Celtic Mythology

The Voyage of Bran is an early Irish legend about Bran mac Febail, who sails across the sea in search of a mysterious land where sickness, sorrow, and death are…

The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne is an Irish legend from the Fenian Cycle about love, loyalty, and a conflict that divided the warriors of the Fianna. Gráinne, daughter of…

The First Battle of Mag Tuired tells how the Tuatha Dé Danann defeated the Fir Bolg and took control of Ireland in Irish mythology. According to the medieval tale Cath…

Deirdre of the Sorrows is one of the most tragic figures in Irish mythology, known for her relationship with Naoise and the betrayal that led to the deaths of the…

Fionn mac Cumhaill, also known as Finn McCool, was a legendary Irish warrior, poet, and leader of the Fianna, a band of hunters and fighters celebrated in the Fenian Cycle…

Branwen, daughter of Llŷr, is the central figure of the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, a medieval Welsh tale about a royal marriage that ends in a devastating war between…

Rhiannon first appears in the First Branch of the Mabinogi, riding a pale white horse that no one can overtake. She has come to marry Pwyll, prince of Dyfed, rather…

The Dream of Macsen Wledig tells of a Roman emperor who follows a vision of an unknown woman to Britain. In the Welsh tale, his marriage to Elen leads to…

The Mabinogion is the modern name given to a group of eleven medieval Welsh prose tales filled with kings, warriors, enchantment, journeys into the Otherworld, family conflict, and some of…

The Children of Lir is one of Ireland’s best-known legends, but the surviving story is far richer than the familiar image of four children turned into swans. It follows Fionnghuala,…

Oisín and Tír na nÓg is one of the best-known stories in Irish mythology. It follows Oisín, the warrior-poet son of Fionn mac Cumhaill, who leaves Ireland with the mysterious…

The Táin Bó Cúailnge, usually translated as The Cattle Raid of Cooley, is the central epic of the Ulster Cycle and one of the most important surviving stories from medieval…

Cú Chulainn is the greatest warrior of the Ulster Cycle and one of the most famous heroes in Irish mythology. Born as Sétanta, he earns the name Cú Chulainn after…

The Aos Sí are the supernatural people of Irish tradition, closely associated with ancient mounds, hidden places and the Otherworld. In English they are often called “fairies,” but that word…

The Celtic Otherworld was not a single hidden kingdom with one name or one entrance. Medieval Irish and Welsh literature describes a variety of supernatural realms, some reached across the…

The Second Battle of Mag Tuired, also known as the Second Battle of Moytura, was one of the most important conflicts in Irish mythology. It was fought between the Tuatha…

The Fomorians are often introduced as the monstrous enemies of the Tuatha Dé Danann, a race of giants associated with darkness, chaos, and the sea. Medieval Irish tradition, however, presents…

The Tuatha Dé Danann are among the most important supernatural beings in Irish mythology. Medieval Irish texts describe them as a powerful people associated with magic, warfare, healing, skilled craftsmanship,…

The Cycle of Celtic Festivals In the old Celtic lands, the passing of time was measured by the turning of the seasons and the glow of fires lit against the…

Who were the Druids? the Druids The keepers of wisdom, the interpreters of signs, the ones who spoke with the gods and the dead alike. What we know of them…