Gods & Goddesses
The gods and goddesses of Ireland — pre-Christian and Christian both — that the Irish language still names.
27 entries.
| Irish | Ogham | How to say it | English | Source | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aengus | ᚛ᚐᚓᚅᚌᚒᚄ᚜ | AYN-guss | aengus | gaelspellCELT — Lebor Gabála | Aengus Óg, god of love and youth. Son of the Dagda. His palace is the Brú na Bóinne (Newgrange). |
| Airmid | ᚛ᚐᚔᚏᚋᚔᚇ᚜ | AR-mid | airmid | CELT — Lebor Gabála | Airmid — daughter of Dian Cécht, sister of Miach. Goddess of healing herbs. When her brother was killed, the herbs that grew from his grave revealed all medicine; her father scattered them so no one would know all cures. |
| An Cailleach | ᚛ᚐᚅ ᚉᚐᚔᚂᚂᚓᚐᚉᚆ᚜ | un KAL-yukh | the cailleach | Foclóir | The Cailleach — the divine hag, ancestress and creator-shaper of Ireland’s landscape. Mountains and bogs are her work. |
| An Mhór-Ríoghan | ᚛ᚐᚅ ᚋᚆᚑᚏᚏᚔᚑᚌᚆᚐᚅ᚜ | un VOR REE-uh-gun | the morrigan | CELT — Lebor Gabála | The Morrigan — phantom queen, goddess of war and battle-fate. Appears as a raven over the battlefield. Triple goddess (with Badb and Macha). |
| Badb | ᚛ᚁᚐᚇᚁ᚜ | byve | badb | CELT — Lebor Gabála | Badb — battle-crow goddess. Sister of the Morrigan. |
| Balor | ᚛ᚁᚐᚂᚑᚏ᚜ | BAL-ur | balor | CELT — Lebor Gabála | Balor of the Evil Eye. Fomorian king. His one terrible eye killed whoever looked into it. Killed by his grandson Lugh at the Second Battle of Mag Tuired. |
| Banba | ᚛ᚁᚐᚅᚁᚐ᚜ | BAN-uh-vuh | banba | gaelspellCELT — Lebor Gabála | One of the three queens of the Tuatha Dé Danann (with Ériu and Fódla). Ancient poetic name for Ireland. |
| Bríd | ᚛ᚁᚏᚔᚇ᚜ | breed | bridget | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellCELT — Lebor Gabála | Brigid. Goddess of poetry, smithcraft, and healing in pre-Christian Ireland; also the Christian saint whose feast (1 February) marks the spring festival of Imbolc. |
| Bóand | ᚛ᚁᚑᚐᚅᚇ᚜ | BOH-und | bóand | CELT — Lebor Gabála | Bóand — goddess of the river Boyne, which carries her name. Wife of Nechtan; lover of the Dagda. |
| Cailleach Bhéarra | ᚛ᚉᚐᚔᚂᚂᚓᚐᚉᚆ ᚁᚆᚓᚐᚏᚏᚐ᚜ | KAL-yukh VAY-ruh | cailleach bhéarra | Foclóir | The Old Woman of Beara. The Cailleach in her Cork manifestation; lived seven youths and seven old ages, shaping landscape with her hammer. |
| Crom Cruach | ᚛ᚉᚏᚑᚋ ᚉᚏᚒᚐᚉᚆ᚜ | krum KROO-ukh | crom cruach | Foclóir | Crom Cruach — pre-Christian idol said to be on Magh Sleacht (Plain of Adoration). Tradition says Pádraig destroyed it. |
| Críost | ᚛ᚉᚏᚔᚑᚄᚈ᚜ | kreest | christ | WiktionarygaelspellFoclóirTeanglann | Christ. Latin loan. |
| Dagda | ᚛ᚇᚐᚌᚇᚐ᚜ | DAG-duh | dagda | CELT — Lebor Gabála | The Good God. Father-god of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Owner of the cauldron that never empties, the club that kills and revives, the harp that orders the seasons. |
| Dian Cécht | ᚛ᚇᚔᚐᚅ ᚉᚓᚉᚆᚈ᚜ | DEE-un kayt | dian cécht | CELT — Lebor Gabála | Dian Cécht — physician of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Made Nuada’s silver arm. Killed his own son Miach for outdoing him in healing. |
| Donn | ᚛ᚇᚑᚅᚅ᚜ | dun | donn | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellFoclóir | Donn — god of the dead. Dwells on Tech Duinn, an island off Munster’s coast where the souls gather. Same word means ‘brown.’ |
| Fódla | ᚛ᚃᚑᚇᚂᚐ᚜ | FOH-luh | fódla | gaelspellCELT — Lebor Gabála | Third of the three queens of the Tuatha Dé Danann. |
| Goibhniu | ᚛ᚌᚑᚔᚁᚆᚅᚔᚒ᚜ | GIV-nyoo | goibhniu | CELT — Lebor Gabála | Goibhniu — smith of the Tuatha Dé Danann. His weapons never missed; his ale conferred immortality. |
| Lir | ᚛ᚂᚔᚏ᚜ | leer | lir | gaelspellCELT — Lebor Gabála | Lir — sea-god, father of Manannán. The Children of Lir (Clann Lir) were turned into swans by their stepmother for 900 years. |
| Lugh | ᚛ᚂᚒᚌᚆ᚜ | loo | lugh | gaelspellCELT — Lebor Gabála | Lugh of the Long Arm. King of the Tuatha Dé Danann; god of skill, oaths, and harvest. The August festival Lughnasa is named for him. |
| Macha | ᚛ᚋᚐᚉᚆᚐ᚜ | MAH-khuh | macha | WiktionarygaelspellCELT — TáinCELT — Lebor Gabála | Macha — horse-goddess. Cursed the men of Ulster with labour-pains in their hour of need (the source of Cú Chulainn’s solo defence in the Táin). |
| Manannán | ᚛ᚋᚐᚅᚐᚅᚅᚐᚅ᚜ | MAN-uh-nawn | manannán | CELT — Lebor Gabála | Manannán mac Lir. Sea-god, ferryman to the otherworld, lord of Tír na nÓg. |
| Manannán mac Lir | ᚛ᚋᚐᚅᚐᚅᚅᚐᚅ ᚋᚐᚉ ᚂᚔᚏ᚜ | MAN-uh-nawn muk LEER | manannán mac lir | CELT — Lebor Gabála | Manannán mac Lir — son of Lir. Sea-god, ferryman to the otherworld, lord of Tír na nÓg. Owner of the Wave Sweeper boat that travels without sails. |
| Medb | ᚛ᚋᚓᚇᚁ᚜ | mayv | medb | CELT — Táin | Queen Medb of Connacht. Demanded the Brown Bull of Cooley; opponent of Cú Chulainn in the Táin. Originally a sovereignty goddess; later folded into the historical-king tradition. |
| Miach | ᚛ᚋᚔᚐᚉᚆ᚜ | MEE-ukh | miach | CELT — Lebor Gabála | Miach — son of Dian Cécht, surpassed his father in healing by regrowing Nuada’s flesh-and-blood arm; killed by his jealous father. |
| Máire | ᚛ᚋᚐᚔᚏᚓ᚜ | MAW-uh-ruh | máire | ApertiumTatoebagaelspellFoclóir | |
| Ogma | ᚛ᚑᚌᚋᚐ᚜ | UG-muh | ogma | CELT — Lebor Gabála | Ogma — god of eloquence and writing. Said to have invented the Ogham script (named for him). Tuatha Dé Danann. |
| Ériu | ᚛ᚓᚏᚔᚒ᚜ | AY-roo | ériu | gaelspellCELT — Lebor Gabála | Ériu — the goddess from whom Ireland (Éire) takes her name. One of the three queens of the Tuatha Dé Danann. |