Irish Folklore

 Irish Folklore

I decided that I would learn about Irish folklore. I became interested in mythology when I began reading a series of books based on Greek mythology. I have learnt about Egyptian mythology, Greek mythology and Roman mythology but I have never studied Irish mythology. It looked very interesting and I wrote a summary of every story or legend that I read. Here is the website that I am currently using: www.yourirish.com/folklore. I also used the Robert Graves book An Encyclopedia of Mythology.

A tale that I recently read is called Deirdre of the sorrows. It is about a woman named Deirdre who at birth was foretold by the druid Cathbad she would one day become the most beautiful woman in Ireland. When king Conchobhar heard of the prophecy he places her in the care of a poetess named Leabharcham, so that when she became old enough he would marry her. One day she met a man named Naoise and they fell in love. So they ran away with Naoise and his younger brothers. King Conchobhar being angry and jealous tricked an honest warrior named Fergus Mac Roth to bring Deirdre and the others back to Ireland.When they got back king Conchobhar told the knights to seize Deidre and kill the others.  Naoise, his brothers and the sons of Fergus rushed to defend Deidre but were killed. Upon capture Diedre refused to speak to the king and so after a while he had her hands and feet bound and she was tossed into a chariot. She was to be given as a reward to the man who killed Naoise. On the way there she threw herself out of the chariot and smashed her brains out on a rock. This story is rather depressing but it shows that one person can change the lives of everyone around them.

                                                                                                                   Friday November 4th

From the stories that I've read so far I can see that Irish folklore is very different from Greek and Roman myths. There are a lot of Irish ghost stories, I wonder why there are so many? Today I read a very interesting story it's called Carman The Evil Witch and Warrior From Athens.  In the story a Celtic witch named Carman, who came from Greece to Ireland with her three sons attacked  Ireland and was responsible for a major blight. Four people came together they were the god of poetry named Ai Mac Ollamain, a white sorceress named Be Chuille, a satirist named Cridhin and a magician named Lugh Laebach. They banished Carman's three sons for as long as Ireland was surrounded by water. Be Chuille was able to cast a spell that subdued her magic and they imprisoned her. Before she died of grief she requested that a fair be held in her honor at her burial place. The Irish consented to her request and a fair called the Oenach Carman is now held every three years even to this day.


                                                                                                                  Friday, November 11th
My mom let me borrow her book, it's called the New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology. As far as I can tell it's by Robert Graves. I wonder how interesting it will be. I have found a chapter on Celtic mythology, I think that Celtic mythology was created in Scotland and Ireland. I have found a rather large amount of interesting dieties here are the names:
Mars, god of war
Epona, goddess of horses
Cernunnos
Danu
Tailtiu, earth goddess
Dagda, lord of perfect knowledge, lord of life and death and nourisher of his people
the Morrigan. Is she a goddess or a sorceress?
Boann, goddess of the river Boyne
Lug, soler deity
Nuada, chieftan god
Dian Cecht, "the leech of the Tuatha"
"Ogma the champion"
Gobniu, smith, brewer of beer
Cheiften gods Midir,Bri Leith Bodb and Sid ar Femen
Jupiter, sky god, god of storms
Manannan, lord of the sea
Ways, wood cutter
Anu and Brigit,  goddesses of plenty, Brigit was also goddess of learning, culture and skills
Matcha, fertility goddess, warrior-queen, associated with the Morrigan and the Badb to form a triad of warrior goddesses
It appears that most people and deities from Ireland had rather difficult to spell names. I wonder if they have/had their own version of phonetics. I might try to do more research on them.


                                                                                               Friday November 25th
I have decided to learn more about 10 of the gods and goddesses. The gods and goddesses are
Manannan, Brigit, Tailtiu, Boann, Ogma, Cernunnos, Danu, Epona, Nuada and Dagda. I have also decided to research the Morrigan, I chose to do this because I saw the name once in a book and I want to figure out if that representation of her is accurate. I have decided to find out if the chieftain gods are based on actual chieftains. I will try to research one a day and will create a slide show afterwards to share my learning.

                                                                                                           Friday November 2nd
I can't believe it, I've just found out that there was a Celtic goddess named Niamh. Unfortunately there is not much information on her however I have found out that she was the goddess of beauty and brightness.
I have found a lot of interesting information on all of them. I did slightly change the ones that I am doing though, I am doing slides on Manannan mac Lir, Niamh, the Dagda (he was also called An Dagda), Brigit, Ogma, Tailtiu, Boann, Cernunnos and Epona. I shall copy the information on the slides and show the websites that I used.

Niamh
The only legend that I could find her in was both beautiful and tragic. She was the goddess of beauty and brightness. Niamh was the queen of Tir na nog (the land of youth)and owned a horse named Embarr (imagination). Her parents names were Manannan mac Lir and Fand. She had five siblings who were named Cliodna, Aife, Aine, Mongan and Ilbreac. In the legend she fell in love with a great bard named Oisin (it is also spelt Ossian) and asked him to go with her to Tir na nog. Oisin agreed and after promising his father that he would visit soon he left. After what he thought was three years he became homesick and returned to Ireland. When he got there he found out that the three years were actually three hundred and whilst trying to hel a group of travelers move a boulder he fell off of Embarr. When he touched the ground the three hundred years caught up with him and he died. When he didn't return Niamh went out to look for him but it was too late. After a while she had a daughter named Plur na man.

Manannan mac Lir
Manannan mac Lir was lord of the otherworld. He had a wife and six children. His wife's name was Fand and his childrens names were Niamh, Cliodna, Aife, Aine, Mongan and Ilbreac. Manannan also had a spear named Crann Buide, a bottomless crane bag, a flying ship named Scuabtuinne ("The Sweeper of The Waves"), a sword named Fregarach ("The Answerer") and a horse named aonbharr ("One Mane"). I could not find a legend about him but he was obviously very important to the Irish.

An Dagda
This name meanns "The Good God". His father was named Elada and his brother was named Ogma. He had five or six children, their names were Oengus, Aed, Cermait, Brigit, Aine and in some texts Bodb Derg. Whilst An Dagda was leader of the gods he was not a leader as much as a father figure and Druid (the king of the gods was Nuada). He was said to have control over life and death as well as the weather, crops, seasons and time. He was also said to have great magical powers. In some texts he was named one of the Tri De Dana (the three gods of art),  however in others he was the grandfather of the Tri De Dana (I don't know if I will ever be able to understand that). He is usually portrayed as a non-threatening god with a great sense of humour.

Brigit
When I researched Brigit I found something very surprising, Brigit was sometimes portrayed as triplets all with the same name. More commenly she was thought of as a multi skilled deity, she was the patroness of three important skills in the Celtic world, poetry, healing and smithcraft. Her father was the Dagda and her sibing's names were Oengus, Aed, Aine and Bodb Derg. She was also the goddess of spring and livestock and owned two royal oxen (Fea and Men) and Torc Triath ("the king of boars"). Brigit was and is very important to the Irish as she was worshipped as both a goddess and a saint.

Oghma Grianainech
Oghma means "to cut" and Grianainech means Sunface. Oghma was the son of the Dagda and one of the Tuatha De Danann. In the legends he was a champion, an amazing warrior, the god of writing and the god of eloquence. From what I've read during "The Second Battle of Magh Turedh" Oghma was forced from his position as champion and was forced to become a collector of firewood. Until Lugh Lamhfada restored rule to the Tuatha De Danann.


Tailtiu ("Great One of the Earth")
Tailtu was goddess of the harvest, vigor, andurance and strength. She was alo goddess of crabapples which were a symbol of rebirth. Her father was named Mag Mor, her husband was called "Eochaid the Rough", her second husband was named Eochu Garb and in some myths she had a foster son (Lugh Lamhfda). She died in the Second Battle of Mag Tuired and funeral games were held in her honour. The games were called Lughnasadh ("the festival of light").

Boann
Boann was the goddess of the River Boyne. Her husbands name changes in different texts, the different names that I found were Nemed and Elcmar. Her sons name was Oengus mac ind-Og. When I researched Boann I found a very interesting legend, it was about how the River Boyne. In the legend Boann drew water from her husband's well of wisdom and the water chased her to the sea. In some legends she turned into a salmon and lived in the river.

Cernunnos
I could not find very much information on him as he does not play a major part in many legends. However I did find some information about him. Cernunnos' role in Celtic mythology is unclear because some historians say that Cernunnos was "Lord of the Hunt" whereas others say he was identified as "Lord of Animals". They all agree that he was the god of liminality (transitions). He was rediscoveredin about 1790. The most famous image of him was found on the Gundestrup Cauldron. The cauldron was found in 1891 by peatcutters in Himmerland.

                                                                                                                  Friday December 9th

Epona

I am having a great deal of trouble finding information on her, I wonder why?... I managed to find a website with enough details! Epona was the goddess of mares, foals and horses. The reason why it is so hard to find information on her is because few stories about her survived. From what I can tell she was linked to the Underworld and the Dreamworld. Many people think that Macha and Epona were the same goddess, probably because they were both goddess of the same thing. In the legend Macha appeared to a widowed farmer (Cruinniuc) and without speaking began acting as his wife. When he joined in with her his wealth increased and Macha warned him never to tell anyone about her. Unfortunately during a chariot race organized by the king Cruinniuc  boasted that Macha could run faster than the horses. The king ordered Macha to prove Cruinniuc's boast even though she was pregnant. Macha won the race and gave birth to twins at the finish line. She died soon afterwards but before doing so she cursed the king and his people so that in their hour of greatest need they would feel the pain she had felt whilst running the race.

                                                                                                        Sunday January 8th, 2017

Mythology always has been important and always will be. It helps us understand why people did what they did and what they valued. It is thanks to artifacts and word of mouth that we know what life for our ancestors was like. We ought to thank those who work hard to make the myths and legends of various civilizations known by the rest of the world.