The Tuatha Dé Danann
The Tuatha Dé Danann
The Tuatha Dé Danann
The Tuatha Dé Danann are seen as the main mythological race to reside in Ireland and some sources stated that the Mythological Cycle began when the Tuatha Dé Danann arrived, seeing the previous invaders as footnotes in the story. However, for a well-rounded knowledge of the history of Celtic mythology and folklore in Ireland none of the invasion stories should be left out.
It is said in the Book of Invasions that the Tuatha Dé Danann arrived in Ireland in dark clouds which caused darkness to fall over the land for three days and three nights. This was a much more magical and mythological method of arrival than the previous invaders who were said to arrive by ship. This arrival speaks of a race that was much more than the average mortal man and there are links to the Tuatha Dé Danann and the gods and goddesses of Ireland. When they arrived, they found the Fir Bolg, and they battled with them.
During this battle, their king, Nuada was wounded and lost his arm (or hand in some versions). By the law of the Tuatha Dé Danann, he was therefore unable to lead his people as he was no longer a whole man and so he was temporarily replaced. He was able to regain his throne later when he was crafted a silver replacement for his missing limb, allowing him to once again rule. In the time that Nuada was deemed unable to rule, following the first battle with the Fir Bolg, he was replaced with Bres, a man who was half Fomorian.
The Kings of the Tuatha Dé Danann
When we look at the reigns of the Kings of The Tuatha Dé Danann, we find different dates, depending on the source used. We will, therefore, add the dates according to the Forus Feasa ar Erinn -Geoffrey Keating and also from the Annals of the Four Masters . Both dates are listed below, the firrsrt from Forus Feasa ar Erinn and the second from Annals of the Four Masters.
Bres 1477-1470BC 1897-1890BC
Nuada 1470-1447BC 1890-1870BC
Lugh 1447-1407BC 1870-1830BC
Eochaid Ollathair (The Dagda) 1407-13337BC 1927-1922BC
Delbáeth 1502-1497BC 1922-1917BC
Fiacha 1497-1491BC 1917-1911BC
Mac Ciuill, Mac Cecht and Mac Gréine 1491-1497BC 1911-1907BC
The First Battle of Mag Turied
At the time of the First Battle of Mad Turied, Ireland was still in the hands of the Fir Bolg, led by King Eochaid mac Eirc. When the Tuatha Dé Danann arrived in Ireland, King Eochaid was not keen to give up any of their hard earnt land to them, and the Tuatha Dé Danann led by Nuada were keen to stay.
At first, they tried to settle matters using negotiation with champions from both sides meeting. The Fir Bolg sent Sreng who was one of their most skilled warriors using a broad-headed spear which was seen to represent the strength of the Fir Bolg people and their warriors.
Representing the Tuatha Dé Danann was Bres, who was also a skilled warrior. He also carried a spear, which was off a better quality and better crafted than the one carried by Sreng.
The two champions weight up each other’s skills and weapons and negotiations began. Despite the respect that the two champions had for each other, the negotiations failed as the Tuatha Dé Danann wanted to settle in Ireland and divide up the land, but the Fir Bolg having fought hard to get the land did not want to give any of it up, which is understandable.
Once the negotiations failed, the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fir Bolg became caught up in a number of skirmishes which were the prelude to the battle that was on the horizon. The Fir Bolg, although determined and fierce warriors, were outclassed by the Tuatha Dé Danann who had more advanced weapons and were able to use the mystic arts. Despite this, the battle was fierce and both sides suffered losses. However, in the end, the Tuatha Dé Danann were the victors.
One of the key events from the battle was when Nuada, leader of the Tuatha Dé Danann faced Sreng on the battlefield, and their fight caused the loss of Nemed’s arm (or hand in some versions of the tale). By the law of the Tuatha Dé Danann, Nuada was no longer able to be king as a man had to be whole to lead the people. He was, therefore, forced to stand down and Bres took his place. Bres was said to have Fomorian heritage, and this is believed to be the start of a chain of events that led to the Second Battle of Mag Turied, as his leadership was very different to that of Nuada.
The Fir Bolg had heavy losses, but it is said that even after their defeat, the Tuatha Dé Danann were graceful and offered to allow to Fir Bolg to remain in Ireland in respect to their skills in battle. In some versions of the story, the Fir Bolg were granted the province of Connacht which showed that the Tuatha Dé Danann were able to co-exist with the Fir Bolg after the battle.
Táthlum tromm thenntide tenn
robūi ag Tūath Dé Danann,
hī robriss súil Balair búain
tall ar toghail in tromshlúaigh
—Meyer (1905) ed.[65]
Translation:
A tathlum, heavy, fiery, firm,
Which the Tuatha Dé Danann had with them,
It was that broke the fierce Balor's eye,
Of old, in the battle of the great armies.
—O'Curry (1873) tr.[6
In the Book of Invasion, their arrival and dominance over the Fir Bolg is written as:
Ireland with pride, with weapons,
hosts spread over her ancient plain,
westward to the sunset were they plunderers,
her chieftains of destruction around Temair.
Thirty years after Genand
goblin hosts took the fertile land;
a blow to the vanquished People of Bags
was the visit of the Tuatha De Danann.
It is God who suffered them, though He restrained them--
they landed with horror, with lofty deed,
in their cloud of mighty combat of spectres,
upon a mountain of Conmaicne of Connacht.
Without distinction to descerning Ireland,
Without ships, a ruthless course
the truth was not known beneath the sky of stars,
whether they were of heaven or of earth.
If it were diabolic demons
the black-cloaked agitating expedition,
it was sound with ranks, with hosts:
if of men, it was the proteny of Bethach.
Of men belonging to law (is)
the greeborn who has the strong seed:
Bethach, a swift warrior-island (?)
son of Iarbonel son of Nemed.
They cast no assembly or justice
about the place of Fal to the sunset:
there was fire and fighting
at last in Mag Tuired.
The Tuatha De, it was the bed of a mighty one,
around the People of Bags fought for the kingship:
in their battle with abundance of pride,
troops of hundreds of thousands died.
The Second Battle of Mag Turied
Unfortunately, for the Tuatha Dé Danann their fight was not over after they beat the Fir Bolg. As the previous settlers had already discovered, the Fomorians were already living and around Ireland they were a formidable foe.
Following the first battle, the Tuatha Dé Danann found themselves being oppressed by the Fomorians and they were not happy with this situation. The stories of the second battle start with a brief catch-up from the first battle and the replacement of Nuada with Bres as king.
Nuada had lost his arm and at this point was unable to lead the Tuatha Dé Danann as their law stated clearly that a leader must be a ‘whole’ person and losing his arm lessened him as a leader. He was replaced by a man named Bres, who is believed to have been part Fomorian, which could suggest why his rule was very different to that of Nuada. As Bres is an important part of this story, let’s look at his background.
Descriptions of Bres differ in some stories. He is described in some as ‘beautiful to behold, yet harsh and inhospitable’ in some, but in the poem Carn Hui Neit he is described as ‘noble and kind and the flower of the Tuatha Dé Danann.’ When people are described in different ways, it is always interesting as in reality how we are seen as people will depend a lot on whether someone who likes or dislikes us is doing the describing.
Bres parentage is also different in some stories. In The Fate of the Children of Turenn, Bres’ father is said to be Balor of the Evil Eye. In the Cath Maige Turied, his parents are said to be Prince Elatha of the Fomorians and Eri of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Either way, Bres had a biological connection to the Fomorians, and this contributed to why his leadership did not sit well with the people of the Tuatha Dé Danann.
Bres ruled the Tuatha Dé Danann for seven years and during that time he made the Tuatha Dé Danann pay tribute to the Fomorians and work as their slaves. However, seven years after Bres took rule, Nuada was able to replace him as he was made ‘whole’ again with an arm made of silver, created by his physician Dian Cecht, whose son Miach was able to cause flesh to grow over the silver arm. Bres had not been a good king, making the nobles do menial work and failing in the duties of a king. For the Tuatha Dé Danann, Nuada’s gain of an arm was a blessing!
Bres did not take it well and he went to the Fomorians and asked that they help him get his throne back. No one likes to be usurped!
In the stories, Bres’ father Prince Elatha refused to help his son, so instead he went to another leader, Balor of the Evil Eye for help and he agreed, raising a huge army to take on Nuada and the Tuatha Dé Danann.
The Tuatha Dé Danann also chose its champion in the form of Lugh, who also had Tuatha Dé Danann and Fomorian blood. It is written that Lugh was a grandson of Balor of the Evil Eye but was prepared to go into battle on the side of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Lugh was a skilled warrior, possessing a fiery spear, a sling stone, and his hound named Failinis.
Nuada was a casualty of the battle being killed by Balor, but Lugh was able to get revenge by killing Balor using his sling shot. With a well-aimed stone, Lugh smashed Balor’s Evil Eye through the back of his head, causing the Fomorian ranks to fall into chaos and break and the Tuatha Dé Danann to win the day.
In the aftermath of the battle, Bres was found alive and his life was spared, despite being the catalyst of the whole thing. His live was spate in the condition that he taught the Tuatha Dé Danann how to plough, sow, and reap to enable them to grow crops to support themselves. After his success in battle, Lugh became the next king of the Tuatha Dé Danann.