Ireland Before the Celts, Part 2

When the Gaelic Milesians landed in Ireland, they burned their ships as a sign that they were there to stay.

If the haunting beauty of Celtic music stirs you, if the intertwining knots and spirals of Celtic art speak to your soul, and your psyche longs for the warm generosity of Celtic hospitality, you might find yourself dreaming of Ireland. But there’s more to Eire than its fine arts and warm people. It’s a land of history and mystery. Scattered across its vibrant green meadows and rocky cliffs are ancient structures—burial cairns, standing stones, and hill forts—that speak of the Mesolithic and Neolithic people who lived, worshipped, fought, and died here. But, while the monuments they left behind provide a tangible experience of their existence, the memory of who they were is woven in mist.

Archaeologists, through analysis of artifacts and carbon dating, say the first Irish inhabited the island in the Middle and New Stone Ages, followed by more settlers arriving during the Iron and Bronze Ages. Myths, legends, and folklore bring them to life in stories culled from oral history, filled with intriguing characters and abundant magic. But myths and legends exist in variants and cannot be taken as literal history.

One thing scholars agree on, however, is that these early Irish, except for the final immigrants, were not Celtic. Who were they then?

For centuries, scholars believed the medieval Lebor Gabála Érenn (aka Book of Invasions) held the authoritative answer to that question. It names six groups of people who successively inhabited Ireland. Until the 19^th century, the anonymous manuscript was considered history. Now, scholars regard it as an origin myth, an attempt by the Celtic Christian author to knit together Judeo-Christian scripture and Irish oral history and mythology.

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Admittedly, the Book of Invasions may not give the hard facts and specific details we moderns crave. However, as a folklorist, I believe the stories contain particles of truth. Oral tradition stories retain the collective memory of a people and give insight into its culture. Thus, in Part 1 of “Ireland Before the Celts,” I told the stories of the first three groups of invader settlers to Ireland per the Book of Invasions.

Today’s post focuses on the other, more famous final three: the Fir Bolg (or Belly Men), the Tuatha de Danann (the future faeries), and the Milesians (the Gaelic Celts). They are the stuff of Irish mythology and folklore!

So, journey with me through the ancient mists, and let’s explore together how these peoples created the intertwining knot that is Irish identity.

The Nemedians Return (Sort of)

As I mentioned above, Part 1 detailed the first three groups who came to Ireland.

According to the Book of Invasions, they were the People of Cessair, the Partholónians, and the Nemedians. Here, in brief, are their stories. Cessair, a granddaughter of Noah, gathered a group of fifty women and three men together with the hope of avoiding the coming flood (yes, that one). They sailed to the beautiful, uninhabited island thinking its state of original purity would preserve it from the wrath of God. Not long after arriving, two of the men, overwhelmed by trying to satisfy all the women, died. Fintan, the remaining man, ran for the hills. Then the Flood came, washing the women out to sea. Fintan shapeshifted into a salmon and lived for another 5,500 years!

Next, the Partholónians arrived. They were industrious, clearing forests to make way for farming. They also built monuments. But the entire population was wiped out in a week by a plague. Tragic.

Then came a group led by Nemed, a many-times great-grandchild of Noah. They did a great job of continuing to develop Ireland, clearing more land and building not only monuments, but forts and settlements. Soon, their population had increased to tens of thousands of people. They were doing well, but there was one major obstacle to their happiness: the Formorians.

The Formorians were a monstrous race who scholars think represented potentially hostile natural forces such as darkness, the sea, and chaos.

The who? Where did they come from? The Formorians are a bit of a twist in this tale because they are not invaders. They didn’t come to the island. They were born there. Some scholars say they are a personification of natural forces, such as storms, chaos, and the sea.

But they are presented in later versions as the supernatural and monstrous offspring of Fintan and the goddess, Banba. As a storyteller, I like the characters better than the abstract symbolism, but that version also makes more sense storywise. For years, the Formorians terrorized the Nemedians until the oppressed people rose up and attacked them. It’s hard to attack chaos.

So, the Nemedians battle against the Formorians and, at first, have success. But then they attack Conand’s Tower, a battle that results in devastating loss. Only thirty Nemedians survive. They abandon Ireland, dispersing in three directions. One group goes to the nearby island that becomes known later as Britannia. Another goes to Greece, and the third goes “north.”

Over two hundred years later, the descendants of the Nemedians. They become known as the Fir Bolg,

The Fir Bolg: Slaves Who Became High Kings

The Nemedians who fled to Greece did not have an easy time in their new home. The Greeks enslaved them. They remained in Greece for a couple hundred years and became known as the Fir Bolg, often translated as "sack men." Most scholars say the name is a reference to them having been forced to carry bags of earth, either as their work or as a way to hinder them from escaping.

A smaller number of scholars translates their name as Belly Men. In Irish, fir means “men” and the modifier bolg means “belly.” Whether or not they were hampered by sacks of soil or big bellies, these Nemedian descendants managed to break free of their captures. Then, felting the call of their ancestral home, they set sail for Ireland.

The Fir Bolg were hard-working and determined. The Tuatha de Danann were cultured and magical.

Surprisingly, it had remained uninhabited, except for the Formorians. Undeterred by the fierce enemies of their ancestors, the Fir Bolg settled into their new homeland. They proceeded with serious industry.  Like the Nemedians and the earlier Partholónians, the Fir Bolg cleared land, built monuments, and established settlements. Also, like the Partholónians, they divided the island into provinces, each one governed by a leader.

    But they did something different as well. They decided there should be one person to rule over all the other leaders. So, the Fir Bolg gave Ireland its first High King, Sláine mac Dela. Six more Fir Bolg High Kings would follow him.

They had to fend off periodic attacks by the Formorians, but they held their own. However, their rule of Ireland lasted only a little over three decades. The arrival of a new group of invaders—the Tuatha de Danann—signaled the beginning of the end for the Fir Bolg’s reign.

The People of the Goddess Danu

The Tuatha de Danann later became the gods and goddesses of Irish mythology and the faeries of Irish folklore.

The Tuatha de Danann, the People of the Goddess Danu, are not just a new wave of invaders. They are are cultured, intelligent, magical, and ready to take over. What chance do the mortal Fir Bolg have of repelling them?

Don’t count the Fir Bolg out. They are made of determined stuff. After all, they didn’t escape slavery just to have these new arrivals displace them. So, they turn to an unexpected source of assistance: the Formorians. After all, they are supernatural, and they’re none too happy about invaders either.

Although there are raids and scrimmages, it all really came down to two major battles. In the First Battle of Mag Tuiread, fought in the western Irish province of Connacht, things go badly for the Fir Bolg. Their king, Eochaid mac Eirc, was killed. Some sources say that the Fir Bolg then fled Ireland, but others say that the Tuatha de Danann offered to let them stay in one province. They chose Connacht. Thus, some argue that there are Fir Bolg descendants living among the modern Irish.

The Tuatha de Danann technically won the battle, but they suffered a major loss. Their king, Nuada, was seriously injured. His hand was cut off, making him physically imperfect and, therefore, ineligible for kingship. The de Danann chose as their new king Bres, a somewhat surprising choice. His mother was a member of the Tuatha de Danann, but his father was Formorian. While some sources name a Formorian prince as his father, others state Bres is the son of the fearsome Balor. More about him in a minute.

Bres did not make a good impression as king. He ruled harshly and was perceived as favoring the Formorians while mistreating the de Danann. In addition, he was inhospitable to his guests, an unforgivable offense among the early Irish and, later, among the Celts.

After a time, Nuada acquired a silver hand that was attached by magic and he was restored to kingship. Bres went into exile, but not passively. He worked with the Formorians to get his kingship back. This led to the Second Battle of Mag Tuired.

This brings us to Balor, king of the Formorians, and a starring character in Irish mythology. Balor had only one eye but, with that eye, he could kill people simply by looking at them!  In the second battle, he killed King Nuada. It proved his undoing. Lugh, a young warrior of mixed de Danann and Formorian blood, took revenge on Balor. He had a magic spear that always hit its mark but, in a David and Goliath style move, Lugh instead slings a stone at the Formorian king. The stone hits Balor’s eye and knocks it out. Balor falls down dead. In an ironic twist to this story, Lugh happens to be Balor’s grandson.

Warrior-poet Lugh won the Second Battle of Mag Tuired for the Tuatha de Danann. He would go on to be Irish mythology's sun god and the namesake of Lughnasa.

So, the Formorians are defeated once and for all. Lugh becomes one of the greatest heroes of Irish mythology. He is handsome and does everything well. Not only is he an excellent warrior, he’s an exceptional athlete, and a talented artist. He also happens to become, among other things, the Irish sun god, as well as the namesake of the Celtic fire festival of Lughnasa.

The Coming of the Celts

But just when things are looking golden for the Tuatha de Danann, new invaders show up. These are the Milesians, the ancestors of the Gaelic Irish. The Celts have finally arrived! And, even though they are mortal, they do battle against the Tuatha de Danann. Perhaps surprisingly, the Milesians eventually win. Of course, they had an advantage the Fir Bolg lacked: druids. They may have been mortal, but the learned and mystical druids knew a thing or two about magic. Enough, it turns out, to defeat the Tuatha de Danann.

The de Danann retreated underground and into the Otherworld. Over time, they become the gods and goddesses of Irish myth. Eventually, their continued presence transitions into the faeries of Irish folklore.

Two faerie women discuss plans for mischief as they prepare to leave the Otherworld on Beltane

A brief word about the Otherworld. It occupies the same space as the human world, just in a different dimension and hidden by the veil. So, if the faeries live in the Otherworld, that means the Tuatha de Danann are still present in Ireland. Folklore says they flood into the human world at Beltane (May 1^st) and Samhain (November 1^st). Individuals have been known to slip through the veil at other times, as well, and either help or cause mischief—as the mood strikes them.

Legacy

Do the Tuatha de Danann live on in the Irish Otherworld? Are the descendants of the Fir Bolg living among the Gaelic Irish in Connacht or elsewhere on the island? I don’t know. But the palpable presence of the ancient peoples who inhabited Ireland before the Gaels is undeniable. It makes itself known in the still-standing stone circles and burial chambers, in the on-going discovery of the artifacts they left behind, and in the Irish collective memory that is the mythology and folklore. And the presence of the early peoples may be found in Irish culture, too.

Bres, the Tuatha de Danann king, was ousted in part for his lack of hospitality. The Celts practiced hospitality as a matter of social law, and even today, the Irish are renowned for it. King Nuada lost his kingship because of physical imperfection, a rule that would topple Celtic kings as well. The High Kingship, which became an important part of Celtic Irish history, started with the Fir Bolg, and the Celts embraced it.

Both the Fir Bolg and the Partholónians divided the island into provinces, as had the Partholónians before them. It still has four provinces (although some say there is a mystical fifth province, too.

Strong, intelligent women are an integral part of Irish culture. Even the first people to inhabit Ireland (according to the Book of Invasions) were led by a woman called Cessair.

Irish women are known for their intelligence and strength. Stories of intelligent, strong women leaders show up throughout the tales of the early Irish. Don't forget the first inhabitants who came to Ireland were led by a woman, Cessair.

Finally, even Fintan, who turned into a salmon to escape the flood, has a connection with Celtic mythology via the story of the Salmon of Wisdom.

But here’s the question. Did the Celtic Irish inherit cultural values from the ancient settlers? Or do these hallmarks of Gaelic Irish culture show up in stories about the early peoples because those stories were told and eventually written down by Celts? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

*I apologize for the delay in getting this post out. I've been sick. Thank you for your patience.

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    All artwork for this post (except for the Ukrainian flag and the GIF) by Christine Dorman via Bing Image Creator.

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