In one history of Celtic mythology, Maine mac Darthacht was the son of Perdition, or night. Maine Mac Darthacht had a cloak fastened by eight stones called Maini. It fell into the lap of his brother Fergus Fairge, the Ocean god, father of Lugaid, who as the god of the summer solstice slew Cuchulainn the sun-god after his left thigh had been weakened. Hence the brooch of the eight (stones) belonging to the son of night is the Irish equivalent of the Welsh Wyth-nos. [1] The god Lugaid mentioned is usually synonymous with Lugh. However Lugh's father is Cian of the Tuatha Dé Danann. [2]
Lugh or Lug is one of the most prominent gods in Irish mythology. A member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, Lugh is portrayed as a warrior, a king, a master craftsman and a savior. He is associated with skill and mastery in multiple disciplines, including the arts. He is also associated with oaths, truth and the law, and therefore with rightful kingship. Lugh is linked with the harvest festival of Lughnasadh, which bears his name. His most common epithets are Lámfada and Samildánach.
The Tuath(a) Dé Danann, also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé, are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. They are thought to represent the main deities of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland. The Tuatha Dé Danann constitute a pantheon whose attributes appeared in a number of forms throughout the Celtic world.
Conn Cétchathach, son of Fedlimid Rechtmar, was, according to medieval Irish legendary and annalistic sources, a High King of Ireland, and the ancestor of the Connachta, and, through his descendant Niall Noígiallach, the Uí Néill dynasties, which dominated Ireland in the early Middle Ages, and their descendants.
Cormac mac Airt, also known as Cormac ua Cuinn or Cormac Ulfada, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He is probably the most famous of the ancient High Kings, and may have been an authentic historical figure, although many legends have attached themselves to him, and his reign is variously dated as early as the 2nd century and as late as the 4th. He is said to have ruled from Tara, the seat of the High Kings of Ireland, for forty years, and under his rule Tara flourished, he is credited for building many of the monuments at the Hill of Tara such as the Banqueting Hall, Cormac's house and Grainne's Enclosure, named after his daughter, Gráinne. He was famous for his wise, true, and generous judgments. In the Annals of Clonmacnoise, translated in 1627, he is described as:
"absolutely the best king that ever reigned in Ireland before himself...wise learned, valiant and mild, not given causelessly to be bloody as many of his ancestors were, he reigned majestically and magnificently".
In Irish mythology, Aengus or Óengus, also called Mac ind Óic, is one of the Tuatha Dé Danann and probably originally a god associated with youth, love and poetic inspiration. The son of The Dagda and Boann, he is also known as Maccan Óc, and corresponds to the Welsh mythical figure Mabon and the Celtic god Maponos. He plays a central role in five myths reported by medieval Irish texts.
In Irish mythology, Balor or Balar was a leader of the Fomorians, a group of malevolent supernatural beings. He is often described as a giant with a large eye that wreaks destruction when opened. Balor takes part in the Battle of Mag Tuired, and is primarily known from the tale in which he is killed by his grandson Lugh of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He has been interpreted as a personification of the scorching sun, and has also been likened to figures from other mythologies, such as the Welsh Ysbaddaden and Greek Cyclops.
Cú Chulainn, also spelled Cú Chulaind or Cúchulainn and sometimes known in English as Cuhullin, is an Irish mythological demigod who appears in the stories of the Ulster Cycle, as well as in Scottish and Manx mythology. He is believed to be an incarnation of the Irish god Lugh, who is also his father. His mother is the mortal Deichtine, sister of Conchobar mac Nessa.
Ogma is a god from Irish and Scottish mythology. A member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, he is often considered a deity and may be related to the Gallic god Ogmios. According to the Ogam Tract, he is the inventor of Ogham, the script in which Irish Gaelic was first written.
Lugus was a deity of the Celtic pantheon. His name is rarely directly attested in inscriptions, but his importance can be inferred from place names and ethnonyms, and his nature and attributes are deduced from the distinctive iconography of Gallo-Roman inscriptions to Mercury, who is widely believed to have been identified with Lugus, and from the quasi-mythological narratives involving his later cognates, Welsh Lleu Llaw Gyffes and Irish Lugh Lámhfhada.
Ailill mac Máta is the king of the Connachta and the husband of queen Medb in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He rules from Cruachan.
In the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, Lugaid mac Con Roí was the son of Cú Roí mac Dáire. He was also known as Lugaid mac Trí Con.
The Delbna or Delbhna was a Gaelic Irish tribe in Ireland, claiming kinship with the Dál gCais, through descent from Dealbhna son of Cas. Originally one large population, they had a number of branches in Connacht, Meath, and Munster in Ireland.
Érimón, son of Míl Espáine, according to medieval Irish legends and historical traditions, was one of the chieftains who took part in the Milesian invasion of Ireland, which conquered the island from the Tuatha Dé Danann, and one of the first Milesian High Kings.
Lugaid Riab nDerg or Réoderg, son of the three findemna, triplet sons of Eochu Feidlech, and their sister Clothru was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland.
Lugaid Mac Con, often known simply as Mac Con, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He belonged to the Corcu Loígde, and thus to the Dáirine. His father was Macnia mac Lugdach, and his mother was Sadb ingen Chuinn, daughter of the former High King Conn Cétchathach. Mac Con may be to some extent identical with another legendary King of Tara from the Dáirine, Lugaid Loígde.
Forgall Monach or Manach is a character in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He lives at Luglochta Loga in Lusk, County Dublin.
In Celtic mythology, Ecne was one of the Tuatha Dé Danann and was the god of wisdom, or knowledge.
Daire is an Old Irish name which fell out of use at an early period, remaining restricted essentially to legendary and ancestral figures. It has come back into fashion in the 18th century. The anglicised form of this name is Dara.
Lugaid Loígde "Lugaid of the Calf Goddess", also known as Lugaid mac Dáire, was a legendary King of Tara and High King of Ireland. He is a son of Dáire Doimthech, ancestor of the Dáirine, and gives his epithet to their principal royal sept, the Corcu Loígde. A descendant of Lugaid, with whom he may be to some extent identical, is the famous Mac Con, listed in the Old Irish kinglist Baile Chuinn Chétchathaig as Mac Con macc aui (moccu) Lugde Loígde.
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