the orthography and style places the composition to the eighth century.

Mael Dúin, son of Ailill, “Edge of Battle,” of the sept of the Eoghanachta of Aran, was born after his father had raped a nun. The nun died in childbirth and Ailill went on to meet his own death at the hands of raiders from overseas. The boy was fostered by the nun’s sister, who eventually tells him the story of his birth. Mael Dúin then sets out in a quest to avenge his father’s death. He takes sixty warriors with him, and his subsequent voyage and adventures have been considered the “Irish Odyssey.”

Mael Fhothartaig

[I] Son of Ronán of Leinster who rejected his stepmother’s advances but was falsely accused by her. His father, believing his wife, had his son slain. Mael Fhothartaig’s sons later avenged him.

Maen Tyriawc

[W] The burial place of Pryderi, lord of Dyfed.

Maer

[I] A married woman, she fell in love with Fionn Mac Cumhail and sent him nine charm nuts to make him reciprocate her sentiments. Suspecting their purpose, Fionn refused to eat them.

Maga

[I] Daughter of the love god Aonghus Óg, she wed Ross the Red, and their son Fachtna wed Nessa, the mother of Conchobhar Mac Nessa.

Magh

[I] Sometimes Anglicised as Mag or Moy, the word indicates a plain. Plains frequently occur in the myths and sagas as euphemism for the Otherworld: for example, Magh Da Cheo (Plain of the Two Mists), Magh Mell (The Pleasant Plain), and others.

Magh Indoc

[I] The Plain of Indoc features in a Christian embellishment to the myths in which Cúchulainn appears when St. Patrick is walking with Laoghaire Mac Néill (High King a.d. 428–463) on the plain. Cúchulainn appeals to Laoghaire to be converted to Christianity and asks St. Patrick to intercede so that he might be released from Hell and go to the Christian Heaven.

Magh Slecht

[I] Sometimes given as Moyslaught. The Plain of Adoration, said to be located in north Co. Cavan, where the idol Crom Cruach was erected.

Magh Tuireadh

[I] Sometimes given as Moytura. The Plain of Towers. This is the site of two famous battles in mythology. The first battle was fought when the Dé Danaan led by Nuada clashed