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Irish Mythology

Ancient Irish history and legends have three main sources, known in modern times as the Mythological Cycle, the Ulster Cycle (also known as the Ultonian or Red Branch Cycle) and the Fenian or Fianna Cycle. The ancient bards didn't categorise the stories this way. Instead, they divided them according to topic, such as births, adventures, voyages, battles, feasts, courtships, cattle raids, invasions, destructions, slaughters, expeditions, violent deaths, sieges, etc.

The pre-Celtic inhabitants of the island had no written language. Theirs was mostly an oral culture. The first known attempt at an alphabet is the Ogham script, which dates from the last era of Celtic dominance. This type of writing was primarily done on wood, and so hardly any traces of it survive nowadays.

Some claim that there existed vast libraries of Ogham writing usually inscribed on the bark or wands of hazel and aspen. If this is true, then it is possible that the great oral memory of the Irish was thus preserved through the Celtic era and into the Christian. However, when the early medieval monks set themselves the task of constructing a pseudo-history of Ireland, they recast the ancient myths and legends in a Christian mould. In so doing they demoted the old gods to mortals, and expurgate the sagas to the point when they became nothing but an almost indecipherable puzzle of jumbled passages. However, there are a number of manuscripts which have survived fairly intact and there are many others not yet translated into English. The Lebor Gabla or Book of Invasions is only one of a number of manuscripts from which our knowledge of Ireland's pre-history is derived.

The legends may be categorised into four main cycles: the Mythological cycle, the Fenian or Ossianic cycle, the Ultonian cycle and the Historical cycle. The main ones are the first three:

The Mythological Cycle

The term "Mythological Cycle" is a collective term applied to the stories in Irish literature which describe the doings of otherworldly characters. The central story of the group was concerned with the battles between supernatural groups invading Ireland successively. These series of invasions are described in the Lebor Gabla or Book of Invasions. The supernatural groups were the Partholonians, the Nemedians, the demonic Fomhire and the Fir Bholg, the divine Tuatha D Danaan, and the Milesians.

The Milesians, the fictional but first human ancestors of the Irish people, defeated the Tuatha D Danaan at the battle of Tailtiu, after which Ireland was in their possession. They divided it into two parts, with ireamhin ruling in the north and ibhear in the south. Among the names in the stories of the Mythological cycle are Bodb Derg, Dagdha, Lir, Aonghus, Partholan, Erannan, Lugh and Balor.

The Fenian Cycle

This is considered to be much older than the tales of the Ulster Cycle, as the main occupation is that of hunting. The Fenians, or Fianna, are a legendary band of heroes who defended Ireland and Scotland and kept law and order. Their leader was the mythical Fionn mac Cumhaill, the truest, wisest and kindest of the Fianna. He had two sons, Fergus of the Sweet Speech and Ossian, who is credited with a series of poems known as the 'Ossianic Ballads'. Ossian went to the Land of Youth with Niamh. His mother was Sadb, who was changed into the shape of a deer by a druid. The warrior Caoilte was Fionn's right hand man, who is reputed to have conversed with St. Patrick many centuries later in the 'Dialogue of the Elders', extolling the virtues of the Fianna to him. Other notable Fenians include Oscar, the greatest warrior, Conan, Goll mac Morna, and Diarmait O'Duibhne, who eloped with Fionn's betrothed Grania. The tales of the Fianna are heroic and fantastic, incorporating much interaction with the gods. Through the deeds of the Fianna we can see their divinity shining through. From this cycle come Oisn, Oscar, Diarmaid and Grinne.

The Ulster Cycle

This cycle comprises a large body of heroic tales in Irish literature, based on the Ulaidh, an ancient people from whom the province of Ulster got its name. The central, and structurally the basic, story in the cycle is Tin B Cailnge (The cattle raid of Cooley). Other names in the stories of this cycle are characters like Cchulainn, Conchobhar, Fergus, Caoilte and Deirdre. Cchulainn is Ulster's greatest hero. His father was said to be the solar deity Lugh, and he trained in arms under the formidable female warrior Scathach. His greatest deeds are told in the Tin.

Dara Tierney
 


 
 
 
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