PROMONTORY FORTSVarious placenames seem to commemorate these deities;
for instance, Lugmad (Lugmoth? =Lug’s penis (?) =
Louth), or Magh Nuadat (Nuadu’s Plain =Maynooth).
There is record of the population-group Luigne—
“descendants of Lug”—whose name is left on the Barony
of Leyney, County Sligo. Problems arise, however, con-
cerning the identity of the eponyms in question and the
probable date at which the placenames were coined.
In addition to deities accorded prominent roles in
mythological tales, others, it has been argued, are
reflected in hagiography. Debate concerning apparent
solar symbolism in the lives of Brigit notwithstanding,
a goddess of that name was known to the Continental
Celts and is discussed in Cormac’s glossary. The story
of Ailbhe bishop of Emly and his rearing by wolves,
nowadays interpreted as a borrowing from heroic lit-
erature, was formerly viewed as a reflection of older
traditions—associating the saint with a sacred animal.
There are representations in the archaeological record
of what may be divine animals or animal deities; these
include stone bear figures from Armagh—if Iron Age
in date—and a recently discovered janiform figure with
“human” and “animal” (wolf?) sides. There are further
hints regarding cults of inanimate nature; the notion
of the bile, or sacred tree, persisted well into the his-
torical period—while some claim that magical prop-
erties assigned to certain “holy wells” in modern times
point to pagan origins.
Festivals
Feast-days known from the Continental Celtic calen-
dar, including Imbolc (February 1), Beltene (May 1),
Lugnasa (August 1), and Samain (November 1)—all
representing turning-points of the year, are noted in
Cormac’s Glossary. Samain, in particular, features
prominently in Old Irish literature. Many tales, includ-
ing some of the echtraigenre, are set at this feast of
the dead, which saw the suspension of barriers between
earth and otherworld, permitting reciprocal access. It
was the appropriate time for the demise of heroes, and
a suitable backdrop for “threefold death” tales. Stories
of these festivals and of deity-figures associated with
them were carried into later tradition, and customs
relating to them—including the lighting of bonfires—
long survived in modern folk practice.
AILBHE MACSHAMHRÁIN
References and Further Reading
Bieler, Ludwig, ed. “The First Synod of St. Patrick.” The Irish
Penetentials, 56–57. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced
Studies, 1963.
Borsje, Jacqueline. “Fate in Early Irish Texts.’Peritia16 (2002):
214–231.
———. “Het mensenoffer als literair moteif in het middeleeu-
wse Ierland,” Nederlands Theologisch Tydschrift 58 (2004)-
46–60.
Byrne, Francis John. Irish kings and High-kings, 97–102, 155.
New ed. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2001.
Carey, John. “The Three Things Required of a Poet.” Ériu 48
(1997): 41–58.
Connolly, Seán, trans. “Vita Prima Sanctae Brigitae.” Jnl. Roy.
Soc. Antiq. Ire. 119 (1989): esp. 14–17, 18, 41.
Harrington, Christina. Women in a Celtic Church: Ireland
450–1150, 63–67. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Lynn, C.J. “Trial Excavations at the Kings Stables, Co.
Armagh.” Ulster Jnl. Arch. 40 (1977): 42–62.
———. “Navan Fort: A Draft Summary of D.M. Waterman’s
Excavations.” Emania1 (1986): 11–19.
MacCana, Proinsias. Celtic Mythology. London: Hamlyn, 1970,
passim.
McCone, Kim R. Pagan Past and Christian Present. Maynooth:
An Sagart, 1990, esp. chapters 1, 7, 8.
MacGiolla-Easpaig, Dónall. “Noun-noun Compounds in Irish
Placenames.” Études Celtiques18 (1981): 151–163, esp.
162–163.
MacShamhráin, Ailbhe. “Iarsmaí ‘Ceilteacha’ na Danmhairge
ón Iarannaois.” In Bliainiris 2001, edited by Ruairí Ó
hUiginn & Liam MacCóil, 181–202. Rath Cairn, Co. Meath:
Carbad, 2001.
Muhr, Kay. “The Early Place-names of County Armagh.” Sean-
chas Ardmhacha(2002): 1–54, esp. 17–18.
Ó hÓgáin, Daithi. The Sacred Isle: Belief and Religion in Pre-
Christian Ireland. Cork: Collins Press, 1999.
O’Meara, J.J., trans. Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales),
The History and Topography of Ireland(Topographia Hiber-
niae), 81–82, 88, 109–110. Revised edition. Mountrath, Co.
Laois: Dolmen Press, 1982.
Raftery, Barry. Pagan Celtic Ireland. London: Thames & Hudson,
1994, chapters 4, 8.
Roche, Helen. “Late Iron Age Activity at Tara, Co. Meath.”
Ríocht na Mídhe10 (1999): 18–30.
Ross, Ann. “Lindow Man and the Celtic tradition.” In Lindow
Man: The Body in the Bog, edited by Ian Stead, J. B. Bourke,
and Don Brothwell, 162–169. London: British Museum, 1986.
Wailes, Bernard. “Dún Ailinne: A Summary Excavation
Report.” Emania7 (1990): 10–21.
Warner, Richard. “Two Pagan Idols: Remarkable New Discov-
eries.” Archaeology Ireland17 no. 1 (Spring 2003): 24–27.
See alsoBrigit; Burials; Christianity, Conversion
to; Cormac mac Cuilennáin; Eachtrai; Emain
Macha; Giraldus Cambrensis; Hagiography;
Inauguration Sites; Inscriptions; Invasion Myth;
Kings and Kingship; Mythological Cycle; Tara;
Ulster Cycle; Witchcraft and MagicPROMONTORY FORTS
A promontory fort is a fortified coastal headland or
sea-girt promontory of land. The seaward sides are
naturally defended by a cliff while one or more straight
or curved ramparts of earth or stone, with accompa-
nying ditches, protect the landward side. The main
purpose in using a headland for fortification was to
take advantage of the natural defense provided by a
vertical cliff face. The location of these forts predicated