Irish Myths and Legends

IRISH MYTHS AND LEGENDS By Mike McPhee [Text of an address to the Sydney Unitarian Church on 22 November 2020.] Welcome back to another instalment of Irish mythology, which I explained the last time was first committed to writing in the monasteries. Although many of those manuscripts have not survived and much more material was probably never even written down, there is enough remaining to enable the identification of distinct, if overlapping, cycles: 1. The Mythological Cycle – prehistorical 2. The Ulster Cycle – c. 1st Century CE 3. The Fenian Cycle – c. 3rd Century CE 4. The Historical Cycle – 5th Century CE onward The principal element of the Mythological Cycle, known as The Book of Invasions, is a collection of poems and prose narratives depicting seven groups of invaders, only five of whom were human. What I find incredible is that the last arrivals – the Gaelic Irish – must have acquired the stories about the previous groups from the indigenous peoples whom they conquered and subsequently assimilated. As I told you last time, the third group of humans to arrive in Ireland were led by a man named Nemed, whose expedition came from Scythia. These Nemedians won four battles against the monstrous Fomorians but, after Nemed and many others died from a plague, they were subjugated by the Fomorians for four generations. Finally, they rebelled but, after some initial success, they were almost completely wiped out except for 30 survivors, some of whom went to the magical lands of the north, others to Britain (which was uninhabited at that time) and still others to Greece. Those who went to Greece were enslaved and made to carry bags of soil and clay, for which reason they were called the Fir Bolg, meaning ‘men of the sacks’. After 230 years, they managed to return to Ireland and fend off the Fomorians for the next 37 years. The Nemedians who went to the north became the supernaturally gifted Tuatha Dé Danann (people of the goddess Danu). They lived in four island cities called Falias, Gorias, Findias and Murias, where they were instructed in various magical arts. Eventually, they returned to Ireland in 300 ships concealed by a dark mist, bringing with them the Four Treasures – one from each island. Also known as the Four Jewels, these were: • The Stone of Destiny, that would cry out beneath any legitimate king who took the sovereignty of Ireland. • The Spear of Lugh, that rendered its bearer and his followers invincibile. • The Sword of Light, that no one could resist or escape from once it was drawn from its sheath. • The Cauldron of the Dagda, that could feed an unlimited number of people. (The Stone of Destiny still stands on the Hill of Tara, capital of the High Kings, in Co. Meath. Lugh and the Dagda were prominent members of the Tuatha Dé Danann who later became main pagan gods of the Gaelic Irish – more about that later.) The Tuatha were met by the Fir Bolg and both peoples realised that they were related, though the former were short, dark and hairy, with crude weapons, and the latter were tall, golden and beautiful, with advanced and brightly shining armaments. The Tuatha proposed an equal division of the island but the Fir Bolg rejected this, so they fought for four days on the Plains of Magh Tuireadh (Moytura) and the newcomers won. The Fir Bolg were given the western region of Connacht but a second battle was fought at Moytura in which the Formorians were totally vanquished by the Tuatha. The aforementioned Lugh became king and the Tuatha enjoyed 150 years of unbroken rule in their lands. Looking now at the Tuatha who became gods and goddesses, the Dagda appears to have been the chief god, associated with fertility, agriculture, strength and wisdom. While he lived in human form, he took part in the Second Battle of Moytura and then ruled as king for 70 or 80 years. As a god, he has a staff, club, or mace which kills with one end and brings to life with the other, the aforementioned cauldron, and a harp that can control the seasons and the weather. His wife is the Morrigan, who is mainly associated with war and fate, especially with foretelling death or victory in battle. She incites warriors to do brave deeds in battle and can help them defeat their enemies, in which role she often appears as a crow, as we will see later. She, too, took part in the Second Battle of Moytura and her poetic chant enabled the Tuatha to drive the Formorians into the sea. Again, while in real life, the pair had three sons and two daughters, only the latter of which became deities. Those were Áine, goddess of the summer, wealth and prosperity, and Bríd (Brigid), goddess of the spring, fertility, healing, poetry and smithcraft. The Dagda also had an affair with Bóann, goddess of the River Boyne, and she gave birth to a son named Aengus. In order to hide their affair from Bóann’s husband, he used his harp to make the sun stand still for nine months; therefore, their son was conceived, gestated and born in one day. Lastly, Manannán was the sea god, said to have a self-navigating boat, a horse that can ride over the water, a deadly strength-sapping sword and a cloak that renders people and things invisible. After the Gaelic Irish arrived and conquered the Tuatha (which I told you about last time), the latter went into the Otherworld under the ground and became the sídhe (fairy people), with Manannán as their ruler and guardian. His wife is Fand, who often takes the form of a sea bird, flying with a flock in pairs joined together by a silver chain; she, however, flies with her sister, Lí Ban, joined by a chain of gold. We will see some of these deities again as we proceed to the later Cycles. As I said last time, unlike the early historical tradition in which Ireland is united under High Kings, the Ulster Cycle depicts a country divided into provincial kingdoms that are often at war with each other. Another difference is that the Historical Cycle spans perhaps 1500 years, whereas the entire Ulster Cycle takes place during the reign of King Conchobar mac Nessa of Ulaid (Ulster). He married Medhbh (Meave), the princess of Connacht, but she subsequently left him and later became the queen of that region in her own right. As I told you last time, Cú Chulainn distinguished himself even as a boy when he arrived in Conchobar’s capital, Emhain Mhaca (now Armagh City). As he grew older, he wanted to marry Emer, the daughter of Forgall Monach, who lived in what is now Co. Dublin. Forgall was opposed to the match and suggest that Cú Chulainn should train in arms with the renowned warrior-woman, Scáthach, who lived in Dún Scáith (Fortress of Shadows) on the Isle of Skye, hoping the ordeal would be fatal. She taught him all the arts of war, along with Ferdiadh, who became his best friend and foster brother. However, Scáthach had to face a battle with Aoife, her rival and, by one account, twin sister. Cú Chulainn joined the fray, subduing Aoife, but he spared her life on the conditions that the women cease their enmity and Aoife bear him a son. He returned from Alba (present-day Scotland) fully trained but Forgall still wouldn’t let him marry Emer, so he stormed his fortress, stole his treasure and abducted his daughter. However, before he left Dún Scáith, Cú Chulainn gave Aoife a gold ring and told her to send their son to Emhain Mhaca when he was old enough that the ring fit his finger. However, he was not to identify himself when he arrived, so that he would stand on his own merits and never refuse combat. The boy was named Connla, and he was trained by Scáthach in the arts of war before he came from Scotland to Ireland in a bronze boat at the age of eight. Like his father, he had superb fighting skills and the lords of Ulster were worried that more men would follow him. Various champions were sent against him and he defeated them all. Finally, King Conchobar sent Cú Chulainn to challenge him and, when Connla still refused to identify himself, they fought in the water and the boy nearly won. Cú Chulainn then used the magic spear that Scáthach had given him and struck Connla in the stomach. He carried the boy to the shore before he died and, seeing the gold ring on his finger, realised that he had killed his own son. Cú Chulainn was grief-stricken and he regretted that day for the rest of his life, as he never had another son. I told you last time about Cú Chulainn’s exploits in the Táin Bó Chúailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley), when Queen Medhbh of Connacht went to war against Ulster. Before that happened, though, he was at Muirtheimne in Co. Louth with some men who were hunting waterbirds so their wives could wear feathers on the shoulders of their gowns. Cú Chulainn became determined to kill the largest, most beautiful birds for his wife, Emer, and he brought down two that were linked by a golden chain. These, of course, were the sea goddess, Fand, and her sister, Lí Ban, and they put Cú Chulainn to sleep with a magical song. They returned in human form and beat him with horsewhips so badly that it took him nearly a year to recover.

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