The Book of Invasions

The Coming of Lugh and the Prospect of War

The Birth of the Mighty God Lugh

At that time many of the Fomorians had come to Inis Fail, and Balor of the Strong Blows, or, as some called him, of the Evil Eye, was living on Tory Island in the Tower of Conand.

This tower was still there, and mighty Balor was living in it. The reason he was called "of the Evil Eye," was because when he opened that eye and looked upon the world an emanation welled forth of the power of death. No person could look at it and live. He got this power by accident, when he was passing one day by a house where his father's Druids were making spells of death. The window being open he looked in, and the smoke of the poisonous spells rose up, and seeped into his eye. Henceforth he had to keep it closed unless he desired the death of some enemy. However, he was an enormous giant, and his eye was so large he felt this eyelid very heavy. He would have with him many Fomorians who used ropes and an ivory ring to lift up the eyelid from behind.

During that time a Druid Seer foretold that it was by the hand of his own grandson he would come to his death. He had at that time but one child, a daughter whose name was Ethlinn. When he heard the Druid's prediction, he shut her up in the tower on his island. He put twelve women with her to take charge of her and to guard her, and he bade them never to let her behold a man or hear the name of a man.

In this way Ethlinn was brought up in the tower, and she grew to be very beautiful; and sometimes she would see men passing in the currachs, and sometimes she would see a man in her dreams. But when she would speak of that to the women, they would give her no answer.

So there was no fear in Balor, and he went on with war and robbery just as he used to, seizing every ship that passed by, and sometimes going across to Inis Fail to cause destruction there.

Now it chanced, at that time, there were three brothers of the Tuatha de Danaan living together in a place that was called Druim na Teine, the Ridge of the Fire, They were Cu, Cethen and Cian the Sons of Dian Cecht. Cian a lord of land, was friends with Goibniu who was the great smith god. Now Cian had a wonderful cow, the Glas Gaibhnenn, and her milk never failed. Every one that heard of her coveted her, and many had tried to steal her away, so that she had to be watched night and day.

One time Cian wanted some swords made, and he went to Goibniu's forge, and he brought the Glas Gaibhnenn with him, holding her by a halter. When he came to the forge his two brothers were there together, for Samthainn, and had brought some steel to have weapons made for themselves. Cian bade Cethen to hold the halter while he went into the forge to speak with Goibniu.

For a long time Balor had coveted the Glas Gaibhnenn, and had set his mind on obtaining her. He had often watched her from afar although he had never been able to get near her. On this occasion as he watched not far off, he beheld Cethen holding the cow and the opportunity seemed to good to be true. He transformed himself into the appearance of a young boy with red hair. He could do this because like most Fomorians he was a shape changer. As this little boy, he came up to Cethen and told him he heard his two brothers saying to one another that they would use all his steel for their own swords, and make his of iron. “By my word,” said Cethen, “they shall not deceive me so easily. Pray you hold the cow, little lad,” he said, “and I shall go to them.” With that he rushed into the forge, in great anger. No sooner had Balor gotten the halter in his hand than he set out, dragging the Glas Gaibhnenn along with him, to the strand, and then across the sea to his own island.

When Cian beheld his brother come in he rushed out, and there he beheld Balor and the Glas out in the sea. What could he do? There was nothing to do but to reproach his brother, and wander about as if his wits had left him. Not knowing how to get his cow back from Balor, he went to a Druid to ask advice. The Druid advised him, that so long as Balor lived, the cow would never be brought back, for surely no one would go within reach of his Evil Eye.

Cian went then to a woman-Druid, called Birog of the Mountain, to ask for her help and she gave him strange advice. She dressed him in women's clothes, and brought him across the sea with a blast of magic wind, to the tower where Ethlinn was. She called to the women in the tower, “Pray help me,” she begged, “I seek shelter for this high queen I have saved from evil oppression and hardship.” The women in the tower did not like to refuse a woman of such high status, so they let her and her comrade in. Birog by her enchantments put them all into a deep sleep, and Cian went to speak with Ethlinn. When Ethlinn beheld him she was amazed. She explained that his face had often suffused her dreams with wonder and joy. So frustrated and entranced by Cian was she that she soon gave him her love. However, they were not together long and after a while he was brought away again on a blast of magic air which Birog conjured again.

When her time came, Ethlinn gave birth to a son, and as soon as Balor learned of it, he bade his people put the child in a cloth and fasten it with a pin, and throw him into a strong current of the sea. As they were carrying the child across a shallow part of the sea, the pin dropped out, and the child slipped from the cloth into the water, and they thought he drowned. But unbeknown to them Birog of the Mountain rescued him. She brought him to his father Cian; and he gave him to be fostered by Taillte, daughter of Neit the King of Tir na n-Og (the Celtic Otherworld). Thus was Lugh born and reared.

Nuada’s Great Feast at Teamhair

Now as to Nuada of the Silver Hand, he held a great feast at Teamhair, after he had been restored to kingship for some time. At that time there were two keepers of the doors at Teamhair and their names were, Gamal, son of Figal, and Camel, son of Riagall. A young man came to the door where one of them was, and bade him bring him in to the king. “Who are you to demand this?" asked the door-keeper. "I am Lugh, son of Cian of the Tuatha de Danaan, and of Ethlinn, daughter of Balor, King of the Fomorians,” he said; “and I am foster-son of Taillte, daughter of the Neit.”

“What are you skilled in?” enquired the door-keeper, “for no one without an art may come into Teamhair.” “Question me,” replied Lugh, “I am a carpenter.” “We do not want you, said the door keeper, “we have a carpenter ourselves, Luchtar, son of Luachaine.” “Then I am a smith.” “We have a smith ourselves, Colum Cuaillemech of the Three New Ways.” “Then I am a champion.” “That is no use to us; we have a champion, Ogma, brother to the king.” “Question me again,” persisted Lugh, “I am a harper.” “That is no use to us; we have a harper ourselves, Abhean, son of Bicelmos, that the Men of the Three Gods brought from the hills.” “I am-a poet," he said, “and a teller of tales.” “That is no use to us; we have a teller of tales ourselves, Ere son of Ethaman.” “And I am a magician.” “That is no use to us; we have plenty of magicians and people of power.” “I am a physician,” he said. “That is no use; we have Dian Cecht for our physician.” “Let me be a cup-bearer,” he said. “We do not want you; we have nine cup-bearers ourselves.” “I am a good worker in brass.” “We have a worker in brass ourselves, that is Creidhne.”

“Go and ask the king if he has any one man that can do all these things,” said Lugh, “and if he has, I shall not make further requests of admittance into Teamhair.” The door-keeper went into the king's house and relayed the message. “There is a young man at the door,” he said, “and his name should be the Ildánach, the Master of all Arts, for all the things the people of your house can do, he himself is able to do every one of them.” “Try him with the chess-boards,” said Nuada. So the chess-boards were brought out, and every game they played, Lugh won. When Nuada heard that, he relented: “Let him in,” he said “for the like of him has never entered into Teamhair before.”

The door-keeper let him pass, and he came into the king's house and sat down in the seat of knowledge. There was a great flag-stone there that could hardly be moved by four times twenty yoke of oxen, and Ogma took it up and hurled it out through a window, so that it lay on the outside of Teamhair, as a challenge to Lugh. But Lugh hurled it back again so that it lay in the middle of the king's house. He played the harp for them, and he had them laughing and crying, till he put them to sleep at the end with a sleepy tune. When Nuada saw all the things Lugh could do, he began to think that by his help the country might get free of the taxes and the tyranny put on it by the Fomorians.

The Thirteen Days of the Wisdom of Lugh and Plans for War

So Nuada rose up from his throne, and came down from it. In his place on the throne he set Lugh for thirteen days, so they might all listen to the advice he would give. All the Tuatha de Danaan sat and listened to young Lugh with awe. Word went out across the whole of Inis Fail one of great knowledge and inspiration had come to Teamhair. Many came from all across the land to hear him speak. The greatest and mightiest of the gods came and listened with rapt attention. He talked of many things during the thirteen days and he also listened carefully to what all the others were saying about the oppression caused by his mothers people. 

After Lugh had come to Teamhair, he made his mind up to join with his father's people against the Fomorians. He put his mind to the work; and he went to a quiet place in Grellach Dollaid, with Nuada and the Dagda, came with Ogma. Goibniu and Dian Cecht and many more were all called there. A full year they stopped there, making their plans together in secret, so that the Fomorians would not know of it. They were going to rise against them but not till such time as all would be ready, and till they knew what their strength was. It is from that council the place got the name afterwards of ‘The Whisper of the Tuatha de Danaan.’

They broke up the council, and agreed they would meet again that day three years hence, and every one of them went his own way, and Lugh went back to his own friends, the sons of Manannan son of Lir, for Manannan was the husband of Taillte and they were his foster brothers.

Lugh Returned with Reinforcements from the Underworld

It was a good while after that, Nuada was holding a great assembly of the people on the Hill of Uisnech, on the west side of Teamhair. They were not long there before they saw an armed troop coming towards them from the east, over the plain. There was a young man in front of the troop, in command over the rest, and the brightness of his face was like the setting sun, thus that they were not able to look upon it.

When he came nearer they beheld that it was Lugh Lamh-Fada, of the Long Hand, that had come back to them, for such was he now being called. Along with him came the Riders of the Tir na n-Og (the Land of Promise), and his own foster-brothers, the sons of Manannan, Sgoith Gleigeil, the White Flower, Goitne Gorm-Shuileach, the Blue-eyed Spear, Sine Sindearg, of the Red Ring, and Donall Donn-Ruadh, of the Red-brown Hair. Lugh had a way about him that made his comrades love him and none more that his foster-father Manannan son of Lir Because of this Manannan had given him more than was needful for a son though he was but a foster son.

For he rode with Manannan's horse, the Aonbharr, of the One Mane, under him, that was as swift as the naked cold wind of spring. For the Aonbharr the sea was the same as dry land to her, and no rider could ever be killed off her back. He also wore Manannan's breast-plate witch kept whoever was wearing it from wounds, and a helmet on his head with two beautiful precious stones. It had one set in the front of it and one at the back, and when he took it off, his forehead was like the sun on a dry summer day. He had Manannan's sword, the Freagarthach (the Answerer), buckled at his side, and no one that was wounded by it would ever get away alive. When that great sword was bared in a battle, no man that beheld it had any more strength than a woman exhausted from child-birth.

Lugh Returned with Reinforcements from the Underworld

This huge troop advanced to where the Nuada King of Inis Fail was with most of the Tuatha de Danaan, and they welcomed one another. However, they were not long there till they spied a surly, slovenly troop coming towards them, and they were nine times nine of the messengers of the Fomorians. These were coming to ask rent and taxes from the men of Inis Fail; and the names of the four that were the hardest and the most cruel were Eine, Eathfaigh, Coron and Compar. The mere presence of these four brought such great dread to many of the Tuatha de Danaan that not one of them would so much as punish his own son or his foster-son without leave from them.

They came up then to where the King of Inis Fail was with the Riders of the Tir na n-Og, and King Nuada and all the Tuatha de Danaan stood up before them. However, Lugh of the Long Hand said: “Why do you rise up before this surly, slovenly troop, when you did not rise up before us?”

“It is needful for us to do it,” the king explained, “for if there was but a child of us sitting before them, they would not think that too small a cause for killing him.” “By my word,” Lugh exclaimed, “there is a great desire coming on me to kill them myself.” “That would bring dire punishment on us,” said the king, “it would bring our own death and destruction. We are trying not to provoke a war before we are fully prepared.” “It is too long a time you have been under this oppression,” said Lugh. With that he started up and made an attack on the Fomorians, killing and wounding them, till he had made an end of eight nines of them. However, he let the ninth go under the protection of Nuada the king. “I would kill you along with the others,” he declared, "but I would sooner have you go with messages to your own people than give you up my own people. I fear you might get the same ill-treatment even as you had bullied them.”

The Chastened Nine and the Prophesy of Lugh

So the nine went back then till they came to Lochlann, where the chiefs of the Fomorians were, and they told them the story from beginning to end, and how a young well-featured lad had come into Inis Fail and had killed all the tax-gatherers but themselves, “and the reason he let us off,” they said, “is so that we might tell you the story ourselves.”

"Do you know who is the young fighter?" asked Balor of the Evil Eye. “I know well,” said Ceithlenn, his wife; “he is the son of your daughter and mine. It was foretold,” said she, "that from the time he would come into Inis Fail, we would never have power there again forever.”

Then the chief men of the Fomorians held a council, and all the great and mighty of the Fomorians attended. There was Eab, son of Neid, and Seanchab, grandson of Neid, and Sital Salmhor, and Liath, son of Lobais, and the nine poets of the Fomorians that had learning and the gift of foreknowledge, and Lobais the Druid, and Balor himself and his twelve white-mouthed sons, and Ceithlenn of the Crooked Teeth, his queen.

The Plea of Bres and Elathan

It was at that time Bres and his father Elathan came to ask help of the Fomorians, and Balor agreed to provide as much help as they required. So Bres said: “I myself shall go to Inis Fail, with seven great battalions of the Riders of the Fomorians along with me. I shall battle this Ildánach, this master of all arts, and I shall strike his head off and bring it here to you, to the green of Berbhe.” “It would be a fitting thing for you to do,” said they all. “Let my ships be made ready for me,” Bres commanded, “and let food and provisions be supplied to them.”

They made no delay, but rather went forth and prepared the ships, and they put plenty of food and drink in them. Two swift Luaths were then sent out to gather the army to Bres. When they were all gathered, they made ready their armor and their weapons, and they set out for Inis Fail.

Balor the king followed them to the harbor. "Give battle to that Ildánach, and strike off his head,” Balor commanded, “and tie the island of Inis Fail to the back of your ships, and let the destroying water take its place. Put it on the north side of Lochlann, so not one of the Tuatha de Danaan shall follow it there until the end of life and time.”

Then they pushed out their ships and put up their painted sails, and went out from the harbor on the untilled country, on the ridges of the wide-lying sea. They never turned from their course till they came to the harbor of Eas Dara. From there they sent out an army through West Connacht and destroyed it altogether, through and through. The King of Connacht at that time was Bodb Dearg, son of the Dagda. Click here to continue.

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