Hello, my name is Oisín Ó Dubhshláine and welcome to the final episode of our series on the Invasions of Ireland. Until now, we’ve spoken about the different mythological groups that came to Ireland. We spoke about farmers, heroes, and even gods. But this week, we’ll turn to the first people of humankind to come here. This is the story of the Coming of the Milesians.
At this point of the story, Tuatha Dé Danann were in charge of Ireland. The First Tribe, as well as the Partholonians came. These two groups died of plagues. The Nemedians came and the Fomorians forced them out. The descendents of a faction of the Nemedians returned. They were called Fir Bolg and they stayed in Ireland without conflict for thirty seven years. At the end of this term, Tuatha Dé Danann came and took the power of the country. The Fir Bolg went to the Islands and to the West of Ireland. Tuatha Dé Danann ended the Fomorians. They stayed in power in Ireland for ages. Mac Coill (son of the Hazel), Mac Cécht (son of the Plough) and Mac Gréine (son of the Sun) were the last High Kings of Ireland from Tuatha Dé Danann.
One day during the rule of these brothers, a man named Íth lived in Iberia. This is the place that is now called Spain. His father, Breogán built a tower in Iberia and Íth Mac Breogán climbed this tower. He looked west and was surprised to see land. His brother, Break, didn’t believe there was any country. As such, Íth left on a ship and crossed the sea. He came to Ireland.
When he saw the country, he saw every sight it had to offer.
“This is such a beautiful country,” he thought.
Finally, he came to the High Kings and praised their country. He stayed in Tara, but that night, he was murdered. Some people say it was the High Kings who did it. Others say that it was simply other nobles who did it. Hard to know. But one thing that can be said for certain, is that the rest of the tribe in Iberia heard about it.
With that, when the rulers of the country Ébher Donn and Éiremhón heard about this, their minds were filled with vengeance for their great-uncle. The Milesians decided to go to Ireland to take their revenge. Ébher Donn were two of this clan. There were eight sons in total. Their full name was Clann Mhic Mhíle Espáinne. This is said to translate to the sons of the Soldier of Hispana.
These eight collected an army and sailed to Ireland. They tried to land in Inbhear Sáille in South Leinster but they failed. They tried to land again close to Sliabh Mis, but again, they failed. Finally, they landed at Inbhear Scéine.
The Milesians knew that the High Kings of Ireland lived on the Hill of Tara. Unfortunately, they did not know how to find this place. As such, they went around the country looking for it. They saw a hill and climbed to the top. They found a woman there on her own.
“This isn’t it,” one of them said.
“Quiet,” Aimhirgin said.
He turned to the woman.
“I am Aimhirgin. I speak on behalf of the Children of Míl Hispania. We are here to take revenge on those who murdered our great-uncle, Ith son of Breogán. Who are you?”
“I am Banbha, wife of Mac Coill, the High King of Ireland.”
“Will you help us on our quest?”
“I will help, but on one condition.”
“Name it.”
“If you win the power of this country, you must name it after me.”
“This land will be called Banbha when we win her,” Aimhirgin promised.
They continued on searching for the Hill of Tara when they came across another big hill. Now, they climbed to the top of Slieve Eibhline and found another woman on her own.
Some of the Milesians groaned.
“Quiet,” Aimhirgin said.
He turned to the woman.
“I am Aimhirgin. I speak on behalf of the Children of Míl Hispania. We are here to take revenge on those who murdered our great-uncle, Ith son of Breogán. Who are you?”
“I am Fódhla, wife of Mac Cécht, the High King of Ireland.”
“Will you help us on our quest?”
“I will help, but on one condition.”
“Name it.”
“If you win the power of this country, you must name it after me.”
“This land will be called Fódhla when we win her,” Aimhirgin promised.
The warriors left and they had enough sense than to ask how they would call the country Banbha and Fódhla. They had enough sense than to anger Aimhirgin.
When they came to the centre of the country, they saw another great hill. They climber to the top of the Hill of Uisneach, the place where the High Kings put Lugh;s body after they murdered him. Here is where the Milesians came across another woman on her own. Not a single one of them let out a sigh, but they nearly fainted. One minute, she was a beautiful woman they saw in front of them. In the blink of an eye, she transformed into a monster. Every second she changed. Gorgeous face, gruesome face, gorgeous face, gruesome face. The warriors were afraid but Aimhirgin introduced himself anyway.
“I am Aimhirgin. I speak on behalf of the Children of Míl Hispania. We are here to take revenge on those who murdered our great-uncle, Ith son of Breogán. Who are you?”
“I am Ériú, wife of Mac Gréine, the High King of Ireland.”
“Will you help us on our quest?”
“I will help, but on one condition.”
“Name it.”
“If you win the power of this country, you must name it after me.”
Donn the Son of the Soldier of Hispania began to laugh.
“Excuse me, but that is what both your sisters told us as well, and yet, we still have not found the Hill of Tara. You’re no help to us.”
“Donn the Son of Míl,” Ériú said, turning to him.
“That’s me.”
“You will not survive here. You’ll die at sea. This is how your line will end.”
No one spoke.
“This land will be called Ériú when we win her,” Aimhirgin promised.
Ériú directed the Milesians to Tara then. When they came across the High Kings, the three of them were locking horns with one another. It was easy for the Milesians to see that they were not getting on well, and that they were one insult away from taking out weapons on one another.
“I am the most important king, listen to my name, the son of the Hazel,” Mac Coill said. “The Hazel holds all the knowledge of the world. Without it, we have no information on life.”
“Listen to you, brother! Without the Plough, no food is taken from the ground. We would die from the hunger. We would starve,” Mac Cécht said.
“You are both wrong,” Mac Gréine said. “The sun is the most important thing for us. Without it, nothing lives on this Earth. It is her who gives us energy.
The High Kings began to insult one another again, with no way of knowing who was speaking. Aimhirgin banged his sword against his shield.
“Listen to me now, High Kings. I am Imhirgin. I speak for the Milesians. We are here to take revenge on those who killed out great- uncle, Íth Mac Breogán.”
“Well, if he wanted to take the country from us, we wouldn’t take the blame for that,” Mac Coill said.
“He came looking for sanctuary here. And you killed him.”
“I don’t remember this,” Mac Cécht said.
“It doesn’t matter, anyway. You will be driven from this island. We are in control of this country now.”
“Not true,” Mac Gréine said.
“Admit you killed him or go to battle against us. It is your decision. These are your choices.”
“We don’t want to go to battle against you…” Mac Coill said.
“But we will not admit any fault,” Mac Cécht finished.
“War it is then,” Aimhirgin said.
“Wait, wait, wait a minute,” Mac Gréine said. “We have not fought in a battle for a long time. We’re not ready. But we put this challenge to you.”
“Go on,” Aimhirgin said.
“We are very skilled in magic. Go out and sail past the ninth wave. If you manage to land again, we’ll surrender the country to you,” Mac Gréine said.
The Milesians agreed with this challenge and they went out and crossed the ninth wave. As soon as they crossed, druids of Tuatha Dé Danann raised a magical tempest around the country. The country’s perimeter was covered with fog and rain and strong winds blew against the Mileseians as they tried to come back to Ireland.
During the storm, Arranán the son of Míl understood that this was no natural storm. He climbed the mast and looked at Ireland. Unfortunately, a strong wind came and blew him from the mast. He landed back on the ship and died there.
Donn the son of Míl tried to sail against the storm and the tempest broke his ship. He crashed against the rocks and he died there. His body surfaced at Bull Rock, a small island beside the Beara Peninsula. This place is now called Teach Donn or the House of Donn. It is a gateway to the Otherworld, the place where the souls of the dead wait before continuing on to the Otherworld.
Ir died the same way and his body was buried on Sceilig Mhícheál. Two other brothers drowned as well.
Aimhirgin, Ébher Fionn, and Éiremhón were left with their warriors. Aimhirgin then spoke a chant of possession (which comes from Seilbh Inse Fódhla by Diarmuid Johnson). He said:
“I call to the turf, I call to the rocks,
Land of Ireland - I call to you.
I call to the glens, I call to the lakes,
Earth of Ireland - I call to you.”
It’s said that he said this to honour Ériú. When he finished, the tempest ended. The Milesians landed and Aimhirgin was the first one of them to put a foot on the sand. He spoke another chant:
“I am the wind of the sea, I am the wave of the sea
I am the roar of the ocean, I am the Bull of Seven Horns
I am a flash from the sun, I am the eagle on the rock
I am the wild boar, I am the most beautiful of plants
I am the salmon in the water, I am the lake in the plain
I am the word of knowledge, I am the head of the spear in battle
I am the driving of movement, I am the god that puts fire in the head
I am the wind of the sea, I am the wave of the sea.”
Unfortunately, the High Kings did not keep their promise and Tuatha Dé Danann went to battle against the Milesians and their army. The Goddesses of Sovereignty: Banbha, Fódhla, and Ériú fought against this army but they were killed. However, the Milesians kept their promise and always referred to the country as Banbha, Fódhla, and Ériú. With three brothers left, they hunted the High Kings of Ireland. They fought against them at Tailteann, brother against brother, Tuatha Dé Danann versus Milesians. In the end, with revenge on their minds, the Milesians prevailed and they ended Mac Coill, Mac Cécht, and Mac Gréine.
Tuatha Dé Danann retreated then. The Dagda allocated a Sídhe, or fairy mound, for those who were left. He himself went to Sí Lachtmha. Aengus Óg went to the Sí of the Brugh. As well as this, Tuatha Dé Danann went to Sí Rua, Sí Cheltraí, Sí na mBan Fionn, Sí Bhrí Leith, Sí Dhá Eala, Sí na mBeach, Sí Chruachan, and Sí Feamhain. They didn’t lose their power entirely either. After the battle, they stopped the corn and milk from coming to the Milesians. The two groups made an agreement then, that the Milesians would rule the world above, and that Tuatha Dé Danann would be in charge of the Otherworld.
For the Milesians themselves, they are the ancestors of the Gael. Humans, really. Aimhirgin did not take a leading role after they won the country. Instead, Éiremhón and Ébher Fionn were in charge. Ébher Donn had died at sea. Éiremhón ruled in the North and Ébher Fionn ruled in the South. But as we now know, shared High Kingships do not last very long.
Ébher Fionn did not want to share the High kingship, as such, he went to battle against his brother Éiremhón at Airgeatros. He died there and Éiremhón won the High Kingship of Ireland. He settled in Rath Oinn and he designated kings for each province as well. Crimhthann Sciathbhéal was a descendent of the Fir Domnann and he was the King of Leinster. The Sons of Ébher Fionn shared the Kingship of Munster. Their names were Ér, Orbha, Ferón, and Ferghna. The Sons of Uicce ruled over Connacht. Ún and Etan were their names. Finally, Ébher the son of Ír was in charge of Ulster.
This was our story on the Coming of the Milesians to Ireland. As well as this, this is the end to our series on the Invasions of Ireland. We hope you enjoyed it. Join us in a fortnight for our next story.
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