The Third Invasion - The Nemedians

Following the demise of the Partholónians, Ireland was once again uninhabited except for Fintán, Tuan, and the Formorians. It seemed that Ireland was not a place that could be settled upon, but 30 years later another group of people would give it a go when a man named Nemed and his people travelled to across the seas to try and make a life for themselves on the uninhabited island.

The next group to make the journey were led by a man named Nemed, who was a descendent of Partholón’s brother Tait, being his great-grandson. Nemed’s name can be translated to mean ‘holy’ or ‘sanctuary,’ and through his family link to Partholón it could again be said that he had a link to Noah, but again these tales were transcribed by monks and could be that they tried to make a link between the early Irish tales and the stories from the bible.

The Nemedian’s journey began when Nemed and his followers set out from the city of Golgotha on the Euphrates River and set sail towards Ireland. They were trying to escape the hard lives that they had in their homeland by travelling to a new place, but from the very start the journey proved to be harrowing. The Nemedians left on 34 ships (Book of Invasions) and they carried with them their families, livestock, food, and seeds to begin harvests once they arrived. The journey was extremely hard and some of the people gave up and decided to end their journey in Iberia, a year and a half after they left Golgotha.

Nemed’s sons travelled with him, and they were named Starn, Iarbonel the Prophet, Annind, and Fergus Lethdera.

Finally, after suffering hardship and loss at sea, they arrived on Ireland finding it to be barren and uninhabited. The Nemedians had a strong sense of community, and they immediately set out making the land habitable for them. They quickly set out to make settlements and forts to provide security for the people. Two royal forts were built Raith Chimbaith in Semne and Raith Chindeich in Ui Niallain. A fortress names Raith Nemed was also built, becoming a stronghold and place of safety and community for all the Nemedians.

 Nemedians and the Formorians

In the beginning, the Formorians did not bother with the Nemedians as they saw that there were a large number of warriors and it would not be in their best interest to go to war with them. They managed to live side-by-side in relative peace for a while, however, the Nemedians were constantly expanding their land to make room for habitats, agriculture, and livestock and in time the Nemedians began to encroach more and more onto Fomorian land which left the Formorians with no choice but to do something about it.

As the Nemedians were abundant in number, the Formorians first used small groups of giants to attack groups of Nemedian travellers or isolated farms. The Nemedians fought backs and set traps around vulnerable places, leading to three Fomorian giants being caught in a deep pit, including Sengand who was the son of the Fomorian King, Gand. Sengand managed to escape and return to this father, who decided that the only want to deal with the Nemedians would be to use greater force. This led to the battle of Ros Fraechain. The Fomorian’s had grown in number since the time of Partholón and had grown in strength due to their interbreeding with humans, but they did not have the numbers that the Nemedians did. The Formorians used similar tactics as in their battles with the Partholónians, causing the grass and plants to rise up and bind the warriors of Nemed and causing fire to erupt from the ground. They used their superior strength to throw boulders at the Nemedian ranks and their blow-pipes to rain darts down on the warriors, but it was to no avail.

The Nemedians had the advantage of numbers and agility, and they were able to surround the Formorians and attack them from all sides, using their swords to cut into their legs and shooting them with arrows. During the battle, the Fomorian king was killed and Nemed’s people were victorious.

The Nemedians went on to win three other battles against the Formorians. The Fomorians came from the sea, as many of them were ‘Sea-Rovers,’ but the Nemedians fired burning arrows made from Greek wire at the ships. This became known as the Battle of Badbgna. Their second victory was at the Battle of Cnamros which was fought in Laigne and the Nemedians won due to their larger numbers. Thirdly, there was the Battle of Murbola, where the Fomorians were defeated once against and scattered back to the sea.

The Fomorians were not a race to accept their defeat and so they knew that they needed a better way to reduce the numbers of the Nemedians to give them a chance in the battles. They sent a plague across the land of the Nemedians to reduce their numbers. The Nemedian numbers were reduced to less than that of the Fomorians, but worst still Nemed himself fell victim to the plague.

Nemed was an extremely important part of the Nemedian community. He was the one who had given his people the courage to set off and find a new home and to stand up to the Formorians. Without him, the Nemedians were leaderless, and their close-knit communities began to struggle. The Formorians took advantage of this and the oppression of the Nemedians began.

First, the Fomorians made the Nemedians pay them one-third of their milk production, which the Nemedians agreed to do. Unfortunately, when a people give in to the demands of an oppressor, they do tend to push for more and this is exactly what the Fomorians did. Next the Formorians demanded one-third of the wheat produced by the Nemedians, which they also agreed to but begrudgingly. However, the Formorians made a final demand which was too much for them to agree to. The Formorians demanded that the Nemedians give them one-third of their children. They wanted to children when they were young so that they would think that they were Formorians and it would increase their breeding stock.

It is understandable that the Nemedians did not want to do this; no one would willingly give away their children to their oppressors and so the Nemedians decided to make a final, desperate attempt to defeat the Formorians.

At first it seemed that the Nemedians may have a chance as they had grown in number following the plague and so they attacked the Fomorian stronghold on Tory Island. At this time, The Nemedians had 60,000 warriors and they attacked by sea and by land. At first, the battle appeared to be going in their favour, but the Fomorians then received reinforcements, and the battle became an all-out slaughter. In the end the Nemedians were almost destroyed, but three of their ships managed to escape. It is believed that each ship contained 30 men and 30 women.

The Fate of the Nemedians

Following the final defeat at the hands of the Formorians, the Nemedians were splintered and travelled in different directions. Some headed to Scotland. Others travelled to Greece where they fell into slavery at the hands of the Greek, forced to clear bags of soil from mountains. They finally managed to escape slavery, and these became the Fir Bolg.

Fergus Red-Side and his son, Britain Mael landed on the island what became Britannia Insula and they remained there, growing in number, until they were defeated at the hands of the two sons of Guictglis, the King of the Old Saxons. Following their defeat, they were forced over the borders of the island.

From the Book of Invasions:

Notwithstanding every stately psalm-canon, 
the people of Partholon the sinner--
dead was the whole tally of his household, 
upon the Old Plain, in the course of a week. 

Six fives of years without increase, 
without a guard, it was dark obscurity, 
Desert was every side to the proud sea; 
Not a person took it save Nemed. 

Nemed with wrath (?) of them all, 
with store of feters and valour, 
he possessed the land of the warring of hosts, 
after the destruction of the other companies. 

He used to effect victory without hazards, 
Nemed, with pride and intelligence: 
the son of Agnomain with haughtiness, 
although his troop was weak, it was stately. 

Starn, who fell at the hands of Mac Faebuir, 
Iarbonel the Soothsayer, who was joyous, 
Ainnind with fetters of leather, 
were the three venemous chieftains of Nemed. 

Nemed who paid them in the matter of securities, 
it was a pestilence of fire over a death-doom; 
in his time, with a great noise of rushing, 
there was an outburst--four lakes. 

Loch Munremair, a pleasant sea, 
of broad-ridged, firm fury;
Loch Dairbrech over a hedge of a king (?) 
Loch Cal and Loch Ainnind. 

Vigorously there were dug by his host 
two forts with strength and firmness, 
Raith Cindeich in which he apportioned weapons, 
Raith Cimbaeith in Semne. 

Cleared by him, it was a road of pleasure, 
twelve plains of good eye (-prospect), 
Mag Cera in Connachta of mists, 
Mag Moda and Mag Eba. 

Strong Mag Tochair was cleansed, 
Leemag of the great plain of Muma, 
Mag Bernsa with a mystery of great graces, 
Mag Cuile Tolad, Mag Lughad. 

Mag Sered of drying-up of a river, 
Mag Semne of lightness of colouring, 
Mag Luirg of little darkness of side, 
Mag Muirthemne, Mag Macha. 

The routs--a work to recount them--
which he broke against the warriors of Fomoire of much sharpness; 
the battle of huge Morbole of great sharpness the battle of Badgna, 
and the battle of Cnamros. 

In the territory of Liathan by Muma, 
the dark lord of slaughter died of plague: 
with the rude company of clean grass 
in Oilean Arda Nemid. 

They were not in security as regards oppression--
the progeny which Nemed fertilised--
at the hands of Conaing with hard body 
and at the hands of More son of Dela. 

Two-thirds of their shapely children, 
it was not generous against military weakness--
a lasting tax through ages of the world--
two-thirds of corn and of milk. 

To hard Mag Cetna of weapons, 
Over Eas Ruaid of wonderful salmon,
it was prepared against help, 
against feasting (?) for them, every Samain eve. 

Semeon son of joyful Iardan, 
Fergus pure and generous, an effort of pride, 
Erglan son of warlike Beoan, 
were the three freemen for their hosts. 

The host of Ireland with her troop came--
it was steppings a power--
a warrior-band who had blood through the body, 
westward to the capture of Conaing's tower. 

Conaing's tower with store of plunder 
of a union of the crimes of hundreds of rapine, 
a fortress of assembly of the art 
of the rage of the Fomoire of the sea. 

The men of Ireland after its capture, 
with the great valour of the courses before them, 
of these, tidings of loss, 
none escaped except thirty of the children of Nemed. 

They were not at peace regarding their inheritance, 
that host with great valour of despair; 
of the thirty noble warriors, 
every chieftain went his ways. 

Into the land of Greeks, the remnant of the troop 
went Semeon, it was a road of happiness: 
with wisdom over the pre-eminent division 
went Fergus into Moin Conain. 

Britan Mael son of the prince 
free the multitude of tracks over streams, 
son of Lethderg from Leemag 
from whom are the Britons of the world. 

Bethach under steps of forms of fame 
died in Ireland according to truthfulness: 
his ten wives behind him, 
thereafter, for a space of twenty-three years. 

Hundreds sprang from Semeon, 
the Greeks thought them a numerous legion: 
they were not accepted by the warriors 
but were enslaved by the Greeks. 

This was the order of the chieftains, 
Carrying round bags--it was not fraught 
with fame [of] clay upon a rocky stony mountain 
so that it was a plain rich in flowers and flocks. 

They departed with no treacherous covenant 
upon the wrathful very black sea, 
out of the captivity of hard fosterage 
with ships and with bags. 

These were their names of pride, 
of the kings, spirited, with agility, 
Gann, Genann with choice men of good divisions, 
Rudraige, Sengann, Slanga. 

The seed of Semeon of a row of spear-divisions, 
a deed of pure will of purity of action-deeds; 
The Galioin, men of the very scanty orderings, 
The Fir Bolg and the Fir Domnann. 

Two hundred years, whoso relates it, 
after Nemed, lustrous his deeds of valour, 
till the Fir Bolg took the tuneful land of Ireland, 
from the sea-pool of ocean. 

Their sending, their measuring-out, endures; 
they divided into five, without religion--
without a falling for their slender-sided sept--
pleasant Ireland, from Uisnech. 

Let us give adoration to most righteous Christ 
Who hath subdued the strongest floods; 
His is the world with its generation, 
His is every territory, His is Ireland. 

The capture of Conaing's tower with valour 
against Conaing the great, son of Faebar: 
the men of Ireland came to it, 
three brilliant chieftains with them. 

Erglan son of Beoan son of Starn, 
Semeon son of bitter Iardan, 
before exile went the warrior of the plains, 
the son of Nemed, Fergus Lethderg. 

Three score thousands in brilliant wise 
over land and over water, 
that is the tally who went from home, 
the children of Nemed, to the capture. 

Torinis, island of the tower, 
the fortress of Conaing son of Faebar; 
by Fegus himself, a fighting of valour, 
Conaing son of Faebar fell. 

More son of Dela came there, 
it was for a help to Conaing: 
Conaing fell previously, 
More thought it grave tidings. 

Three score ships over the sea was the tally 
with which More son of Dela came; 
there encountered them before they came to land, 
the children of Nemed with powerful strength. 

The men of all Ireland in the battle, 
after the coming of the Fomoraig, 
the sea-surge drowned them all, 
except thrice ten men. 

Erglan, Matach, Iartacht the noble, 
the three sons of Beoan son of Starn, 
white his girdle, Bethach, Britan after the battle, 
Baath the glorious, and Ibath. 

Bechach, Bethach, Bronal, Pal, 
Goirthigorn, German, Glasa, 
Ceran, Gobran, Gothiam pure,
Gam, Dam, Ding and Deal. 

Semeon, Fortecht, bright Gosten, 
Grimaig, Guillius with cleverness, 
Taman, Turrue, and Glas, 
Feb, and Feran curl-haired. 

Three tens on the tuneful sailing 
went afterwards from Ireland: 
in three they made divisions 
after the capture of Conaing's Tower in the west. 

The third of Bethach the victoriuous, 
tuneful fame, from Toirinis to Boinn: 
it is he who died in Inis Fail, 
two years after Britan. 

The third of Semeon son of noble Erglan 
to Belach Conglais with horror; 
the third of Britan, saith Ua Flaind, 
from that to Conaing's Tower. 

The children of Israel on a journey 
at that time, out of Egypt; 
and the children of Gaedel Glas, 
were a-voyaging to Scythia. 

O Christ fair, with beauty of appearance, 
O King, apportioner of the haven of Paradise, 
Into Thy heaven, famous the place, 
O King of the workd, mayest thou choose me!