Irish History
And
The Fighting Irish
And
The Fighting Irish
( Celtic And Irish Mythology )
Lugh/Lug
The
widespread diffusion of the God Lugus ( seemingly related to the mythological figure Lugh in Irish ) in
Celtic religion is apparent from the number of places in which the name appears, occurring across the Celtic world from Ireland to Gaul. Lug is described in the Celtic myths as a latecomer to the list of deities, and is usually described as having the appearance of a young man. He is often associated with light, the sun, and summer. His weapons were the throwing spear and sling, and in Ireland a festival called the Lughnasa ( Modern Irish lunasa ) was held in his honour. Other mythological characters include the Goddess Brigid ( or Brigit ) the Dagda's daughter; nature Goddesses like Tailtiu and Macha; Epona, the horse Goddess and Eriu.
Irish mythology
The
mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of
it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which presents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branches of Celtic mythology. Although many of the manuscripts have failed to survive, and much more material was probably never committed to writing, there is enough remaining to enable the identification of the four distinct, if overlapping cycles: The Mythological Cycle, The Ulster Cycle, The Fenian Cycle and the Hisorical Cycle. There are also a number of extant mythological texts thaat do not fit into any of these cycles. Additionally there are large numbers of recorde folk tales that, while not strictly mythological, feature personages from one or more of these four cycles.
The sources
The three main manuscript sources for Irish mythology are the late 11th and early 12th century ' Lebor na hUidre' which is in the library if the Royal Irish Academy, the early 12th century Book of Leinster in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, and the Rawlinson manuscript B 502, housed in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University. Despite the dates of these sources, most of the material they contain predated their composition. The earliest of the prose can be dated on linguistic grounds to the 8th ceentury, and some of the verse may be as old as the 6th century. Other important sources include a group of four manuscripts originating in the west of Ireland in the late 14th or early 15th century: The Yellow Book of Lecan, The Great Book of Lecan, The Book of Hy Many, The Book of Ballymote. The first of these contains part of the earliest known version of the ' Tain Bo Cuailnge ' ( The Driving-off of Cattle of Cooley ) and is housed in Trinity College. The other three are in the Royal Academy. Other 15th century manuscripts, such as The Book of Fermoy also contain interesting materials, aas do such alter syncretic works such as Geoffrey keating's ' Foras Feasa ar Eirinn ' ( The History of Ireland ) (ca. 1640) particularly as these later compilers and writers have had access to manuscript sources that have since disappeared.
When using these sources, it is always important to question the impact of the circumstances in which they were produced. Most of the manuscripts were created by Christian monks, who may well have been torn between the desire to record their native culture and their religious hostility to Pagan beliefs resulting in some of the Gods being euhemerized. Many of the later sources may also have formed part 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 that was promulgated by Geoffrey of Monmouth and others. There was also a tendency to rework Irish genealogies to fit into the known scheme of Greek or Biblical genealogy.
It was once unquestioned that medieval Irish literature preserved truly ancient traditions in a form virtually unchanged through centuries of oral tradition back to the ancient Celts of Europe. Kenneth Jackson famously described the Ulster Cycle as a " window on the Iron Age. "
When using these sources, it is always important to question the impact of the circumstances in which they were produced. Most of the manuscripts were created by Christian monks, who may well have been torn between the desire to record their native culture and their religious hostility to Pagan beliefs resulting in some of the Gods being euhemerized. Many of the later sources may also have formed part 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 that was promulgated by Geoffrey of Monmouth and others. There was also a tendency to rework Irish genealogies to fit into the known scheme of Greek or Biblical genealogy.
It was once unquestioned that medieval Irish literature preserved truly ancient traditions in a form virtually unchanged through centuries of oral tradition back to the ancient Celts of Europe. Kenneth Jackson famously described the Ulster Cycle as a " window on the Iron Age. "
mythological cycle
The mythological Cycle, comprising stories of the former Gods and origins of the Irish, is the least well preserved of the four cycles. The most important sources are the Metrical Dindshenchas or Lore of Places and the Lebor Gabala Erenn or Book of Invasions. Other manuscripts preserve such Mythological tales as the Dream of Aengus, The Wooing of Etain and Cath Maige Tuireadh, The ( second ) Battle of Magh Tuireadh. One of the best known of all Irish stories, Oidheadh Clainne Lir, or The tragedy of the Children of Lir, is also part of this cyle.
Lebor Gabala Erenn is a pseudo-history of Ireland, tracing the ancestry of the Irish back to Noah. It tells of a series of invasions or ' takings ' of Ireland by a succession of peoples, the fifth of whom was the people known as the Tuatha De Danann ( People of Goddess Danu ) who were believed to have inhabited the island before the arrival of the Gaels, or Milesians. They faced opposition from their enemies, the Fomorians, led by Balor of the Evil Eye. Balor was eventually slain by Lug Lamfada ( Lug of the Long Arm ) at the second Battle of Magh Tuireadh. With the arrival of the Gaels, the Tuatha De Danann retired underground to become the fairy people of later myth and legend.
The Metrical Dindshenchas is the great onomastic work of early Ireland, giving the naming legends of significant places in a sequence of poems. In includes a lot of important information on Mythological Cycle figures and stories, including the Battle of Tailtiu, in which the Tuatha De Danann were defeated by the Milesians. It is important to note that by the Middle Ages the Tuatha De Danann were not viewed so much as Gods as the shape-shifting magician population of an earlier Golden Age Ireland. Texts such as Lebor Gabala Erenn and Cath Maige Tuireadh present them as Kings and Heroes of the distant past, complete with death-tales. However there is considerable evidence, both in the texts and from the wider Celtic World, that they were once considered deities.
Even after they are displaced as the rulers of Ireland, characters such as Lug, the Morrigan, Aengus and Manannan appear in stories set centuries later, betraying their immortality. A poem in the Book of Leinster lists many of the Tuatha De, but ends " Although ( the author ) enumerates them, he does not worship them. " Goibniu, Creidhne and Luchta are referred to as Tri De Dana ( three Gods of craftmanship ) and the Dagda's name is interpreted in medieval texts as " the good god " Nuada is cognate with the British god Nodens; Lug is a reflex of the pan-Celtic deity Lugus, the name of whom may indicate " Light "; Tuireann may be related to the gaulish Taranis; Ogma to Ogmios; The Badb to Catubodua. Other important Tuatha De Danann figures include: Boann, Banba, Brigid, Creidhne, Danu, Dian Cecht, Donn, Eriu, Etain, Fodla, Macha, Nechtan, Aes Sidhe, Bean Sidhe.
Lebor Gabala Erenn is a pseudo-history of Ireland, tracing the ancestry of the Irish back to Noah. It tells of a series of invasions or ' takings ' of Ireland by a succession of peoples, the fifth of whom was the people known as the Tuatha De Danann ( People of Goddess Danu ) who were believed to have inhabited the island before the arrival of the Gaels, or Milesians. They faced opposition from their enemies, the Fomorians, led by Balor of the Evil Eye. Balor was eventually slain by Lug Lamfada ( Lug of the Long Arm ) at the second Battle of Magh Tuireadh. With the arrival of the Gaels, the Tuatha De Danann retired underground to become the fairy people of later myth and legend.
The Metrical Dindshenchas is the great onomastic work of early Ireland, giving the naming legends of significant places in a sequence of poems. In includes a lot of important information on Mythological Cycle figures and stories, including the Battle of Tailtiu, in which the Tuatha De Danann were defeated by the Milesians. It is important to note that by the Middle Ages the Tuatha De Danann were not viewed so much as Gods as the shape-shifting magician population of an earlier Golden Age Ireland. Texts such as Lebor Gabala Erenn and Cath Maige Tuireadh present them as Kings and Heroes of the distant past, complete with death-tales. However there is considerable evidence, both in the texts and from the wider Celtic World, that they were once considered deities.
Even after they are displaced as the rulers of Ireland, characters such as Lug, the Morrigan, Aengus and Manannan appear in stories set centuries later, betraying their immortality. A poem in the Book of Leinster lists many of the Tuatha De, but ends " Although ( the author ) enumerates them, he does not worship them. " Goibniu, Creidhne and Luchta are referred to as Tri De Dana ( three Gods of craftmanship ) and the Dagda's name is interpreted in medieval texts as " the good god " Nuada is cognate with the British god Nodens; Lug is a reflex of the pan-Celtic deity Lugus, the name of whom may indicate " Light "; Tuireann may be related to the gaulish Taranis; Ogma to Ogmios; The Badb to Catubodua. Other important Tuatha De Danann figures include: Boann, Banba, Brigid, Creidhne, Danu, Dian Cecht, Donn, Eriu, Etain, Fodla, Macha, Nechtan, Aes Sidhe, Bean Sidhe.
the ulster cycle
The Ulster Cycle is set around the begining of the Christian era and most of the action takes place in the provinces of Ulster and Connaught. It consists of a group of heroic stories dealing with the lives of Conchobar Mac Nessa, King of Ulster, the great hero Cuchulainn, the son of Lug, and of their friends, lovers and enemies. These are the Ulaid, or people of the Northern-Eastern corner of Ireland and the action of the stories centres round the royal court at Emain Macha ( known in English as Navan Fort ) close to the modern city of Armagh. The Ulaid had close links with the Irish colony in Scotland and part of CuChulainn's training takes place in that colony.
The cycles consists of stories of the births, early lives and training, wooing, battles, feastings, and deaths of the heroes and reflects a warrior society in which warfare consists mainly of single combats and wealth is measured mainly in cattle. These stories are written mainly in prose. The centre piece of the Ulster Cycle is the Tain Bo Cuailnge. Other important Ulster Cycle tales include the ' Tragic Death of Aife's only Son ', ' Bricriu's Feast ', and ' ' The Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel.' The Exile of the Sons of Usnach, better known as the tragedy of Deirdre and the source of plays by John Millington Synge, William Butler Yeats, and Vincent Woods, is also part of this cycle. This cycle is, in some respects, close to the mythological cycle. Some of the characters from the latter reappear, and the same sort of shape-shifting magic is much in evidence, side by side with a grim, almost callous realism. While we may suspect a few characters, such as Medb or Cu Roi, of once being deities, and Cuchulainn in particular displays superhuman prowess, the characters are mortal and associated with a specific time and place. If the Mythological Cycle represents a Golden Age, then the Ulster Cycle is Ireland's Heroic Age.
The cycles consists of stories of the births, early lives and training, wooing, battles, feastings, and deaths of the heroes and reflects a warrior society in which warfare consists mainly of single combats and wealth is measured mainly in cattle. These stories are written mainly in prose. The centre piece of the Ulster Cycle is the Tain Bo Cuailnge. Other important Ulster Cycle tales include the ' Tragic Death of Aife's only Son ', ' Bricriu's Feast ', and ' ' The Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel.' The Exile of the Sons of Usnach, better known as the tragedy of Deirdre and the source of plays by John Millington Synge, William Butler Yeats, and Vincent Woods, is also part of this cycle. This cycle is, in some respects, close to the mythological cycle. Some of the characters from the latter reappear, and the same sort of shape-shifting magic is much in evidence, side by side with a grim, almost callous realism. While we may suspect a few characters, such as Medb or Cu Roi, of once being deities, and Cuchulainn in particular displays superhuman prowess, the characters are mortal and associated with a specific time and place. If the Mythological Cycle represents a Golden Age, then the Ulster Cycle is Ireland's Heroic Age.
The fenian cycle
Like the Ulster Cycles, the Fenian Cycle is concerned with the deeds of Irish Heroes. The stories of the Fenian Cycle appear to be set around the 3rd century and mainly in the provinces of Leinster and Munster. They differ from the other cycles in the strength of their links with the Irish-speaking community in Scotland, and there are many extant Fenian texts from that country. They also differ the Ulster Cycle in that the stories are told mainly in verses and that in tone they are nearer to the tradition of romance than the tradition of epic. The stories concern the doings of Fionn Mac Cumhaill and his band of soldiers, the Fianna.
The single most important source for the Fenian Cycle is the Acallam na Senorach ( Colloquy of the Old Men ) which is found in two 15th century manuscripts, The Book of Lismore and Laud 610, as well as a 17th century manuscript from Killiney, County Dublin.
The single most important source for the Fenian Cycle is the Acallam na Senorach ( Colloquy of the Old Men ) which is found in two 15th century manuscripts, The Book of Lismore and Laud 610, as well as a 17th century manuscript from Killiney, County Dublin.
