Donn- Celtic GodDeity"Lord of the Dead"

The First Milesian to Die

Donn was the eldest son of Míl Espáine, leader of the Sons of Míl who sailed from Spain to conquer Ireland from the Tuatha Dé Danann. When the Milesian fleet approached the coast, the goddess Ériu came to greet them and asked that the island bear her name. Most of the Milesians agreed, but Donn refused, mocking Ériu and declaring that Ireland was won by their swords, not by her favour. For this insult, the druids of the Tuatha Dé Danann raised a magical storm that wrecked Donn's ship. He drowned near a rocky island off the coast of Kerry, becoming the first Milesian to die in Ireland and, through that death, the lord of the Irish dead.

Tech Duinn

The island where Donn drowned became known as Tech Duinn, the House of Donn, identified in tradition with Bull Rock off the Beara Peninsula. The souls of the dead assembled there before journeying to the Otherworld. Medieval texts preserve Donn's words: "To me, to my house, you shall come after your death."

Storms and Folk Belief

Fishermen in Munster would say that "Donn is up" when Atlantic gales raged off the west coast. His island, visible from shore on clear days but swallowed by fog and spray in rough weather, sat between the living world and whatever lay beyond. At Samhain, when the dead were believed to return, traffic between his house and the living world was at its height. In County Limerick, the figure of Donn Fírinne survived into later folklore as a spirit of Knockfierna hill who protected cattle.