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are the dwelling places of the gods. Lir dwelt at Slieve Fuad, near Newtonhamilton, Co. Armagh, where the hero Fuad was slain.
[I] A wife of Fionn Mac Cumhail. She prophesied that if he drank from a horn he would die. He was always careful to drink from a goblet or bowl.
[I] A cleric in the service of Colmcille who enters into the myths in a tale of a fabulous voyage—“The Voyage of Snedgus and Mac Riagla”—in the fourteenth century Yellow Book of Lecan. Scholars date the tale to the seventeenth century. Snedgus and Mac Riagla visit many marvellous lands, see strange beasts, and come upon a land where they dwell in a form of immortality.
[I] It would cut a man in two “so that neither half knew what had befallen the other.”
[I] A supernatural without shape.
[I] The form of “sovranty” appears in various myths as a female figure. Invariably she starts off as an ugly crone but turns into a beautiful maiden who bestows kingship on the man deemed “rightful.”
[I] In Irish myth “Spain” is frequently mentioned as a synonym for “The Land of the Dead.” It was probably introduced by Christian monks who objected to pre-Christian terminology. See Iberia.
[I] A Firbolg who was sent as ambassador to the Dé Danaan when they landed in Ireland. He met with Bres, who suggested that Ireland be divided between them. Sreng was impressed with the weapons of the Dé Danaans; they were light and sharply pointed compared with the Firbolg’s heavier and more blunt weaponry. But the Firbolg rejected the Dé Danaan’s offer and fought the first battle of Magh Tuireadh. Sreng and Nuada fought in single combat and he was able to cut Nuada’s shield in two and sever his hand. The god Dian Cécht gave Nuada a silver hand in replacement.
[I] A son of Sera and brother of Partholón. However, the name also occurs for the son of Nemed and father of Tuan, the ancestor of the Firbolg.
Reverence for stones was common among the ancient Celts. They dwelt in firm communication with nature, believing in the consciousness of all things. Trees, fountains, even weapons and implements were but a fragment of one cosmic whole. Stones
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