Irish Myth

Irish gods and goddesses....

note there are many overlaps and similarities with the Welsh

	Bile - Celtic god of light and healing, "Bel" means "shining one," or in Irish Gaelic, the name "bile" translates to "sacred tree." It is thought that the waters of Danu, the Irish All-Mother goddess, fed the oak and produced their son, The Dagda. As the Welsh Beli, he is the father of Arianrhod by Don. Patron of sheep and cattle, Bel's festival is Beltane, one of two main Celtic fire festivals, which celebrates the return of life and fertility to the world -- marking the beginning of Summer and the growing season. Taking place on April 30, Beltane also is sometimes referred to as "Cetsamhain" which means "opposite Samhain." The word "Beltaine" literally means "bright" or "brilliant fire," and refers to the bonfire lit by a presiding Druid in honor of Bile.
	Mog Ruith - one-eyed Celtic/Irish god of the sun who rides through the sky in a shining bronze chariot, or who flies through the sky like a bird. The word ruith is possibly derived from the Irish roth, meaning "wheel" (representing the sun).
	Danu - The Irish/Celtic earth goddess, matriarch of the Tuatha Dé Danann ("People of the goddess Danu"). Danu is the mother of various Irish gods, such as the Dagda (also mentioned as her father), Dian Cecht, Ogma, Lir, Lugh, and many others. Her Welsh equivalent is the goddess Don.
	Fionn - A Scottish/Pictish magician, warrior, poet who almost achieved deity status. Renowned as a destroyer of giants and other Celtic monsters. Fionn was a Scottish version of the Irish legendary hero Finn mac Cumhail. His followers were known as the Feine, a close variation of the Irish Fenians or Fianna.
	Fionnuala - In Irish legend, the daughter of Lir, who was transformed into a swan and condemned to wander over the lakes and rivers until Christianity came to Ireland.
	Ogma - In Irish-Celtic myth, Ogma is the god of eloquence and learning. He is the son of the goddess Danu and the god Dagda, and one of the foremost members of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He is the reputed inventor of the ancient Ogham alphabet which is used in the earliest Irish writings. In the final battle at Mag Tuireadh he managed to take away the sword of the king of the Fomorians, but had to pay with his life for this feat. His Celtic equivalent is Ogmios.
	Fianna - also known as the Champions of the Red Branch, Fianna Éireann, and the Fenians. The Fianna were a legendary army of Irish warriors serving under the Ard Righ, or "High King", of Ireland. Many of their exploits are documented throughout the Fenian Cycle . One of two Celtic classes of fighters, they lived in the borderlands, fighting in large groups. They obeyed only their own laws and those of the High King. Their last and greatest leader was Finn mac Cumhail, also know as Finn mac Cool, who was later glorified as an Irish hero.
	In Irish folklore, the Dana p'Shee are small, graceful creatures who live in a realm of eternal beauty and remain eternally young as nobles from the age of chivalry with their own king and queen and royal household. They wear beautiful clothes enriched with precious jewelry, love music, dancing and hunting and can often be seen riding in a procession, led by the king and queen. But even these lovely creatures can be treacherous, and some people say they come from the realm of the dead. A person enchanted by their beauty or music is forever lost.
	Fand is a faery queen, who was once married to the sea god Manannan. After he left her, she was preyed upon by three Fomorian warriors in a battle for control of the Irish Sea. Her only hope in winning the battle was to send for the hero Cuchulainn who would only agree to come, if she would marry him. She reluctantly acquiesced to his wishes, though when she met him, she fell as deeply in love with him as he was with her. Manannan knew that the relationship between the human world and the world of the faery could not continue without eventually destroying the faeries. He erased the memory of one from the other by drawing his magical mantle between the two lovers. Fand was also a minor sea goddess who made her home both in the Otherworld and on the Islands of Man. With her sister, Liban, she was one of the twin goddesses of health and earthly pleasures. She was also known as "Pearl of Beauty". Some scholars believe she was a native Manx deity who was absorbed in the Irish mythology
	The Fomorians are a race of demonic giants, ancient occupants of Ireland . The first to invade Ireland were the Partholons, but after many battles the Fomorians afflicted them all with plague. After them came the Nemeds, who in their very first battle were defeated and enslaved. The third wave of invaders, the Firbolgs, were more successful and they subdued the Fomorians and managed to live peacefully with them. After a period of peace, the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Irish race of gods, arrived. They conquered the Firbolgs, but dealt more subtly with the Fomorians, although they destroyed their hegemony over Ireland for good in the second battle of Mag Tuireadh. The Fomorians were given the province of Connacht, and were even allowed to marry some of the Tuatha Dé. The king of the Fomorians is the one-eyed Balor. Other prominent members are: Bres, Eriu, and Tethra. The Fomorians are sometimes mythologically associated with the powers of nature which challenge man: fog, storm, winter, disease, crop-blight. The name comes from fomó, "giant", "pirate".
	Finn was the legendary Irish hero and leader of the Fianna. Tales of Finn and the Fianna were widely documented in the 3rd century CE during what is now referred to as the Fenian Cycle, although much earlier written accounts have also been found in ancient Irish manuscripts.
	Plur na mBan - She was the daughter of Niamh, the faerie queen of Tir na n-Og, and the Irish bard Oisin. She was born in the Land of Eternal Youth after her father had left that island forever. Plur na mBan became the faerie-goddess of Beltaine, the 1st of May, the ancient Celtic celebration
	Inghean Bhuidhe -the second of three sisters representing the harvest cycle. She represents the coming of summer and is the nurturing mother goddess of the ripening of the crops. Just like her sisters, she became a Christian saint, a well was dedicated to her and she had her own feast day on May 6th, representing the first day of summer. Her name is also given as Iníon Buí. Her older sister is Lasair, her younger sister Latiaran.
	Lasair - ("Flame") is the eldest of three sisters, a goddess triad representing the growing, ripening and harvesting of crops. Lasair, goddess of the spring budding, has beautiful long black hair and wears a silver crown, silver jewelry and armbands. She lives in a Red Castle (another reminder of her fiery nature) with an orchard. The god Flann brought her the Rose of Sweetness that never withers, the Comb of Magnificence, and the Girdle of Truth. She is alternately named Lassar Fhína, Lasairíona (flaming wine) or Crobh Dearg (Red Claws). Later, she became a Christian saint and her well is at Lough Meelagh, Ireland. Her feast day is May 1st, the old Bealtaine festival. Her sisters are called Inghean Bhuidhe and Latiaran. The three goddesses are said to be daughters of Douglas and Scáthach.
	Bebhionn - An Irish underworld goddess and a patron of pleasure.
	Cu Roi - A sorcerer from Irish myth who was able to transform himself into various guises.
	Abhean - An Irish/Celtic god, harper of the Tuatha Dé Danann.
	Aes Sidhe - 'The people of the hills', collective name for the old Irish gods who dwell in hills.
	Cliodhna - The Irish goddess of beauty. She later became a fairy queen in the area of Carraig Cliodhna in County Cork
	Bodb - Irish goddess of battle, prophesied the doom of the Tuatha Dé Danann after the Battle of Mag Tuireadh
	Aine - Irish goddess of love and fertility. Regarded as a fairy queen in County Limerick.
	Sluag - Pronounced 'sloo-ah'. Sluag was the Pictish/Scottish fairy of the Highlands and Host of the Unforgiven Dead. Related to the Irish/Celtic Sluagh.
	Death Coach - In Irish foklore when the Banshee wails and someone dies, a headless man comes down from the skies riding a coach with two black horses and picks up the spirit of the deceased.
	Tethra - In Irish myth, king of the Fomorians, as well as the sea god and god of the otherworld. He was killed in the first battle of Mag Tuireadh. Since then he rules Mag Mell.
	Banshee - Common name for the Irish Bean Sidhe. In Scotland the banshee is known as caoineag (wailing woman) and, although seldom seen, she is often heard in the hills and glens, by lakes or running water .
	Daoine maite - literally, 'the good people'. They are the fairies of contemporary Irish folklore.
	Goibniu - an Irish/Celtic smith god, son of the goddess Danu. He manufactures swords that always strike true, and he possesses the mead of eternal life. He makes the arms for the Tuatha Dé Danann together with Credne and Luchtainel. As a brewmaster he was unsurpassed and his beer gave the drinker immortality. The Welsh called him Govannon.
	Eriu - An Irish/Celtic goddess, the personification of Ireland. She belongs to the Fomorians and is the mother of Bres, king of Ireland. The name Ireland comes from her name (Eyre, Eire, or Eiriu).
	Badb - the Irish (Celtic) goddess of war. She often assumes the form of a raven or carrion-crow (her favorite disguise) and is then referred to as Badb Catha, meaning "battle raven". Not only did she take part in battles themselves, she also influenced their outcome by causing confusion among the warriors with her magic. The battle-field is often called 'land of Badb'. She formed part of a triad of war-goddesses with Macha (Nemain) and the Morrigan.
	Boann "She of the white cattle". Irish goddess goddess of bounty and fertility, whose totem is the sacred white cow. Also goddess of the River Boyne. She is the wife of the water god Nechtan or of Elcmar, and consort of the Dagda, by whom she was the mother of the god Aengus. To hide their union from Nechtan, Boann and the Dagda caused the sun to stand still for nine months, so that Aengus was conceived and born on the same day.
	The Phooka is a harmless Irish kobold who appears in a great diversity of animal shapes. He can be seen in the shape of a dog or horse, usually pitch-black with fiery eyes. As an apparently tame and shabby pony, the Phooka offers careless travelers a ride on its back. But as soon as the traveler mounts the horse, he is in for a hell-ride through marshes and thorn-bushes. Then suddenly, he is thrown into a ditch or mudpool and the chuckling he hears is the Phooka galloping away. Sometimes he appears in the form of an eagle and carries people away on his back.
	The Firbolg people are primordial inhabitants, or early gods, of Ireland. The third wave of invaders, they conquered Ireland and defeated the Fomorians. The name can be translated as 'Men of the Bags'.
	The Lia Fail is known as the Stone of Destiny, and was frequently mentioned in the medieval Irish romance. The belief is that when the feet of rightful kings rested on it the stone would roar for joy. In myth, the Tuatha Dé Danann first brought the stone to Ireland.
	Manannan mac Lir - Irish god of the sea and fertility, who forecasts the weather. He is older than the Tuatha Dé Danann, yet was considered to be one of them. He is the son of Lir and his name means "Manannan Son of the Sea". His wife is Fand and he is the foster-father of many gods, including Lugh. He is the guardian of the Blessed Isles, and the ruler of Mag Mell. Manannan has a ship that follows his command without sails; his cloak makes him invisible; his helmet is made of flames and his sword cannot be turned from its mark. He is described as riding over the sea in a chariot.
	Nuada - (Silver Hand) is the Irish/Celtic chieftain-god of healing, the Sun, childbirth, youth, beauty, ocean, dogs, poetry, writing, sorcery, magic, weapons, and warfare. Similar to the Roman god Neptune, Nuada also had an invincible sword, one of four great treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann, that he used to cleave his enemies in half. After Nuada lost his hand in battle, he was deemed ineligable to by king and was replaced by Bres. His brother Dian Cecht, the great god of healing, fashioned him a silver hand for a substitution. By this time Bres had become a tyrannical leader and was exiled by the Tuatha Dé, and Nuada returned to his position as king.
	Oengus Mac Oc, otherwise known as Aengus, is the god of love, beauty and youth. He is known for his physical beauty and golden hair, his kisses become birds. His name means "Son of the Young." He was the young lad of Dagda. Oengus lived in a mound by the River Boyne. He was a figure of beauty, wit and charm. Aengus is associated with fatal love. He is said to have dreamed of a beautiful maiden, named Caer, for whom he searched all over Ireland. Eventually, he found Caer chained to 150 other maidens, destined to become swans at the time of Samhain on November 1st. Oengus transformed himself into a swan and was united with the maiden who followed him back to his palace at Brugh na Boinne, on the River Boyne (which is now the modern New Ganges).
	Deirdre - In Irish Gaelic literature, folklore, and mythology, a legendary heroine. Deirdre, who was renowned for her beauty, was brought up by Conchobar, King of Ulster, who planned to marry her. However, she fell in love with his nephew Noíse and they fled to Scotland, accompanied by his two brothers. Emissaries of the king induced them to return to Ireland and when they did, Conchobar had the three brothers treacherously killed. Deirdre then died of grief.
	Dagda - The Irish-Celtic god of the earth and treaties, and ruler over life and death. Dagda, or The Dagda, (the good god) is one of the most prominent gods and the leader of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He is a master of magic, a fearsome warrior and a skilled artisan. Dagda is a son of the goddess Danu, and father of the goddess Brigid and the god Aengus mac Oc. The Morrigan is his wife, with whom he mates on New Years Day. The Dagda is portrayed as possessing both super- human strength and appetite. His attributes are a cauldron with an inexhaustible supply of food, a magical harp with which he summons the seasons, and an enormous club, with one end of which he could kill nine men, but with the other restore them to life. He also possessed two marvellous swine---one always roasting, the other always growing---and ever-laden fruit trees. Also called Ollathir, meaning "All-father", he is identified with the Welsh Gwydion and the Gallic Sucellos.
	The Bean Nighe, the Washer at the Fords, is the Scottish version of the Irish Bean Sidhe (Banshee). She wanders near deserted streams where she washes the blood from the grave-clothes of those who are about to die. It is said that Bean Nighe are the spirits of women who died giving birth and are doomed to do this work until the day their lives would have normally ended. A Bean Nighe is thought to have one nostril, one big protruding tooth, webbed feet and long hanging breasts. A mortal who is bold enough to sneak up to her while she is washing and suck her breast can claim to be her foster-child. The mortal can then gain a wish from her. The Washer of the Fords is sometimes known under the generic name of ban nighechain (little washerwoman) or nigheag na h-ath (little washer at the ford).
	Balor - In the Celtic-Irish mythology, Balor is the god of death and the king of the Fomorians, a race of giants. He was the son of Buarainech and the husband of Cethlenn. Balor had only one eye, which he kept closed because anything he looked at would die instantly. According to some prophesies, Balor was destined to die by the hand of his own grandson, so he locked his daughter Ethlinn in a crystal tower to prevent her from getting pregnant. With the help of the druidess Birog, Cian of the Tuatha Dé Danann, managed to enter the tower and slept with Ethlinn. She gave birth to a son, but when Balor learned of his existence he threw him in the ocean. Birog saved the boy and gave him to the sea god Manannan mac Lir, where he was raised. The boy, named Lugh Lamhfada (Lugh of the Long Arm), became a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann and led them in the second battle at Mag Tuireadh.
	Daoine Sidhe - The divine folk of Old Irish folklore. After the Tuatha Dé Danann were defeated by the Milesians (Gaels), those members who decided to stay in Ireland formed the Daoine Sidhe. They live in hollow mounds, hence the name sidhe which literally means "people of the (fairy) mounds". In Connaught they are ruled by Finbheara, who holds court beneath the fairy hill of Knockma. His wife is the fair Oonagh. In Munster, there are three fairy queens: Cliodna, Aine (said to be the mother of Earl Gerald, who sleeps under the castle of Mullaghmast), and Aoibhill. The Daoine Sidhe are fond of battles, hurling (a kind of field hockey) and are skilled chess players. Many a mortal challenged Finvarra to a game and lost all his possessions, for the king has never been beaten. These fairies are small and this is responsible for the name of daoine beaga, "little folk". They may ride out to hunt, or stir up an eddy of dust, or engage in battles, or steal children, or prevent butter from forming in the churn.