In the medieval Irish text Lebor Gabála Érenn (The Book of the Invasions of Ireland), the history of Ireland is described as a sequence of different peoples arriving one after another. This pseudo-historical narrative blends elements of Biblical stories with native Irish mythology and was intended to give Ireland an origin story comparable to those of other nations. Although the *Lebor Gabála Érenn* was considered historical in the Middle Ages, scholars today see it as a mythological construction.

According to the *Lebor Gabála Érenn*, Ireland was first settled by Cessair, the daughter of Bith, a son of Noah. She led a group of fifty women and three men to Ireland to escape the Flood. This settlement ended tragically, with all but Fintan mac Bóchra perishing. Fintan survived by transforming into various animals and later became a source of wisdom in subsequent tales.

After the Flood, Partholón arrived with a group of twenty-four men and twenty-four women. He introduced agriculture, livestock herding and housing to Ireland. His people were wiped out by a plague.

They were followed by Nemed, who with his followers built forts and fought against the Fomorians, a hostile people already present in Ireland. After heavy losses and an oppressive tribute imposed by the Fomorians, most of the Nemedians were killed by a plague. The survivors fled Ireland.

One of the groups descended from the Nemedians returned to Ireland as the Fir Bolg. They established a kingdom and divided the land into five provinces. Their rule ended with the arrival of the Tuatha Dé Danann, with whom they fought and lost the First Battle of Mag Tuired.

 

 

The Tuatha Dé Danann, literally “Tribes of the goddess Danu,” form a central group in Irish mythology.

Their story is primarily told in the Lebor Gabála Érenn.

 

They were said to come from four mythical northern cities: Falias, Gorias, Murias and Findias. In these cities they learned various arts, including magic, healing and metalwork.

These symbolised sovereignty, invincibility, inevitable victory and abundance.

 

In the battle against the Fir Bolg mentioned earlier, their king Nuada lost his arm, which forced him to give up his kingship. Later, after receiving a silver arm, he regained his position. The Second Battle of Mag Tuired was fought against the Fomorians. In this battle Nuada was killed by Balor, but Balor was in turn slain by Lugh, Balor’s grandson, who then became king.

 

The rule of the Tuatha Dé Danann ended with the arrival of the Milesians, who according to the mythology are the ancestors of the modern Irish. After their defeat, the Tuatha Dé Danann withdrew into the *sídhe*, underground mounds, and became associated with the fairy folk in later folklore. Many such mounds still dot the Irish landscape today. No farmer would dare to dig into or damage them it would bring bad luck. Experience from many journeys shows that these places are energetically highly interesting.

 

The name Tuatha Dé Danann literally means “Tribes of the goddess Danu.” Tuatha is the plural of tuath (tribe, people), Dé is an inflected form of *dia* (god), and Danann is a genitive form understood as “of Danu.” Danu herself is a somewhat mysterious figure. She is hardly described explicitly in Old Irish texts. She does not appear as an active goddess in the major surviving narratives. Her identification as a maternal or creative goddess comes mainly from later interpretations, comparisons with other Indo-European goddesses, and the fact that the group is named after her. Many modern authors call her a mother goddess, but this is largely speculative and based on comparative mythology, not directly on medieval Irish sources.

The association with water, rivers such as the Danube (Danuvius), and fertility is a reconstruction from linguistic and religious-historical comparisons, but these are not supported by direct literary or archaeological evidence within Ireland itself.

 

There are no scientifically supported connections between the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Anunnaki, the gods of the Mesopotamian pantheon. The idea of a link appears in esoteric and alternative publications, but is not accepted by any recognised linguist, archaeologist or historian. The Anunnaki belong to a completely different cultural, linguistic and geographical context than the Celtic world. Attempts to connect these two mythological traditions are not supported by scholarship. It is an intriguing topic, however, and because similar names appear elsewhere in the world, the question arises whether the stories might contain a deeper kernel of truth.

 

Some theories suggest that the Tuatha Dé Danann originally came from Scythia. These theories are based mainly on the Lebor Gabála Érenn, which states that the ancestors of the Irish came from Scythia. Medieval Irish scholars accepted this origin narrative as historical fact. In the 17th century, authors such as Geoffrey Keating in his Foras Feasa ar Éirinn also treated the Scythian origin as historical, though without archaeological evidence.

 

These theories also served a political purpose: legitimizing an ancient and proud Irish past during times of colonial tension. There is, however, no direct proof that the Tuatha Dé Danann actually came from Scythia.

 

Although… In the toponymy of neighbouring Scotland, several place names appear with Armenian roots. And Callanish, the famous stone circle in the Hebrides, is built according to the same design as Carahunge in Armenia. There is still much to discover here.

 

The comparison with Scotland is justified: it is essentially the same culture that constructed monuments such as Queen Maeve’s Tomb, Newgrange, Callanish and the great stone circles of the Orkney Islands. Objects found in the tomb of Knowth in Ireland have also been traced back to Orkney.