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Aengus - god of passionate and romantic love, youth and poetic inspiration; Áine - goddess of parental and familial love, summer, wealth and sovereignty; Banba, Ériu and Fódla - patron goddesses of Ireland
The main supernatural beings in Irish mythology are the Tuatha Dé Danann ("the folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("god folk" or "tribe of the gods"). [3] Early medieval Irish writers also called them the fir dé (god-men) and cenéla dé (god-kindreds), possibly to avoid calling them simply 'gods'. [4]
In medieval Irish literature, the names aes síde and fír síde (folk of the síd) are equivalent to the terms Tuath Dé and Tuatha Dé Danann. The only difference is that Tuath Dé tends to be used in contexts of legendary history and mythology.
Irish folklore (Irish: béaloideas) refers to the folktales, balladry, music, dance and mythology of Ireland.It is the study and appreciation of how people lived. The folklore of Ireland includes banshees, fairies, leprechauns and other mythological creatures, and was typically shared orally by people gathering around, sharing stories.
The Irish word fir means "men" and the word bolg/bolc can mean a belly, bag, sack, bellows, and so forth. Kuno Meyer and R. A. Stewart Macalister argue that the name comes from the term Fir i mBolgaib, meaning "breeches wearers", literally "men in (baggy) breeches", which could be interpreted as a term of contempt for the "lower orders".
The Celtic Otherworld, in the myths and folktales from ancient Ireland, can be reached inside a hill, or through the depths of a lake, or across the sea. Oisín is taken by the sea to the Land of Youth, Tír na nÓg, by Niamh, the daughter of the king of that country, and he returns to Ireland a few weeks later only to find that many hundreds of years have passed in his absence. [1]
The first extant written mention of the hag is in the 12th century "Vision of Mac Conglinne", in which she is named as the "White Nun of Beare".[5]The long Irish language medieval poem, "The Lament of the Hag of Beara", which she narrates, has been described by folklorist Eleanor Hull as "a beautiful example of the wide-spread idea that human life is ruled by the flow and ebb of the sea-tide ...
The Tuatha De Danann can be linked to the same origins as the gods in Greek mythology. Hesiod calls the Greek Gods "the Golden Race," and similar attributes are seen in the Celtic gods. [5] In Irish mythology, Ireland was subject to 6 invasions. The first 5 were from otherworldy beings, and the last was from Milesians. [6]