Hello and Welcome. My name is Rachel Nic Aoidh and this is the fourth part of our six part series on Objects. Last week we spoke about Harps. This week, we will be looking at trees in Irish Mythology. We will be looking at the Guardians of the Five Provinces, and the significance they are believed to have in Irish Mythology.
The Guardians of the Five Provinces is a title that was given to five special trees that were considered to be sacred. According to legend, a stranger, by the name Trefuilngid Tre-eochair, came to the High King at Tara, bearing a branch which had grown three fruits: an apple, an acorn and a hazelnut. It is said that this man came from the depths of the Celtic Underworld.
He requested of the High King that all the men of Ireland should be assembled, and from them he would select seven of the smartest men of knowledge from each quarter of the country, and another seven from Tara. He taught them all about their history and heritage, and he shared with them his knowledge. When he was finished, he gave the fruits of the branch to Fintan, the White-Haired Ancient One, who extracted seeds and planted them in each quarter of the land, and one in the centre, as Uisneach.
From these seeds grew 5 trees, which became known as the Five Sacred Trees of Ireland.
The first tree is Eó Mugna. Eó is the old Irish word for yew tree, yet the legend claims the Eó Mugna was actually a mighty oak tree. This tree was the only one of the five that grew the three fruits, apples, acorns and hazelnuts, just like the original branch the trees were grown from.
The second tree was said to be an Ash tree, the Tree of Tortu.
The third tree was a yew tree, the Yew of Rossa.
The fourth tree, the Branching Tree of Daithe was also a great Ash tree.
The fifth and final tree is the Craeb Uisnig is another Ash tree. This tree was said to be found as Uisneach, a hill that stood at the heart of what was once known as the High King’s territory.
It was said by our ancestors that the roots of these trees pierced the underground realms of the otherworld, where the magical Sidhe resided, while their branches reached high into the heavens. The roots were thought of as doorways to the otherworld.
All clans possessed within their territories their own sacred tree, and it is believed that chieftains would have been inaugurated beneath the sacred tree, which would connect them to both the powers of below and above. These trees were seem as powerful, and representative of the success of the King. They were the guardians of their province, and this explains why each tree was said to have ‘sheltered thousands of men’ - it was meant symbolically, rather than literally.
Trees are hugely significant in Irish Mythology and it is believed that different kinds of trees serve different magical purposes that would help you through your life. These are the five most known trees in our culture, but we are connected to so many more in our history.
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