19 Creation Myths

According to legend, the island of Ireland was invaded six different times in its prehistory. The story of these invasions is told in a body of myth called the Mythological Cycle (a title that came about in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries), much of which was recorded in the twelfth century in the Book of Invasions. The ultimate consequence of all these invasions was a final battle between two groups of supernatural people, the Tuatha Dé Danaan and the Fomorians, and the establishment of civilization and social order.

The first invasion was led by one of the granddaughters of Noah (the biblical Noah who built the Ark), but her timing was bad; all of her people drowned in the great flood. Three hundred years later, another descendant of Noah, Parthalón, settled Ireland, building houses and clearing fields for farming. Parthalón’s sworn enemies were the Fomorians, one-armed, one-legged monsters descended from Noah’s cursed son, Ham.

Parthalón and his people all died of plague. Thirty years later, the third invasion arrived, led by a man named Nemhedh. They attacked the Fomorians, but most of them died in the effort. A few survivors fled to Greece, where they became slaves; they were called the Fir Bolg.

The Fir Bolg came back to Ireland, which they divided into the five provinces of the Celts. They established a kingship and ruled the land for thirty-seven years. Their last king, Eochaidh mac Eirc, was a perfect, just ruler; during his reign no rain fell, only dew; there was no year without a harvest; and nobody told any falsehoods.