THE BOOK OF INVASIONS

IRELAND

Leabhar Gabhala Eireann, “The Book of the Conquest of Ireland,” is often referred to as The Book of Invasions. It represents Ireland’s foundation myth. The conquest in the title refers to the arrival of the Gaels in Ireland, but the surviving text is about the last of six waves of immigration.

The first immigration happened before the Flood and was led by Cesair, who was a daughter of Bith, son of Noah. She told her followers, “Take an idol, and worship it.”

All of these initial migrants died in a Great Flood. Cesair herself was drowned, but her brother Ladra was carried by the sea-current north along the eastern coast of Ireland, taking 16 maidens with him. He died “of excess of women” and was buried under a great mound on the shore, the first mortal man who went under the soil of

Ireland.

Fintan was the only one who survived from that first wave of immigrants, because he had the power to change himself into the shape of a salmon, an eagle, and a hawk. So he could be invoked as a witness to Irish history. He was summoned by the High King at the time when Christianity arrived; he was then the oldest man in Erin (Ireland) and he could recite its history in its entirety:

“I was in Erin

When Erin was a wilderness, until Agnoman ’s son came,

Nemedh, pleasant in his ways. ”

Next came Partholan and his followers. He fought a battle against a race of demonic beings known as the Fomhoire, and this was the first battle fought in Ireland. Partholan cleared four plains; before there had been only one. During his time seven lakes appeared. Many crafts and customs were instituted. The first guesthouse was built and the first beer brewed. But Partholan and his followers were wiped out by a plague.

The third invasion was led by Nemedh. Four lakes were formed in his time and 12 plains were cleared. By creating its physical features and naming them, this and the two earlier invasions were seen as giving Ireland its geographical identity.

After Nemedh’s death his people lived under the sway of the Fomhoire. Each year at the festival of Samhain they were required to pay in tribute two-thirds of their corn, their milk, and their children. They rose up against the tyranny of the Fomhoire and attacked their stronghold. Of the few who survived, some went to Greece and some to the north of the world. Those who went to Greece multiplied and eventually returned as the peoples known as the Fir Bholg, the Gailioin, and the Fir Dhombhnann.

By now the geography of Ireland had become as it is today. The main innovations credited to the Fir Bholg are political and social. They divided the island into five provinces: Ulster, Connaught, Leinster, Munster, and Meath. Meath was the area around the center of the island, Uisnech. The Fir Bholg also introduced the idea of sacred kingship. One of their kings, Eochaidh mac Eirc, was the prototype of a just king: “No rain fell during his reign, only dew; there was no year without harvest; falsehood was banished from Ireland; and he it was who established the rule of justice there.”

These people are the first in the story to have a foothold in history. The Gailioin may be the same as the Laighin, who gave their name to Leinster. The Fir Domhnann of Connaught are thought to relate to the Dumnonii tribe in Britain.

The next invasion was by the Tuatha de Danann, the People of the Goddess Danu. They had become versed in Druidry and the art of magic during their stay in the islands at the north of the world. They brought with them four talismans. One was the stone of Fail which shrieked under a lawful king. The second was the sword of Lugh—the sword that ensured victory. The third was the spear of Nuadha—the spear from which none could escape. The fourth was the cauldron of the Daghda— the cauldron which none would leave unsatisfied.

When these people arrived in Ireland they demanded the kingdom from the Fir Bholg; if they would not give the land up willingly, they would have to fight for it. This led to the First Battle of Magh Tuiredh, during which the Fir Bholg were defeated. But the supremacy of the Tuatha was not to last long; they soon had to defend their kingdom against the ancient foe: the Fomhoire.

All these events were a prelude to what followed: the coming of the Sons of Mil. They landed in south-west Ireland at Beltane and, as the poet Amhairgin set his right foot upon Irish soil, he sang this song in which he claimed to subsume all being within himself:

“I am an estuary into the sea.

I am a wave of the ocean.

I am the sound of the sea.

I am a powerful ox.

I am a hawk on a cliff.

I am a dewdrop in the sun.

I am a plant of beauty.

I am a boar for valour.

I am a salmon in a pool.

I am a lake in a plain.

I am the strength of art. ”

After defeating the Tuatha de Danann, the Sons of Mil set out for Tara. On the way they met the three goddesses of Ireland—Banbha, Fodla, and Eriu—each of whom made the Sons of Mil promise that the island would bear her name.

At Tara they found the three kings of the Tuatha—Mac Cuill, Mac Cecht, and Mac Greine—the husbands of the three goddesses. The Sons of Mil called on the three kings to surrender their kingdoms, but the kings claimed a respite, wanting to refer the matter to the judgment of the poet Amhairghin. The poet decided that the Sons of Mil should withdraw out to sea, beyond the ninth wave; to the Celts this was a magic boundary. When the Sons of Mill tried to cross it and land again, the Tuatha de Danann conjured a druidic wind that blew them still further out to sea. Amhairghin stood up and addressed the people of Ireland. But then the wind dropped and the sea calmed and the Sons of Mil were able to land again, and then they inflicted a final defeat on the Tuatha de Danann. This happened at Tailtiu, scene of the annual festival inaugurated by Lugh.

In spite of their defeat, the Tuatha de Danann kept the power of their magic arts. They were able to deprive the Gaels of corn and milk until they came to terms. The agreement was that Ireland should be divided into two: above ground and below. The Gaels were to live above ground, the Tuatha below. And so the Tuatha retreated underground. The Daghda assigned to each of their chiefs a fairy mound or sidh.

Throughout Ireland, ancient burial mounds are still regarded as the dwelling-place of fairies. In the seventh century, St. Patrick’s biographer referred to the gods who dwell in the Earth, a statement that shows that the early Christians accepted the mythic tradition about the Tuatha de Danann. People needed to explain the existence of the mounds (see Religion: The Daghda, Lugh; Symbols:

Shapeshifting).

BRAN

See The Ballad of Bran.