The Leabhar Gabhála Éireann is a collection of
narratives that are part of Ireland’s “mythological
cycle.” They present a fairly systematic set of etiological myths concerning the origins of a number
of Ireland’s features (the lakes and shaping of the
land, for example) and for a number of mainly
agricultural human practices (such as plowing or
churning). More important, the book presents the
Irish traditions concerning the settlement of their
own land as a series off invasions by a succession of
mythic or legendary peoples, including the Partholians, the Nemedians, the Fir Bolg, the divine
Túatha Dé Danann, and ultimately the Gaelic
Milesians. The text was begun perhaps in the
eighth century, and as many as five different versions were produced, all from relatively late manuscripts (though the ancient origin of much of the
material has been demonstrated), the most important being the Book of Leinster (ca. 1150).
The Book of Invasions is made up of 10 sections.
The first section deals with the Creation of the
world, followed by an account of the first settlers of
Ireland, identified as a son of Noah named Bith
and his daughter Cessair with her husband and a
number of others who, denied a place on Noah’s
ark, built their own boat and sailed for seven years
before landing in Munster. They are ultimately
wiped out by rising flood waters. It seems clear that
medieval Irish Christians, perhaps the monks who
produced the earliest manuscript, edited the Celtic
mythological material to make it conform to biblical history.
Parts three through seven of the Book of Invasions, which have been shown to be the earliest
parts of the book, detail several more waves of invasions. The first of these, the Partholians, come
to Ireland from the eastern Mediterranean. They
are said to have cleared four plains and created
seven lakes. The story says that they also introduced cattle, milling, and the brewing of beer into
Ireland. They are said to have fought with the Fomorians, a demonic race of underworld monsters.
But the Partholians are wiped out by a plague. The
Partholians are followed by the Nemhedhains, who
find Ireland by chance while sailing from Scythia.
They also fight the Fomorians, and are cruelly subjugated by the monsters, forced to pay a huge tribute to them—two-thirds of their goods—each
Samhain (the Irish fall festival that is precursor to
modern Halloween). Eventually the Nemhedhains
leave Ireland. The fourth invasion of Ireland described in The Book of Invasions is by the people
called the Fir Bolg. They are said to be descended
from the Nemhedhains. The Fir Bolg are credited
with dividing Ireland into its five traditional
provinces, and established a monarchy connected
with the goddess of the land, a “marriage” that insures the fertility of land and people.
The most important invasion of the mythological cycle is that of the Túatha Dé Danann (the
“People of the Goddess Danu”), who arrive, the
text says, from an island in the north. Many scholars have seen these beings as rationalizations of
older Celtic deities. At first they coexist peacefully
with the Fir Bolg. But the Túatha Dé Danann wish
to rule the island, and they have significant powers,
including Druidical knowledge and four powerful
treasures: The Stone of Destiny (that cried out in
the presence of the rightful king), the Spear of
Lugh (the Celtic god of light and one of the Túatha
Dé Danann), the Sword of Nuadha (the first king
of the Túatha Dé Danann), and the Cauldron of
Dagda (a magic cauldron that was never empty—
perhaps an early Celtic precursor of the HOLY
GRAIL). The Túatha Dé Danann battle the Fir Bolg,
kill their king Eochaidh, capture Tara (the seat of
sovereignty), and rule all of Ireland. Later, however, the Túatha Dé Danann are subjugated by the
monstrous Fomorians. Nuadha is killed by Balor
of the Baleful Eye, a Fomorian whose single eye
strikes his enemies dead. Lugh ultimately kills
Balor with a slingshot that strikes his eye, and the
Túatha Dé Danann eventually exile the Fomorians from Ireland.
The eighth section of the Book of Invasions concerns the coming of the Milesians, the Celtic people who are the legendary (and perhaps even the
historical) precursors of the Irish people. Their
leaders, Ebor and Eremon, defeat the Túatha Dé
Danann at the battle of Tailtu, and divide the land
between them. The seven Milesian wives give
names to various parts of the island, and the book
ends as a Túatha Dé Danann woman, Macha, marries Crunniuc mac Agnoman, the prince of Ulster.
Mach is scorned by the Ulstermen and gives birth
to twins at Emhain Macha, after which she curses
the Ulstermen.
The last two sections of the Book of Invasions are
simply rolls of kings. Although the book was considered authoritative by native Irish historians
until the 17th century, just how much of the Book
of Invasions can be considered actual history has
been a matter of scholarly debate for over a century. It is probably unwise to claim that anything in
the book is historical fact: Even those aspects of the
book that might contain a kernel of historical truth
are blurred with myth and legend.
Bibliography
Carey, John. A New Introduction to Lebor Gabála
Érenn, the Book of the Taking of Ireland. London:
Irish Texts Society, 1993.
MacAlister, Robert Alexander Stewart, ed. Lebor
Gabála Érenn: The Book of the Taking of Ireland. 5
vols. Early Irish Text Society 34, 35, 39, 41, 44.
Dublin: Published for the Irish Text Society by the
Educational Company of Ireland, 1938–1956.