Hello, my name is Oisín Ó Dubhshláine and welcome to the first episode of our series on the Invasions of Ireland. This week, I’ll share the story of the first tribe to come to Ireland.
Without a fantastic start to the story, the facts of this story are a bit controversial. It’s a very old story and obviously, it’s the monks who first wrote it down. As such, there’s no certainty whether the story is pseudo-historical or if it’s a complete fabrication. For this reason, I’ll share the basic version of the story, and after I’ll turn to the inconsistencies of the other versions.
Four thousand years ago, there was a flood beside the Mediterranean and Mesopotamia. It’s said that the main character lived in this region and she was told to build three boats. She took one hundred and forty nine women with her, as well as three men. On these boats, they sailed west from the flood. They managed to reach Ireland and they landed there. There wasn’t much in this country, and with only three men, they failed to populate the area. They all died.
In the biblical version, Cessair is the name of this group’s leader. She is the daughter of Bith. It’s said that Bith is the son of Noah, but there is no reference made to him in the Bible. Noah didn’t allow Bith or Cessair to come on his Ark and so, Cessair built her own ships. She sailed to Ireland and landed there. There were one hundred and fifty women on the boats and three men when they left. But, as they attempted to land in Bantry Bay, two ships sank. And so, Cessair was left in Ireland with forty nine women. The men with them were Bith, Cessair’s father; Ladhra, the pilot; and Fintan son of Bóchra.
Cessair married Fintan, Bith married Bairrfhind; and Ladhra married Alba. But, these women understood that their tribe wouldn’t have much chance in populating the country if there were only three pairs of them. So the women all shared the men. And this is how it went.
Fintan lay with seventeen of them. After Cessair, they were: Loth, Luam, Mall, Mar Froechar, Femur, Faible, Foroll, Cipir, Torrian, Tamall, Tam, Abba, Alla, Baichne, agus Sille. Bith lay with another seventeen. After Bairrfhind, they were: Sella, Della. Duib, Addeos, Fotra, Triage, Nera, Buana, Tamall, Tanna, Nathra, Leos, Fodarg, Rodarg, Dos, agus Clos. This left Ladhra to be shared among the remaining sixteen. Of course, his wife, Alba, and after that: Bona, Albor, Ail, Gothiam, German, Aithne, Inde, Rodarg, Rinne, Inchor, Ain, Irrand, Espa, Sine, agus Samoll.
I mention these names because it’s said that these were the Ancestral Mothers of the World, with Alba for the British and Espa for the Spannish and so on. But, if this is true, why are Tamall and Rodarg mentioned twice?
In the end, Bith and Ladhra died of exhaustion. With fifty women to satisfy, Fintan fled. It’s said that he transformed into a salmon, then an eagle, and finally, a hawk. He returns to Ireland as a man once more and comes to the High King at the time, Diarmuid Mac Cearbhaill. With that, he shares with him the complete history of Ireland. However, even in this version, Fintan has another fate. It’s also said that he transformed into a salmon and fell into the Boyne. This is where he ate the nine hazelnuts that hold all the knowledge in the world and became the Salmon of Knowledge.
In this version, it’s easy to see the attempts of the Christians to tie the stories of Ireland to their religion, through creating a link between Cessair, the first woman to step on Ireland and Noah.
In the other version, there is no mention of Noah or Cessair. It’s said that Banba is the first woman to set foot on Ireland, instead of Cessair. In this version, Banba, Fódla, and Ériú are the three main women of the story and they married Mac Coill, Mac Cécht, and Mac Gréine. One hundred and fifty women and these three men landed safely in Ireland. Much the same, they attempted to populate the country and they failed. If this version followed the story of Cessair, Mac Coill is the one who would transform into a salmon and would fall into the Boyne. This is interesting since his name means Son of the Hazel, the same nuts the Salmon of Knowledge ate.
The problem with this version is that these six named above are Tuatha Dé Danann. Banba, Fódla, and Ériú are the names of the Triple Goddess of Ireland. This version complies with the tradition that Ireladn always be called by one of her names. However, there is still the problem of their husbands. They are the sons of Cermait, the son of the Dagda. The Tuatha Dé Danann are the fifth group to come to Ireland. As such, how did these six get here more than a thousand years before them?
This is the story of the first tribe to come to Ireland. Join us next week for our next story.
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