Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era. In the early medieval era, myths were written down by Christian scribes, who revised it considerably in order to fit the history and religion according to Christianized learning. Irish mythology is the best-preserved branch of Celtic mythology.
The myths are conventionally grouped into 'cycles'. The Mythological Cycle consists of tales and poems about the god-like Tuatha Dé Danann, who are based on Ireland's pagan deities, and other mythical races like the Fomorians. Important works in the cycle are the Lebor Gabála Érenn ("Book of Invasions"), a legendary history of Ireland, the Cath Maige Tuired ("Battle of Moytura"), and the Aided Chlainne Lir ("Children of Lir"). The heroic cycles and even the Historical Cycle (Cycle of the Kings) are also considered repositories of mythological texts. The Ulster Cycle consists of heroic legends relating to the Ulaid, the most important of which is the epic Táin Bó Cúailnge ("Cattle Raid of Cooley"). The Fenian Cycle focuses on the exploits of the mythical hero Finn and his warrior band the Fianna, including the lengthy Acallam na Senórach ("Tales of the Elders"). The Cycles of the Kings comprises legends about historical and semi-historical kings of Ireland (such as Buile Shuibhne, "The Madness of King Sweeny"), and tales about the origins of dynasties and peoples.
There are also mythological texts that do not fit into any of the cycles; these include the echtrai tales of journeys to the Otherworld (such as The Voyage of Bran), and the Dindsenchas ("lore of places"). Some written materials have not survived, and many more myths were likely never written down.
Figures
Myles Dillon and Nora K. Chadwick classify Irish gods into four main groups. Group one encompasses the older gods of Gaul and Britain. The second group is the main focus of much of the mythology and surrounds the native Irish gods with their homes in burial mounds. The third group are the gods that dwell in the sea and the fourth group includes stories of the Otherworld. The gods that appear most often are the Dagda and Lugh.
Tuatha Dé Danann
The main supernatural beings in Irish mythology are the Tuatha Dé Danann.
Terminology
Tuatha Dé Danann is construed to mean "the folk of the goddess Danann or "people/tribe/nation of the god Ana[?]" Ana or Anu is an attested name of a goddess (with genitive form ); Danann is only found in later attestations; reconstructed (nominative) forms *Danu or *Dana are unattested and are speculative. The solution may be that Dana is merely a d-added variant of the goddess Ana/Anu However, others suggest it was a later scholarly invention, an extension added to the original appellation which was simply Tuath Dé (god-folk), until the simpler version became inconveniently ambiguous with Tuath Dé used to denote the "People of God" (i.e., Israelites).
Whatever the origin, Dana/Danu/Danand is treated as just a variant form of Ana/Anu/Anand, Introduction, p. 103: "...and Mor-rīgu, the latter sometimes called Anand or Danand." in certain scholarly circles, and thus a bona fide goddess, e.g., Macalister's translation of the Lebor Gabala. Lebor Gabála Érenn 4 Section VII. §366, pp. 182–183. (Irish: Danand); "Dana is mother of the gods". A Welsh goddess Dôn is mentioned as possibly connected, insinuating the plausibility of the Dana/Danu goddess in Irish myth.
General description Prominent male deities include The Dagda ("the great god"); the long-armed Lugh; the silver-armed Nuada; Aengus; the sea god Manannán; Dian Cécht the healer. There are also Goibniu the smith, Creidhne the goldsmith/brazier, and Luchta the carpenter. There is also Ogma, a god of eloquence and a warrior, as well as Nét (Neit) a "god of war".
The Warrior goddesses are often depicted as a triad: The Morrígan, Macha, and BadbGeoffrey Keating's Foras Feasa ar Éirinn ("History") apud while Keating's History has little to say about these three deities. The warrior goddesses appear in the saga Táin Bó Cúailnge, meddling in the human wars between the Ulstermen and Connacht. The Morrígan appears in the guise of a crow (, namesake of her sister goddess) before Cú Chulainn. In a later encounter, she transforms into an eel, wolf, and cow.
Brigit a "goddess of poets" and daughter of the Dagda.
Ana/Anu aka Dannan/Dana/Danu is as aforementioned, the "mother of the Irish gods", and possibly an alias of The Morrígan.
The Tuatha Dé Danann live in the Otherworld, which is described as either a parallel world or a heavenly land beyond the sea or under the earth's surface. Many of them are associated with specific places in the landscape, especially the sídh mounds; the ancient burial mounds and passage tombs which are entrances to Otherworld realms. The Tuath Dé can hide themselves with a féth fíada ('magic mist') and appear to humans only when they wish to.
The Tuatha Dé intermarried with their adversaries, the Fomorians, so that when Nuada became disqualified from kingship due to his debility (loss of arm), Bres who had a Fomorian father took over the kingship of the Tuatha Dé. There ensued the Second Battle of Mag Tuired where Lug led the victory by slaying the Fomorian champion Balor, his own grandfather.
Fomorians
The Fomorians or Fomori () are a supernatural race, who are often portrayed as hostile and monstrous beings. Originally, they were said to come from under the sea or the earth. Later, they were portrayed as sea raiders, which was probably influenced by the Viking raids on Ireland around that time. Later still they were portrayed as giants. They are enemies of Ireland's first settlers and opponents of the Tuatha Dé Danann, although some members of the two races have offspring. The Tuath Dé defeat the Fomorians in the Battle of Mag Tuired. This has been likened to other Indo-European myths of a war between gods, such as the Æsir and Vanir in Norse mythology and the Olympians and Titans in Greek mythology.
Heroes The idea was articulated by v in 1940 (translated 1949) that members of the two main Irish heroic cycles (Ulster Cycle, Finn Cycle) fell into two distinct groups, the Ulstermen being the "tribal hero" functioning within the boundaries of the community, and the the "extra-tribal hero" or the "outsiders"Functioning "outside the tribe", apud .: "heroes of Ulster are functional inside the community in contrast to the fíanna who almost exclusively function outside the communal boundaries of experience" citing . Joseph F. Nagy in 1985 further explored the mythical significance of this boundary in Finn Cycle tales, stressing the idea of liminality, apud . where the border was seen as the threshold between the material world and the Otherworld or "sacred otherness". apud .
One comparison allegorize the Ulster hero Cú Chulainn as a warrior-dog, and Finn as a hunter-wolf This two group categorization is one of continuing debate. Some reservations are expressed as to whether Nagy's idea of "liminal" boundaries presents such a starkly opposite dichotomy. The idea that the fíanna differed from the Ulster heroes were less tied to a homeland had been noticed long before Sjoestedt, but the older characterization of the fíanna as "outcasts" or "mercenaries" were inadequate, as T. G. E. Powell explains it, and Sjoestedt's insight demonstrated the fíanna were still attached to the community and not cast out, but were in voluntary exile, and able to return to the community. Powell's own suggestion was that the difference came from Cú Chulainn belonging to the aristocratic class, while the fíanna had its origin in some tribal group not among the historical ruling classes of Ireland. In literature, it is pointed out that only the Ulster heroes were sung in the form of a full-fledged epic saga, the Táin Bó Cúailnge, while there were mostly only disparate pieces of poetry and prose tales regarding the fíanna (some as old as the 7th century), the Acallam na Senórach () being the central and the most comprehensive narrative in the fíanaigecht corpus (cf. Fenian Cycle).
The hero Cúchulainn's fighting skills were fostered by the women warriors Scáthach and Aoife (Aífe) who exhibited otherworldly prowess. "Ch. 2. §The fosterage in Alba", p. 64T et seqq. Likewise, the warrior woman Liath Luachra trained the hero Fionn mac Cumhaill. apud .
The Fianna warrior bands were thus the outsiders, connected with the wilderness, youth, and liminal states. Their leader was called Fionn mac Cumhaill, and the first stories of him are told in fourth century. They are considered aristocrats and outsiders who protect the community from other outsiders; though they may winter with a settled community, they spend the summers living wild, training adolescents and providing a space for war-damaged veterans. The time of vagrancy for these youths is designated as a transition in life post puberty but pre-manhood. Manhood being identified as owning or inheriting property. They live under the authority of their own leaders, or may be somewhat anarchic, and may follow other deities or spirits than the settled communities. The church refused to recognize this group as an institution and referred to them as "sons of death".
Legendary creatures The Oilliphéist is a sea-serpent-like monster in Irish mythology and folklore. These monsters were believed to inhabit many lakes and rivers in Ireland and there are legends of saints, especially St. Patrick, and heroes fighting them.
In Irish folklore there is also the Cailleach or hag, said to have lived many lives that begin and end with her in stone formation. She is still celebrated at Ballycrovane Ogham Stone with offerings and the retelling of her life's stories. The tales of the Cailleach connect her to both land and sea. Several Otherworldly women are associated with sacred sites where seasonal festivals are held. They include Macha of Eamhain Mhacha, Carman, and Tailtiu, among others.
Sources
The key and earliest manuscript sources for Irish mythology are the late 11th/early 12th century (LU, Book of the Dun Cow); the Book of Leinster (early 12th-century); and MS Rawlinson B 502 (Rawl, composite of mid-12th century and 14th–15th century redactions). Despite the dates of these sources, most of the material they contain predates their composition.
The Yellow Book of Lecan (YBL) is another important codex that contains earlier pieces of writing even though it was compiled at a much later period, 1391–1582. The YBL includes the legends of Fionn Mac Cumhail, and fragmentary portions of Táin Bó Cúailnge ("The Cattle Raid of Cooley") of the same version as the oldest (but incomplete) copy in LU.
Other important sources compiled around the late 14th century or the early 15th century are The Book of Ballymote (BB) and Leabhar Ua Maine (Book of Hy Many). A fuller text concerning the Four Treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann is found in the YBL and the BB, though a briefer account is also found in the Lebor Gabala. Lebor Gabála Érenn 4 Section VII. §304–306, pp. 106–109.
Other 15th-century manuscript The Book of Fermoy contains, for instance, the .
And in the modern period, Geoffrey Keating's Foras Feasa ar Éirinn (The History of Ireland) ().
Most of these manuscripts were created by Christian monks, who may well have been torn between a desire to record their native culture and hostility to pagan beliefs, resulting in some of the gods being euhemerised. Many of the later sources may also have formed parts of a propaganda effort designed to create a history for the people of Ireland that could bear comparison with the mythological descent of their British invaders from the founders of Rome, as promulgated by Geoffrey of Monmouth and others. There was also a tendency to rework Irish genealogies to fit them into the schemas of Greek or biblical genealogy.