The Book of Invasions

The Sixth Invasion

The Fading of the Gods and the Coming of the Sons of Miled

Inis Fail enjoyed a long period of peace and prosperity. Lugh Lamfada ruled the Tuatha Dé Danann after the battle and Nuada’s death. It is often said that Lugh’s consort was Eriu, but other sources have given 3 to 4 other wives. What is known is that one of his wives had an affair with Cermait, the son of Dagda. Lugh in fury then killed Cermait for seducing his wife. The Dagda wept tears of blood over the death of his son.

Now Cermait son of The Dagda had three sons – Sethor MacCuill, Cethor MacCecht and Tethor MacGreine. After Lugh had ruled the Tuatha Dé Danann justly and well, for 45 years the sons of Cermait ambushed and killed Lugh, at Uisnech to avenge their father.

Dagda succeeded Lugh as king. However, Dagda had received a mortal wound from Ceithlenn, wife of Balor, in the Second Battle of Magh Tuireadh, but did not die until he had reigned for 80 years. He was succeeded by Delbáeth whose reign lasted for 10 years, before his son Fiachna succeeded him and also ruled for 10 years. Fiachna had died fighting Eogan of Inber Mor.

In this time most of the Great Ones of the Tuatha de Danann had begun to go to the Sidhe the many mounds that dotted Inis Fail and were doorways to the Otherworld. There most had passed through and descended from upper world of Inis Fail to the land beneath where Neit ruled called Tir na n-Og. There they beheld that Tir na n-Og was a magical place better suited to their race. It was a place where any could go even those who had died. It was a vast place of the deep and dark that could accommodate all of the Tuatha de Danann and much more. Many of the Tuatha Dé Danann were drawn there having grown tired of their wearisome interactions with the various races of men.

Fiachna was succeeded by the sons of Cermait (Mac Cuill, Mac Cecht and Mac Greine) who ruled Inis Fail for 27 years. The three brothers were married to the daughters of Delbaeth and Ernmas: Banba, Fodla and Eriu. MacGreine and his brothers divided the land between themselves.

The Accident

The sixth invasion started by accident. A people called the Gaels came out of Iberia (Spain). Their leader was Íth the son of Breogan and brother of Cualnge and Fuat and also the uncle of Míl Espáine. It was Íth, who had spied Inis Fail from the top of Breogán's Tower, and sailed to the island with a group of men. He traveled to Aileach Néit where he met Inis Fail’s three kings: Mac Cuill, Mac Cecht and Mac Gréine of the Tuatha de Danaan. However, he was killed by unknown attackers and his men returned to Iberia.

Ith’s people were the Gaels or Milesians so called because they were the sons of Míl Espáine (Miled). Míl’s ancestors had originally come from Scythia, but Míl had brought them out of Scythia and later Egypt, before they settled in Iberia. When Ith’s body was brought back to his family in Iberia, his people sought to avenge his death. Many of the Gaels or Milesians set sail with a great force to avenge his death and take Inis Fail in retribution. They called themselves the Sons of Míl Espáine or (Milesians) or ("the soldiers of Hispania"). They embarked with their warriors and families to Inis Fail in sixty-five ships. A druid bard led these warriors to Inis Fail. He was the son of Mil who named him Amairgin or (Amergin).

When they landed in Inis Fail, they fought against the combined forces of the Tuatha de Danaan and Fomorians on multiple fronts. However, the armies of these once mighty races were by this time weak as the greatest of them were gone. Many of the greatest of each race were lost as the two mighty races had decimated each other in the second battle of Magh Tuireadh. More importantly, by this time, most of the Tuatha de Danaan had entered into the mounds and sort a better life in Tir na n-Og and the Fomorians had mostly returned to the sea.

The Promise to Rename Inis Fail after one of the Three Queens.

On their way to Teamhair, the Milesians met on three mountains the aforementioned Banba, Fódla and Ériu, the wives of Inis Fail’s three kings. Each goddess asked the Gaels or Milesians to name the land after her. So Amergin, promised that it would be so. At Teamhair, they meet the three kings, who argued their claim to the joint kingship of the land. They asked that there be a three-day truce, during which the Gaels must stay a distance of nine waves from land. The Gaels agreed, but once their ships were nine waves from Inis Fail, the Tuatha de Danaan conjured up a great wind that prevented them sailing back to land. Even so Amergin, the ship’s druid and poet, calmed the wind by reciting a verse. Another son of Míl, named Eber Donn, at this time wanted to exterminate the entire Tuatha de Danaan race. However, the Tuatha de Danaan sent a magical storm against the Milesian ships, during which Eber Donn was thrown overboard and drowned in the raging sea.

Now some may think it strange that the Gaels, who were seeming mere mortals, could think to challenge and contend with races so mighty as the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fomorians. However, this was a time of change when the power of the gods was fading from the world as few remained in the mortal world. Also the power of men was gaining every moment with their increasing sheer numbers.

The Power of Men as Inis Fail Became Erinn

Only one of the Milesians, the aforesaid Amergin, was learned in Sorcery. Even so his power was great, enough to counter the faded and forgotten magic of the Tuatha de Danaan who had become pale shadows of their former selves.

It was not surprising then the Tuatha de Danaan decided to avoid further confrontations with the Milesians. Instead they used their magic to shroud the land in a fog. They had also cast the spell of straying on the Milesian fleet. However, Amergin used his own magic to dispel their magic. Thus Amergin managed to guide his ships to safety, and landed again on Inis Fail. When the surviving ships return to land the two groups met and agreed to divide Inis Fail between them.

Now Amergin had promised to name Inis Fail after one of the three wives of the kings (Banba, Fodla and Eriu). It was Eriu who won the honor. Inis Fail became known from that time hence as Eriu which became Erin or Erinn. It is said that Eriu helped the Milesians win the war against the Tuatha Dé Danann. Even so all three Tuatha Dé Danann kings along with their three queens were killed in the Battle of Tailtiu the last battle. The Tuatha Dé Danann were defeated and forced to retreat.

The Gaels took the world above, while the Tuatha de Danaan all retreated to the world below (Tir na n-Og). It was then that the last surface dwellers of the Tuatha de Danaan finally entered into the sídhe mounds and were gone from the upper world.

They, however, continued to live in Erin in the dark and deep beneath the ground, beyond the reach of their conquerors. Manannan Mac Lir placed a powerful spell of invisibility over the all many parts of Erinn; magical palaces and gates or portals to the Otherworld were hidden so that only the mounds remained to indicate their presence. These places were called Sidh or Sidhe. With their magic, the Tuatha dé Danann can still sometimes appear or vanish from sight above the ground. But the magic of Tir na n-Og was such that the dead came back to life and all the Tuatha Dé Danann became immortal.

Eber Finn and Eremon, the other two sons of Míl, partitioned Ireland into two and became their kings. Eremon ruled Northern Erin and Eber ruled Southern Erin. Thus the gods became less and interacted less with men. Still they were not completely gone. For though men and men alone ruled the island of Erin henceforth, the gods could and would sometimes return, rising up out of the many mounds or Sidhe. When they did so they were no longer recognized as gods. Instead they were usually mistaken for fae or elves and sometimes even the fallen of the new religion.

Here ends the Book of Invasions.

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