Related Research Articles
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, some myths were transcribed by Christian monks, who heavily altered and Christianised the myths. Irish mythology is the best-preserved branch of Celtic mythology.
Lugh or Lug is a figure in Irish mythology. A member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, a group of supernatural beings, Lugh is portrayed as a warrior, a king, a master craftsman and a saviour. He is associated with skill and mastery in multiple disciplines, including the arts. Lugh also has associations 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. This has sometimes been anglicised as "Lew of the Long Hand".
Achall, daughter of Cairbre Nia Fer, king of Tara, and his wife Fedelm Noíchrothach, is a minor character from the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. After her brother Erc was killed by Conall Cernach, she died of grief on a hill near Tara, which was named Achall after her.
Boann or Boand is the Irish goddess of the River Boyne (Bóinn), an important river in Ireland's historical province of Meath. According to the Lebor Gabála Érenn and Táin Bó Fraích she was the sister of Befind and daughter of Delbáeth, son of Elada, of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Her husband is variously Nechtan or Elcmar. With her lover the Dagda, she is the mother of Aengus.
Nechtan is a figure in Irish mythology who is associated with a spring marking the source of the River Boyne, known as Nechtan's Well or the Well of Wisdom. He was the husband of Boann, eponymous goddess of the Boyne. Nechtan is believed to be another name for Nuada.
The Hill of Tara is a hill and ancient ceremonial and burial site near Skryne in County Meath, Ireland. Tradition identifies the hill as the inauguration place and seat of the High Kings of Ireland; it also appears in Irish mythology. Tara consists of numerous monuments and earthworks—dating from the Neolithic to the Iron Age—including a passage tomb, burial mounds, round enclosures, a standing stone, and a ceremonial avenue. There is also a church and graveyard on the hill. Tara forms part of a larger ancient landscape and Tara itself is a protected national monument under the care of the Office of Public Works, an agency of the Irish Government.
In the Mythological Cycle of early Irish literature, Midir, Midhir or Mider was a son of the Dagda of the Tuatha Dé Danann. After the Tuatha Dé were defeated by the Milesians, he lived in the sidh of Brí Léith. The name Midir may come from the old Irish word for a judge, midithir.
Rathcroghan is a complex of archaeological sites near Tulsk in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is identified as the site of Cruachan, the traditional capital of the Connachta, the prehistoric and early historic rulers of the western territory. The Rathcroghan Complex is a unique archaeological landscape with many references found in early Irish medieval manuscripts.
Dunseverick is a hamlet near the Giant's Causeway in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The name is also the alias for the townland of Feigh. It is most notable for Dunseverick Castle.
Cairbre Nia Fer, son of Rus Ruad, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a King of Tara from the Laigin.
Eochu or Eochaid Feidlech, was a High King of Ireland, according to medieval Irish legends and historical traditions. He is best known as the father of the legendary queen Medb of Connacht.
Érimón, commonly Anglicised as Heremon, 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.
Dunseverick Castle is situated in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, near the small village of Dunseverick and the Giant's Causeway. Dunseverick Castle and earthworks are Scheduled Historic Monuments in the townland of Feigh, in Causeway coast and Glens district council, at grid ref: C9871 4467.
Cathal mac Finguine was an Irish King of Munster or Cashel, and effectively High King of Ireland as well. He belonged to the Eóganacht Glendamnach sept of the dominant Eóganachta kin-group whose members dominated Munster from the 7th century to the 10th. His father, uncle, grandfather and great-grandfather had also been kings of Cashel, as were his son and grandson.
Dublin is Ireland's oldest known settlement. It is also the largest and most populous urban centre in the country, a position it has held continuously since first rising to prominence in the 10th century . The historic town grew up on the southern bank of the River Liffey, a few kilometres upstream from the river's outfall into Dublin Bay. The original settlement was situated on a ridge overlooking a shallow ford in the river, which had probably been a regular crossing-point since earliest times. The bedrock underlying the city is calp limestone, a dark shaly sedimentary rock which was once quarried locally and whose mottled grey appearance can still be seen today in some of the city's oldest buildings. Overlying this is a layer of much looser boulder clay of varying thickness.
Dindsenchas or Dindshenchas, meaning "lore of places", is a class of onomastic text in early Irish literature, recounting the origins of place-names and traditions concerning events and characters associated with the places in question. Since many of the legends being related also concern the acts of mythic and legendary figures, the dindsenchas has been an important source for the study of Irish mythology.
Flann Mainistrech was an Irish poet and historian.
Mór Muman or Mór Mumain is a figure from early Irish literature who is said to have been a queen of Munster and daughter of king Áed Bennán. Her name means "the Great Mother" and the province of Munster is named after her. She is believed to be a euhemerised mother goddess and sovereignty goddess of the province, particularly of the Eóganachta. Mór Muman "personifies the land of Munster" and "the sovereignty of the region". She is also known as Mugain and may be the same figure as Anu and the Morrígan.
Carnfree is a site south of the village of Tulsk in Roscommon that also lies close to the more celebrated ancient landscape of Rathcroghan. The chief feature here is the bronze-age mound of Carnfree itself, believed to be the cairn of the Connacht warrior Fráech, that was used as an inauguration place up to late medieval times. It also encompasses an area known as Selc featuring Duma Selga and the ecclesiastical site where Saint Patrick baptised the Ui Brian princes of Connacht, who according to the saint's biography may have resided in or administrated from this area.
References
- ↑ "The Metrical Dindshenchas". 1913.