Tuatha Dé Danann- Celtic RaceRace"Children of the Goddess Danu"

The Northern Islands

Before coming to Ireland, the Tuatha Dé Danann dwelt in the northern islands of the world, mysterious lands sometimes identified as four cities called Falias, Gorias, Findias, and Murias. In these cities they studied magic, druidry, and every form of occult knowledge. From each city they brought one of the Four Treasures of Ireland: the Lia Fáil, the Stone of Destiny that would cry out beneath a rightful king, and the Sword of Nuada from which none could escape once drawn, and the invincible Spear of Lugh, and the Cauldron of the Dagda from which no company ever went away unsatisfied.

Arrival in Ireland

The Tuatha Dé Danann descended upon Ireland shrouded in dark clouds and mist, arriving on the mountains of Connacht on the first of May, the festival of Beltane. Some accounts say they came in ships that they burned upon landing, the smoke mingling with magical clouds to veil their arrival from the Fir Bolg who then held Ireland. Other versions insist they literally descended from the sky. The Fir Bolg sent their champion Sreng to investigate. He met Bres mac Elatha of the Tuatha Dé Danann, and the two exchanged weapons: Sreng's heavy, broad-bladed sword for the Tuatha Dé Danann's light, sharp-pointed spear. Each marveled at the other's craft. But when terms of peace could not be reached, the two sides prepared for war.

The First Battle of Mag Tuired

The two hosts met at Mag Tuired in western Connacht. Though fewer in number, the Tuatha Dé Danann possessed superior magic and weapons, and after four days of fierce fighting they prevailed. Their king Nuada lost his arm in combat with Sreng. A king must be without blemish in Irish tradition, and Nuada could no longer rule. The Fir Bolg lost their king Eochaid mac Eirc and were granted the province of Connacht as a settlement.

The Tyranny of Bres

The half-Fomorian Bres mac Elatha became king through his beauty and his mother's lineage. His reign proved disastrous: he was stingy, imposed heavy tribute on behalf of his Fomorian kin, and reduced the gods themselves to servile labor. The Dagda built fortifications. Ogma carried firewood from the islands of Clew Bay, and the sea washed away two-thirds of his burden before he could reach the shore.

When the poet Cairbre visited Bres's court, he was lodged in a dark, bare room without fire or food. Cairbre composed a glam dícenn: "Without food quickly served, without a cow's milk on which a calf can grow, without a dwelling fit for a man under the gloomy night, without means to entertain a bardic company, let that be the condition of Bres." Boils rose on Bres's face. Now blemished, he was compelled to abdicate. Meanwhile, the physician Dian Cécht had crafted a functional arm of silver for Nuada, and his son Miach later replaced it with one of living flesh. Nuada Airgetlám resumed his kingship, while Bres fled to the Fomorians.

The Second Battle of Mag Tuired

The hero who turned the tide was Lugh Lámfada, a young warrior who arrived at Tara claiming mastery of all arts and skills simultaneously. When challenged that the court already possessed masters of each discipline, Lugh replied that no one else mastered them all. Nuada ceded the throne to him.

The Tuatha Dé Danann prepared: Goibniu forged weapons that never missed, and Dian Cécht prepared the Well of Sláine to heal the wounded. The Morrígan promised destruction upon the enemy. In the decisive moment, Lugh faced his own grandfather Balor of the Evil Eye and slew him by casting a sling-stone through the deadly eye, driving it out the back of his head. The Fomorians were driven from Ireland forever.

The Milesian Invasion

The Tuatha Dé Danann ruled Ireland until the coming of the Milesians, the ancestors of the Gaelic Irish, who arrived from Spain led by the sons of Míl Espáine. Three goddesses of the Tuatha Dé Danann greeted them: Ériu, Banba, and Fódla, each asking that Ireland bear her name. Ériu, who prophesied that Ireland would belong to the Milesians forever, had her wish granted. Ireland carries her name to this day.

The druids of the Tuatha Dé Danann raised magical storms to drive back the Milesian ships, but the Milesian poet Amergin countered with an invocation to the land itself: "I am a wind on the sea, I am a wave of the ocean." The enchantment broke. The decisive engagements were fought at Sliab Mis and Tailtiu. The three kings of the Tuatha Dé Danann fell at Tailtiu, and with their deaths the divine race's hold on the surface of Ireland was broken.

Retreat to the Otherworld

After their defeat, the Dagda divided Ireland between the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Milesians. To the newcomers went the surface of the land. To the Tuatha Dé Danann went the world beneath: the hollow hills, the síd mounds, and the hidden realms within the earth. Each of the great figures took possession of a síd. The Dagda claimed Brú na Bóinne. Midir took Brí Léith. Manannán mac Lir raised the féth fíada, a cloak of mist, around them all, hiding the fairy world from mortal sight. They became the aes sídhe, the people of the mounds. Their power remained. They could still blight crops, enchant mortals, and shape the weather. But they exercised it from below, and farmers in later centuries avoided disturbing the Bronze and Iron Age ring-forts scattered across Ireland for fear of offending their inhabitants.