Danann wasn't working out. Bress was oppressive. He exacted heavy taxes
on the gods, and Bress required that even the greatest of gods do work
tolls for him. So there were situations like Ogma being sent to chop
fire wood for Bress, and the Dagda being required to build forts and
castles for him. To make matters worse, Bress had no largesse at feasts:
he would provide no bards, musicians, or jugglers to give pleasure to
the gods. Discontent was in the air. Finally, Bress made a grave mistake--he
insulted the bard of the gods, Cairpré. To this, Cairpré
wrote a stinging satire against Bress, ending with these words: "May
Bress's cheer be what he gives to others."
The children of Diancecht thus went to work to fix Nuada's hand. With
great magic, they restored his hand from silver to actual flesh. No
longer with a blemish, Nuada was now free to regain his throne of the
gods. Bress was forced to abdicate. He went back to the Fomors, and
their assembly agreed to make war against the Tuatha Dé Danann.
Preparations for war lasted seven years. In this time, Lugh arrived
at the court of the gods at Tara, and took a leadership position under
King Nuada. The Dagda was sent as a pre-battle ambassador to the Fomors,
and there ate an enormous meal of porridge, a meal that took so long
that it gave the Tuatha Dé Danann more time to prepare for war.
On the eve of Samhain the hostilities began. The battles were so fierce
that Nuada was slain. But the gods and goddesses won the war with the
Fomors. In vengeance the retreating Fomors stole the Dagda's harp, but
Lugh, Ogma, and the Dagda pursued them and fetched the prized possession,
thus assuring the change of seasons. Morrigan, Badb, Mider, and Angus
finally forced the last Fomors off of Ireland for all time. The gods
and goddesses now possessed the Emerald Isle.
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Article by John Patrick Parle
Copyright © 1999
jpparle@aol.com
Reprinted with permission
Celtic Clipart ~ ©Aon Celtic Art
