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Gods and Mythology

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The Tuatha Dé Danann: Ireland’s Old Gods and What Became of Them

How the old gods took Ireland, lost it to the Gaels, and kept the half of the country that lies below ground.

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Tuatha Dé Danann emerging in ancient Ireland surrounded by mist and light

Lugh: Master of All Skills

Lugh stands with a spear among ancient stone ruins at dawn, with misty hills and water in the distance.

A stranger at the gates of Tara who could do everything, and a sling stone that pierced the evil eye. Lugh, the brilliant young god of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

Manannán mac Lir: God of the Sea

Manannán mac Lir drives a horse-drawn chariot across the sea toward a boat of astonished sailors, with salmon leaping from the waves and flowers scattered across the water.

A god driving a chariot over the waves, a cloak that parts lovers forever, and a cup that breaks at a lie. Manannán mac Lir, lord of the sea and the Otherworld.

The Cailleach: Ireland’s Winter Hag

The Cailleach stands on a rocky winter hillside holding a wooden staff above a dark loch and snow-covered mountains.

A stone woman looking out to sea, a lament for lost youth, and hills built from an apron full of rocks. The Cailleach, Ireland’s ancient hag of winter.

The Dagda: The Good God

The Dagda sits beneath an ancient tree holding a great club beside a bronze cauldron overlooking an Irish lake and mountains.

A giant dragging a club that carves boundary ditches, eating a pit of porridge with a ladle big enough for two. The Dagda, father of the Irish gods.

The Irish Gods and Goddesses

A group of noble Irish gods and mythic figures standing on a rocky hill above a misty landscape.

The Dagda, Lugh, the Morrígan and the rest of the Tuatha Dé Danann, and why they were never written down as a pantheon.