s considered to be the god of agriculture.
The battle ended with Morrigan proclaiming victory for the Tuatha Dé Danann. Badb (also Morrigan) ended Cath Mag Tuired with a poem or prophecy.
With the death of Nuada of the Silver Hand, Lugh Lamfada became the new king of Ireland.
|Coming of the Milesians|
Ireland enjoyed a long period of peace and prosperity. Lugh Lamfada seemed to rule the Tuatha Dé Danann, after the battle and Nuada's death. Usually his consort was said to be Eriu, but other sources had given 3 to 4 other wives. One of his wives (unnamed) had an affair with Cermait, the son of Dagda. Lugh killed Cermait for seducing his wife. Dagda wept tears of blood over the death of his son.
Cermait had three sons – Sethor MacCuill, Cethor MacCecht and Tethor MacGreine. At Uisnech, the sons of Cermait ambushed and killed Lugh, to avenge their father. Lugh had ruled Ireland for forty years.
Dagda succeeded Lugh as king. Dagda had received a mortal wound by Caitlin, wife of Balor, in the Second Battle of Moytura, but did not die until he had reigned for 80 years. The reign of Delbáeth lasted for 10 years, before his son Fiachna succeeded him and also ruled for 10 years. Fiachna had died fighting Eogan of Inber Mor.
Then, Fiachna was succeeded by the sons of Cermait (MacCuill, MacCecht and MacGreine) and ruled Ireland for 27 years. The three brothers were married to the daughters of Fiachna and Ernmas: Banba, Fodla and Eriu.
The MacGreine and his brothers divided the land between themselves. It wasn't until some years later that Íth, arrived with some of his companions.
The Milesians were more precisely the sons of Míl Espáine (Miled). Míl's ancestors had originally come from Scythia, but Míl had brought them out of Scythia and later Egypt, before they settled in Spain, which was known as the Land of the Dead.
On one clear day, Íth, uncle of Míl, could see the enchanting isle of Erin (Ireland) from Spain, and decided to travel and explore this beautiful, new land. Íth arrived peacefully in Ireland with his followers.
The Dananns welcomed Íth to Erin (Ireland) at first, but became suspicious of Íth's motives for coming to Erin. Through misunderstanding of Íth's comment about the land, the Danann kings murdered Íth and his two brothers. The other followers escaped with Íth's body.
When his body was brought back to his family in Spain, the sons of Míl sought to avenge great uncle's death. They embarked with their warriors and families to Erin in sixty-five ships. A bard named Amairgin (Amergin), who was the son of Míl, led the warriors to Erin (Ireland).
The Dananns decided to avoid confrontations with the Milesians, they used their magic to hide Erin in a fog. The Danann had also cast the spell of straying on the Milesian fleet. However, Amergin used his own magic to dispel the magic.
Another son of Míl, named Eber Donn, wanted to exterminate the entire Danann race. The Danann send a magical storm against the Milesian ships, where Eber Donn was thrown overboard and drowned in the raging sea.
Amergin managed to guide the ships to safety, and landed on Ireland. It was said that the three wives (Banba, Fodla and Eriu) of the three Danann kings sought out the Milesian leaders. Each queen asked the Milesians to name Ireland after her. It was Eriu who won the honour. Ireland became known as Erin or Erinn. It was the help of the goddess, that the Milesians won the war against the Tuatha Dé Danann.
All three Danann kings along with their three queens were killed in Battle of Tailtiu. The Tuatha Dé Danann were defeated and forced to retreat. They did not leave Erin, but continued to live in Ireland, with their conquerors. Manannan placed a powerful spell of invisibility over the many parts of Ireland; magical palaces were hidden under the mound. The places were called Sidh or Sidhe. With their magic, the Dananns can appear or vanish from sight. The Tuatha Dé Danann became immortal.
Eber Finn and Eremon, the other two sons of Míl, partitioned Ireland into two and became their kings. Eremon ruled northern Ireland and Eber in the south.