Hype for the Future 82A: The P-Celtic and Q-Celtic Split

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/21/hype-for-the-future-82a-the-p-celtic-and-q-celtic-split/

Tuatha De Danann

This “name” is usually translated as “folk of the goddess Danu.” They are also known by the earlier name: Tuath De (“tribe of the gods” or “divine tribe”). They’re a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deities of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland.

The Tuatha De Danann are often pictured as kings, queens, druids, bards, warriors, heroes, healers, & craftsmen who have supernatural powers. They live in the Otherworld but interact with humans & the human world. They’re associated with sidhe.

Their traditional rivals are the Fomorians (Fomoire), who might represent the destructive powers of nature, & whom the Tuatha De Danann defeated in the Battle of Mag Tuired.

Prominent members include the Dagda (“the great god”), The Morrigan (“the great queen” or “phantom queen”), Lugh, Nuada, Aengus, Brigid, Manannan, Dian Cecht the healer, & Goibniu the smith, 1 of the Tri De Dana (“three gods of craft”).

They’re immune to ageing & sickness, & who have magic powers. The powers most often attributed to them are control over the weather & the elements, & the ability to shape shift themselves & other things.

They’re also said to control the fertility of the land. The tale De Gabail in t-Sida says the 1st Gaels had to establish friendship with the Tuatha De Danann before they could raise crops & herds.

They live in the Otherworld, which is described as either a parallel world or a heavenly land beyond the sea or under the earth’s surface. Many of them are associated with specific places in the landscape, especially the sidh mounds.

These are the ancient burial mounds & passage tombs which are entrances to Otherworld realms. The Tuatha De Danann can hide themselves with a feth fiada (“magic mist”) & appear to humans only when they wish to.

In euhemerized accounts, the Tuatha De Danann were descended from Nemed, leader of a previous wave of inhabitants of Ireland. In non-euhemerized accounts, they’re descended from Danu/Anu, a mother goddess. They came from 4 cities to the north of Ireland (Falias, Gorias, Murias, & Finias), where architecture, the arts, & magic.

According to Lebor Gabala Erenn, they came to Ireland “in dark clouds” & “landed on the mountains of the Conmaicne Rein in Connachta.” Otherwise Sliabh an Iarainn, “and they brought a darkness over the sun for 3 days & 3 nights.”

Sliabh an Iarainn (anglicized Slieve Anierin) is a mountain in County Leitrim, Ireland. It’s part of the Cuilcagh Mountains.

They immediately burnt the ships “so that they should not of retreating to them, & the smoke & the mist that came from the vessels filled the neighbouring land & air. Therefore it was conceived that they had arrived in clouds of mist.”

Led by King Nuada, they fought the First Battle of Magh Tuireadh on the west coast, in which they defeated & displaced the native Fir Bolg, who then inhabited Ireland. In the battle, Nuada lost an arm to their champion, Sreng.

Since Nuada was no longer “unblemished,” he couldn’t continue as king & was replaced by the half-Fomorian Bres, who turned out to be a tyrant.

The doctor Dian Cecht replaced Nuada’s arm with a working silver 1. (Think Bucky from Captain America.) He was reinstated as king. Back in those days, if a king wasn’t physically whole, then he wasn’t fit to be king.

However, Dian Cecht’s son, Miach, was dissatisfied with the replacement. So he recited the spell, “adult fri halt do and feith fri feth” (joint to joint of it & sinew to sinew), which caused flesh to grow over the silver over the course of 9 days & nights.

In a fit of jealous rage, Dian Cecht killed his own son. Because of Nuada’s restoration as king, Bres whined to his family & dad, Elatha, who sent him to look for help from King Balor of the Fomorians.

The Tuatha De Danann fought the Second Battle of Magh Tuireadh against the Fomorians. King Nuada was killed by King Balor’s poisonous eye. But KIng Balor was killed by Lugh (who was the champion of the Tuatha De Danann), who then took over as king.

A 3rd battle was fought against a wave of invaders, the Milesians, from the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula (present-day Galicia & Northern Portugal). These were descendants of Mil Espaine (who are thought to represent the Goidelic Celts).

The Milesians encountered 3 Tuatha De Danann goddesses, Eriu, Banba, & Fodla, who asked that the island be named after them. Eriu is the origin of the modern name Eire (which is the Irish language name for Ireland), & Banba & Fodla are still sometimes used as poetic names for Ireland.

Their 2 husbands (Mac Cuill, Mac Cecht, & Mac Greine) were kings of the Tuatha De Danann and created a magical storm in an attempt to drive them away. The Milesian poet calmed the sea with his verse, then his people landed & defeated the Tuatha De Danann at Tailtiu.

When Amergin was called upon to divide the land between the Tuatha De Danann & his own people, he cleverly allotted the portion above ground to the Milesians & the portion underground to the Tuatha De Danann.

The Tuatha De Danann were led underground into the Sidhe mounds by Manannan mac Lir & Tir na nOg onto a flowery plain/plain of honey attested to in the Voyage of Bran.

The Tuatha De Danann brought 4 magical treasure with them to Ireland, 1 a piece from their 4 cities: Dagda’s Cauldron, The Spear of Lugh, Lia Fail (The Stone of Fal), & Claiomh Solais (The Sword of Light).

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#aengus #amergin #anu #banba #battleOfMagTuired #bres #brigid #captainAmerica #celts #christian #claiomhSolais #conmaicneRein #connachta #countyLeitrim #cuilcaghMountains #dagda #dagdasCauldron #danu #deGabailInTSida #dianCecht #elatha #eriu #fethFiada #finais #firBolg #firstBattleOfMaghTuireadh #fodla #fomoire #fomorians #gaelic #gaels #galicia #goibniu #goidelic #gorias #iberianPeninsula #ireland #irish #irishMythology #kingBalor #kingNuada #leborGabalaErenn #liaFail #lugh #macCecht #macCuill #macGreine #manannan #manannanMacLir #miach #milEspaine #milesians #nemed #northernPortugal #otherworld #sidh #sidhe #sliabhAnIarainn #slieveAnierin #sreng #tailtiu #theMorrigan #theSpearOfLugh #theStoneOfFal #theSwordOfLight #tirNaNog #triDeDana #tuathDe #tuathaDeDanann2 #voyageOfBran

Banshees

A banshee (Bean si in Modern Irish & ben side, in Old Irish, meaning “woman of the fairy mound,” or “fairy woman”) is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member. She usually does this by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or keening. Keening is a traditional form of vocal lament for the dead in the Gaelic Celtic tradition. This is known to have taken place in Ireland & Scotland.

Banshees are strongly associated with specific Irish families. The belief is that the banshee is a family spirit attached to a particular lineage. Her mournful wail/cry is heard only by family members as a warning of an imminent death.

Another of the banshee characteristics is their unwavering attachment to certain Gaelic families such as the O’Neills, O’Brians, O’Connors, O’Grady, & Kavanaghs, among others. Some traditions hold that the banshee is the ghost. This is perhaps a mother of a famous poet/singer from the family who died tragically. In this sense, she’s an ancestral spirit tied to the bloodline & the land.

She appears or is heard only to mourn & warn the family of an impending death. Often before anyone has received news of it. This direct, specific role makes her an inherently familiar guardian or omen for that clan/family.

They aren’t family pets, the banshees presence is a known, if terrifying, part of the family’s history & destiny, linking her fate to theirs across generations.

A banshee is an autonomous entity, a powerful fairy-woman (bean sidhe) or ghost, isn’t under the control of any living person.

Sometimes she has long streaming hair, which she may be seen combing, with some legends specifying she can only be keen while combing her hair. She wears a gray cloak over a green dress. Her eyes are red from continual weeping. She’s sometimes dressed in white with red hair & a ghastly complexion.

In Ireland & parts of Scotland, a traditional part of mourning is the keening woman (bean chaointe), who wails a lament. This keening woman may be a professional, in some cases. The best Keeners would be in high demand.

Irish legends talks about a lament being sung by a fairy woman, or banshee. She would sing it when a family member died or was about to die. Even if the person had died far away & news of their death hasn’t come yet. In those cases, her wailing would be the 1st warning the household had of the death.

The banshee is also a predictor of death. If someone is about to enter a situation where it’s unlikely they’ll come out alive, she’ll warn people by screaming/wailing. This gives rise to the banshee also being known as a wailing woman. The banshee was also linked with the death coach. The banshee is said to either summon the death coach with her keening or travel in tandem with it.

When several banshees show up at 1 time, it usually indicates the death of someone holy or great. The story sometimes tells that the woman (though called a fairy) was a ghost. She’s often a specific murdered woman, or a man who passed away in childbirth.

In some parts of Leinster, she’s referred to as the bean chaointe or ban nigheachain (“little washerwoman”) or nigheag na h-ath (“little washer at the ford”). She’s seen washing bloodstained clothes or armor of those who are about to die.

In Welsh folklore, there’s also a similar being known as the cyhyraeth. The cyhyraeth gives a disembodied moaning voice before the person’s passing.

Some sources suggest that the banshees Laments only the descendants of pure Milesian stock of Ireland. The Milesians were the final race to settle in Ireland. The original belief appears to be associated with a number of ancient Irish families. According to tradition, a banshee wouldn’t lament or visit someone of Saxon or Norman descent or those who came to Ireland later.

Most, not all, of the last names associated with banshees have the “O” or “Mc/Mac” prefix. That means people with the last names of Goidelic origin. This means a family native to the Insular Celtic lands. Rather than those of the Norse, Anglo-Saxon, or Norman.

There are some exceptions to the banshee lore. A banshee may lament a person who’s been gifted with music & song.

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#AngloSaxon #BanNigheachain #Banshees #BeanChaointe #BeanNighe #BeanSi #beanSidhe #BenSide #Celtic #Cyhyraeth #DeathCoach #Gaelic #Goidelic #InsularCeltic #Ireland #IrishFolklore #Kavanaghs #keening #KeeningWoman #Milesian #ModernIrish #Norman #Norse #OBrians #OConnors #OGrady #ONeills #OldIrish #Poet #Saxon #Scotland #ScottishFolklore #Singer #WelshFolklore

Last Autumn I spent a couple of days in Creetown. So, let's have a look at some of its Gaelic and Viking history.

#Creetown #Galloway #DumfriesAndGalloway #Gàidhlig #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #ScottishGaelic #ScotsGaelic #Scotland #AilsaCraig #Vikings #VikingScotland #Goidelic #Celtic #History #VisitScotland

As t-Fhoghar chuir mi beagan làithean seachad ann am Baile a' Chrìch. Mar sin, nach toir sinn sùil air eachdraidh Gàidhealach is Lochlannach ann an Gall-Ghàidhealaibh

#Creetown #Galloway #DumfriesAndGalloway #Gàidhlig #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #ScottishGaelic #ScotsGaelic #Scotland #AilsaCraig #Vikings #VikingScotland #Goidelic #Celtic #History #VisitScotland

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/24/world/europe/isle-of-man-manx-language.html
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#manxgaelic #Goidelic #GoidelicLanguages