The Tuatha Dé Danann of Ireland That was the most handsome and delightful company, the fairest of form, the most distinguished in their equipment and apparel, and their skill in music and playing, the most gifted in mind and temperament that ever came to Ireland. That too was the company that was bravest and inspired most horror and fear and dread, for the Tuatha Dé excelled all the peoples of the world in their proficiency in every art. — The First Battle of Mag Tuired I cut off his head and placed it on a stone pillar, so all would see the fate of one who scorned my aid. He came back a few decades later and we had a good roll in the hay. What can I say, spears really turn me on. — Barb McNiven, incarnation of the Morrígan Other pantheons think of the Tuatha Dé Danann — the People of the Goddess Danu — as simply the eldest of a host of whimsical fairy creatures. They're not wholly wrong, but the Goddess' children won ​ ​ their place with blades and words of power. The Irish pantheon stands atop a bloody heap of vanquished gods and conquered monsters. Since the time before reckoning, the titanspawn Fomhóraigh, or Fomorians, and their Titanic monarchs ​ ​ have claimed the Emerald Isle. Time and again, others came to drive them out and steal their wild land, but none succeeded permanently until the Tuatha Dé Danann. The Tuatha and their cousins, the Fir Bolg, descended from a tribe the Fomorians had driven off centuries before. The exiles' descendants returned to reclaim their ancestral homeland — first the Fir Bolg, then Danu's children. The Tuatha rode not in ships as the Fir Bolg did but atop magical storms rolling with thunder across the sea. The two tribes spilled much blood between them until the Tuatha emerged victorious and claimed the land. But Bres, their new half-Fomorian king, cruelly subjugated the gods and usurped all their wealth for his titanspawn brethren. The Tuatha rebelled and won another war. They imprisoned the Fomorians beyond the edges of the World, but not before the land was soaked in divine blood on both sides. Finally, the Gaels invaded and defeated the Tuatha. The victors claimed the World while the People claimed the Otherworld. From the Gaels descended the Irish people, and the Tuatha Dé Danann became their gods. Principal Members The Tuatha Dé Danann are a fierce, proud pantheon of warrior-poets who revel equally in love and battle. Fate and family ties — both by blood and by fosterage — tangle them in rigid systems of arcane rules, but their potent magics and myriad arts make them foes fearsome and wild. They adhere to only a loose organization, with queens and kings who rule the sídhe, or fairy mounds, that divide the ​ ​ Otherworld into fiefdoms. A few gods, like Donn, also have particular functions to perform, but most of them are too busy doing whatever (and whoever) they want. The Tuatha are more likely than most gods to adopt Scions born of others, hearkening back to their ancient tradition of fosterage. Thus, it's common to find Scions of the Tuatha who inherit Callings and Purviews from multiple divine parents, or even strange powers from Fomorian ancestry. The gods of the Irish pantheon include: Aengus the Mac Óg (love and youth), Brigid (fire and inspiration), the Dagda (All-Father of knowledge and magic), Danu (mother of the gods), Dian Cécht (healing), Donn (the dead), Ériu (land and sovereignty), Lugh Lámhfhada (excellence and skills/arts), Manannán mac Lir (the sea and passage to the Otherworld), the Morrígan (prophecy and war), Nuada Airgeadlámh (wise rulership), Ogma (strength and language). Pronunciation Guide In the below guide, “th” sounds are pronounced as in “the” and “ch” sounds are pronounced as in the Scottish “loch.” Badb: bahv ​ Brigid: bree-yid ​ ​ ​ Claíomh Solais: kleev saw-lish ​ ​ ​ Cú Chulainn: coo chuh-lun ​ ​ ​ Dian Cécht: dee-un kaycht ​ ​ ​ Eochaid Ollathair: oh-cha ull-a-hair ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Fomhóraigh: fo-voh-ruh ​ ​ ​ geis: gesh ​ Imbolc: im-mulk ​ ​ ​ Lugh Lámhfhada: loo law-va-thuh ​ ​ ​ Lughnasadh: loo-nuh-suh ​ ​ ​ Mag Mell: mah mell ​ Manannán mac Lir: mah-nah-nawn mahk leer ​ ​ ​ Nemain: nev-in ​ ​ ​ Nuada Airgeadlámh: noo-uh-thuh ar-ged-lawv ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ogham: oh-um ​ ​ ​ Samhain: sah-win ​ ​ ​ Samildánach: sah-mul-daw-nuch ​ ​ ​ sídhe: shee ​ Teach Duinn: tyuch duhyn ​ Tuatha Dé Danann: too-ah-ha day dahn-un ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Uaithne: oo-uh-nyeh ​ ​ ​ Aengus the Mac Óg, God of Love and Youth The Mac Óg, as Aengus is often called, earned that title by the peculiar circumstances of his birth. His father, the Dagda, forced the sun to stand still for nine months during the mystical feast of Samhain so that Aengus would be born within a single day. Thus he is the Mac Óg, the “young son.” His Scions are often born with strange timing or created outright. While the Tuatha all have their rampant passions, only Aengus counts love itself among his Purviews. Others call upon him to play matchmaker, employing clever schemes to help them woo their would-be paramours. Aengus' incarnations are masters of wordplay and cunning, using divine looks and witty tongues to aid his Scions and manipulate people. He takes the forms of the birds that adore him, especially swans and others known for their beauty. Aengus is a vengeful sort, fiercely protective and harboring no mercy for treachery. He'll go to the wall to save lovers from those who would separate them. In the modern age, some claim the Mac Óg has blessed a particular hard-to-find dating website, where hate speech and trollish behavior are grounds for immediate (divine) retribution, and relationships that begin there last a lifetime. Late at night in every time zone, the same radio show broadcasts out of cities across the world, and a soothing voice that hasn't changed in decades takes calls from lonely hearts and miraculously solves their problems. A law firm with no listed number takes tough divorce cases if a plaintiff can find it, helping wronged parties pro bono — its attorneys never lose. ​ ​ Callings: Guardian, Lover, Trickster ​ Purviews: Beasts (Birds), Deception, Moon, Passion (Love) ​ Brigid, Triple Goddess of Fire From the three sisters Brigid issue the year's spring dawning and the health of offspring. The wise know she's also directly descended from the Primordial of the sun. None know how much of that primal being lives on in her divinity, and none wish to brave unknowable forces to find out. Rumors that she's really a Titan burn to ashes whenever she hears them. Brigid is one and three-in-one. As a single deity, she married Bres to forge an accord between the People and the Fomorians. When war broke out anyway, she fought alongside the Tuatha, and originated the mystical call of the keening when she lost her traitorous son to her own tribe's spears. As a triple deity, each sister holds sway over a different aspect of fire. As the sacred hearthflame, she acts as a healer of bodies, minds, and souls. As the spark of inspiration, she acts as muse to poets, artists, and musicians of all stripes. As the fires of the blazing smithy, she forges great wonders to grace the hands of her Scions. Brigid's children reflect her multiple nature in their births, circumstances, and deeds. They're firebrands, impossible to ignore. They incarnate as often as they're born, and some say many more than three Brigids have actually walked the Otherworld over the millennia as her children become her over and over again. Her Scions act as instigators, catalysts, and caretakers. They fill mortals' hands with weapons and mouths with provocative words one day, while the next they soothe ruffled feathers and salve wounds. They're graffiti artists, opera patrons, record producers, and hip hop legends. Brigid's most famous Scion was Oscar Wilde, a master of magical satire who protested injustice with his writing. Callings: Creator, Healer, Sage ​ Purviews: Artistry (All), Fertility, Fire, Health, Sun ​ Triple Deities The Irish pantheon abounds with deities that encompass three in one: the three Brigids, the three sovereignty goddesses, the three Morrígna. Scions argue over whether each is ​ one god with three common incarnations, or three close sisters, or three separate gods that are somehow also the same god — or something even weirder. In the Morrígan's ​ case, she's not even always the same three gods, depending on who you ask and the day ​ of the week. To further muddy the waters, this doesn't even take into account potential cross-pantheon triples, like Lugh's murky relationship to the Welsh Lleu Llaw Gyffes and Gaulish Lugus. The Tuatha don't care to discuss it. Many a too-curious Scion has ventured into the sídhe boldly demanding answers only to end up cursed for her trouble. ​ ​ While three Scions of Brigid can access the same Purviews and Callings, they may feel as though their divine mothers are different people. One may inherit nothing but the forge fire, while another is a healer and the third pure muse. Then a fourth sibling appears with aspects of all three, tearing the nice neat boxes to shreds. The Morrígan's Scions have an even stranger time of it, some even claiming the bloodline of a goddess no one's ever heard of, yet clearly wielding the battle-crow's power. “Sibling rivalry” takes an alarming turn when Scions of Ériu, Banba, and Fótla take it upon themselves to decide who really deserves to claim the Hill of Tara's Axis Mundi.