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.
The Dagda is an important god in Irish mythology. One of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Dagda is portrayed as a father-figure, chieftain, and druid. He is associated with fertility, agriculture, manliness and strength, as well as magic, druidry and wisdom. He is said to have control over life and death, the weather and crops, as well as time and the seasons.
Art mac Cuinn, also known as Art Óenfer, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland.
In Irish mythology, Aengus is a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann and probably a god of love, youth and poetic inspiration. He is traditionally described as having singing birds circling his head.
In Irish mythology, Elcmar or Ecmar was the husband of Boann and belonged to the semi-divine race the Tuatha de Danann, the people of Danu. In the Dindsenchus regarding Codal, Elcmaire is described as a judge. It has been suggested that he is Nuada under another name, and he is sometimes confused with Nechtan, Boann's usual husband. At first glance he appears to be associated with horses but there is also a school of thought that says his name means The Evil One.
In Irish mythology, Bodb Derg or Bodhbh Dearg was a son of Eochaid Garb or the Dagda, and the Dagda's successor as King of the Tuatha Dé Danann.
Conchobarmac Nessa is the king of Ulster in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He rules from Emain Macha. He is usually said to be the son of the High King Fachtna Fáthach, although in some stories his father is the druid Cathbad, and he is usually known by his matronymic, mac Nessa: his mother is Ness, daughter of Eochaid Sálbuide, King of Ulster.
Ogma is a god from Irish mythology 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. He is the inventor of Ogham, the runic language in which Irish Gaelic was first written.
Medb —later forms Meadhbh and Méabh —is queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Her husband in the core stories of the cycle is Ailill mac Máta, although she had several husbands before him who were also kings of Connacht. She rules from Cruachan. She is the enemy of Conchobar mac Nessa, king of Ulster, and is best known for starting the Táin Bó Cúailnge to steal Ulster's prize stud bull. Medb is strong-willed, ambitious, cunning and promiscuous, and is an archetypal warrior queen. She is believed to be a manifestation of the sovereignty goddess. Medb of Connacht is probably identical with Medb Lethderg, the sovereignty goddess of Tara, and may also be linked with the Morrígan. She may be the inspiration for the fairy Queen Mab found in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and other media.
Eochu Airem, son of Finn, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He succeeded to the throne after the death of his brother, Eochu Feidlech, and ruled for twelve or fifteen years, until he was burned to death in Fremain by Sigmall Sithienta. He was succeeded by Eterscél. The Lebor Gabála synchronises his reign with the dictatorship of Julius Caesar. The chronology of Geoffrey Keating's Foras Feasa ar Éireann dates his reign to 82–70 BC, that of the Annals of the Four Masters to 131–116 BC.
Tochmarc Étaíne, meaning "The Wooing of Étaín/Éadaoin", is an early text of the Irish Mythological Cycle, and also features characters from the Ulster Cycle and the Cycles of the Kings. It is partially preserved in the manuscript known as the Lebor na hUidre, and completely preserved in the Yellow Book of Lecan, written in language believed to date to the 8th or 9th century. It tells of the lives and loves of Étaín, a beautiful mortal woman of the Ulaid, and her involvement with Aengus and Midir of the Tuatha Dé Danann. It is frequently cited as a possible source text for the Middle English Sir Orfeo. Harvard professor Jeffrey Gantz describes the text as displaying the "poetic sense of law" in Irish legal society.
The Mythological Cycle is a conventional division within Irish mythology, concerning a set of tales about the godlike peoples said to have arrived in five migratory invasions into Ireland and principally recounting the doings of the Tuatha Dé Danann. It is one of the four major cycles of early Irish literary tradition, the others being the Ulster Cycle, the Fenian Cycle and the Cycles of the Kings.
Athirne Ailgheasach, son of Ferchertne, is a poet and satirist of the court of Conchobar mac Nessa in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, who abuses the privileges of poets.
In Irish mythology Eochaid, son of Erc, son of Rinnal, of the Fir Bolg became High King of Ireland when he overthrew Fodbgen. He was the first king to establish a system of justice in Ireland. No rain fell during his reign, only dew, and there was a harvest every year.
Eochaid Mugmedón was a legendary Irish king. According to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, Eochaid was a High King of Ireland, best known as the father of Niall of the Nine Hostages and ancestor of the Uí Néill and Connachta dynasties. He is not mentioned in the list of kings of Tara in the Baile Chuind, but is included in the synthetic lists of High Kings in the Lebor Gabála Érenn, the Irish annals, Geoffrey Keating's history, and the Laud Synchronisms.
The Immortal Hour is an opera by English composer Rutland Boughton. Boughton adapted his own libretto from the play of the same name by Fiona MacLeod, a pseudonym of writer William Sharp.
