Tuatha De Dannan

For information on the origin of these people, go to the Current Theories section. Otherwise, go back to Great Britain.

Back to Great Britain

Or Go Back Home

TUATHA DE DANNAN
Irish Invaders from the Southern Seas

The Tuatha Dé Dannan were described as physically outstanding; tall, red-haired, fair-skinned, powerful and aristocratic beings who mingled with mortals and yet remained aloof and superior to them. Their principal residences were in and around Brú na Bóinne, or the Boyne Valley, where Newgrange and the other great monuments stand today.

While there is vagueness in Irish tradition concerning individuals of other invading races, there is by contrast a great wealth of detail concerning the heroes and heroines of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

Across to Skara Brae, or go back to Great Britain. Or, Go Back Home.

Some of these peoples left Ancient Ireland, supposedly in search of new lands. They moved south and east, into Assyria, but kept moving across Europe, settling first in Scandanavia, and later in Alba (Scotland) and "The Northern Isles". This may well be the origin of the fair skin and reddish hair found in the northern Scandanavians and, later in time, the Celts. Perhaps the more brutish ones looked a little like this. They were originally giant in size, but over the course of time and Christianity, they dwindled in both size and importance. They were great masters of magick, who were said to have come from the stars to teach earth's children about love and harmony.

For a well-rounded look into the origins of peoples such as these, closely linked with the Eastern European Scythians, click here. They may well even be one and the same race.

While all the texts describe other invaders as coming by sea, the Tuatha Dé Danann are described as coming in dark clouds "sailing the high air and the low air", landing on the mountains

of Conmaicne Rein in Connemara and casting darkness for three days over the face of the sun. It was on a Monday, on the first of May (Beltene), that they landed in Ireland, and immediately set fire to their magical ships.

They are described in Cath Maige Tuired as "the most handsome and delightful company, the fairest of form, the most distinguished in weaponry and apparel, skilled in music and sports, the most gifted in intellect and temperament that ever came to Ireland.

"That tribe was bravest of all and inspired fear and dread in their enemies for the Tuatha Dé excelled all the races of the world in their proficiency in every art."

In the Book of the Dun Cow it is said that the learned did not know where the Tuatha Dé were from, but alludes to the fact that they came from the heavens, on account of their intelligence and the excellence of their knowledge of the otherworld.

Another early manuscript states that they were worshipped as Gods, while a Christian poet writing about 1,000 A.D. finds it necessary to comment that "though he enumerates them, he does not worship them." Other texts refer to them as "the men of art" and " the tribe of all the arts."

But the Tuatha Dé, upon arrival in Ancient Ireland, were not welcomed by the current residents of Ireland, the Fir Bolg. After a time of negotiation, the two sides joined battle. The Fir Bolg were defeated, but they had given such a good fight that the Tuatha Dé let them keep Connaught and took the rest of Ireland. Likewise, the Fir Bolg also held the Tuatha Dé with much repect.

At some point in time they decided to go underground into another dimension of space and time, the entrances to which are at many sites around Ireland; one of the most famous being Newgrange. It is unclear how this was achieved, and the reason why is also a confused point. They were then believed to be living under mounds and fairy raths and cairns, and also the land of "Tír nan Óg" (Tyeer-nahn-ohgg), the Land of Youth, a mythical island to the west of Ireland. Placenames in Ireland with the pre-nouns Lis, Rath, and Shee are associated with these people; for example Lismore, Lisdoonvarna, Sheemore, and Rathfarnham. They became known as the people of the Sidhe (mounds), and down through the ages the Sidhe have been in contact with mortals giving protection, healing and even teaching some of their skills to mortals - Smithcraft or the working of metals being one such skill. The myths state that whenever a host of the Sidhe appears there is a strange sound like the humming of thousands of bees, and a whirlwind appears. It is believed, that on the ancient Celtic feast of Samhain, which is celebrated on the last day of October, the Tuatha Dé Dannan would sometimes allow certain mortals to enter their realm.

Much of the myths surrounding the Tuatha Dé are inconsequential for the purposes of these pages. Suffice it to say, they were a highly advanced race of beings that arrived in Ancient Ireland, built edifices such as Newgrange, and left such a strong mark on the original inhabitants that their memory was carried forever more. One must ask why, and where they had originally come from.

Figure 1: Image of Ossian, one of Cuchulainn's men, recieving inspiration from the Tuatha Dé Dannan. Click for larger image.

They were purported to have come from across the seas to the south of Ireland. With them they brought four great magical treasures: the Lia Fáil or Stone of Destiny which shrieked under the rightful monarch of Ireland at the time of his coronation; the Spear of Lugh which would brook no defeat of the warrior who wielded it; the Sword of Nuada (Cliamh Solais the Sword of Fire) from which no one could escape once it was drawn; and the Cauldron of the Dagda from which none came away hungry.