Bodb Dearg is a son of the Dagda who succeeded him as king of the Tuatha Dé Danann after their retreat into the síd mounds.
After the Dagda's death, Bodb Derg was chosen as king of the Tuatha Dé Danann over the rival claim of Lir, ruling from his sídh at Lough Derg.
The Tuatha Dé Danann descended through the sky in a dark cloud upon Ireland, bringing with them the arts of sorcery, druidry, and every craft — a divine race who conquered the Fir Bolg and ruled until the coming of the Milesians.
When Bodb Dearg discovered that his foster-daughter Aoife had cursed the children of Lír into swans, he struck her with a druidic wand and transformed her into a demon of the air, condemned to wander the winds forever.
When the Tuatha Dé Danann chose Bodb Derg as king over Lir, Bodb Derg reconciled with his rival by offering his foster-daughters Aobh and later Aoife as brides — gifts that bound the two chieftains in kinship but ultimately unleashed the curse of the Children of Lir.
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