Midir- Celtic GodDeity

Lord of Brí Léith

Midir was a god of the Tuatha Dé Danann who ruled the síd mound of Brí Léith in what is now County Longford. He was a foster-son of the Dagda and a master of fidchell, the board game of the gods. Three magical cranes guarded the approaches to his síd, crying "Do not enter! Go away!" at anyone who drew near, warning mortals against trespassing into the Otherworld uninvited. In an earlier tale, Midir was wounded in the eye during a quarrel at a feast in the Dagda's house, and his foster-son Aengus Óg undertook the labours of winning Étaín's bride-price as compensation for the injury.

The Pursuit of Étaín

Midir's love for Étaín drove the central tale of his cycle. After Aengus paid the bride-price, clearing twelve plains and digging twelve rivers, Midir brought Étaín to Brí Léith as his wife. But his first wife Fúamnach, consumed by jealousy, transformed Étaín into a fly and blew her away with magical winds. Étaín was eventually swallowed by a mortal woman and reborn as a human child with no memory of her former life. She grew to be queen of Eochaid Airem, High King of Ireland, at Tara. Midir never stopped searching, and when he found her at last, he appeared at Eochaid's court and challenged the king to games of fidchell.

The Swans Above Tara

Midir lost the first games deliberately, paying with horses and cattle. Then he wagered for a kiss from the queen and won. When he came to claim his prize, the hall was barred and surrounded by warriors. Midir kissed Étaín, and the two rose through the smoke-hole of the hall as a pair of swans, circling Tara three times before flying to Brí Léith. Eochaid raised the armies of Ireland and dug into the síd mound to reclaim his queen. Midir sent out fifty women identical to Étaín and challenged the king to choose. Eochaid chose wrongly, taking not Étaín but her daughter, and Midir kept his beloved in the Otherworld.