INVASION MYTHSwift, Catherine. Ogam Stones and the Earliest Irish Christians.
Maynooth, Ireland: Department of Old and Middle Irish,
St. Patrick’s College, 1997.
See also Early Christian Art; High Crosses;
Metalwork; Sculpture
INVASION MYTH
Irish scholars in the early Middle Ages had a keen
interest in the origin of the Irish people, and stories
concerning successive invasions of the country were
already in circulation in manuscripts in the first half
of the ninth century, if not earlier. The most fully
developed and best-known account of the invasions of
Ireland is Lebor Gabála Érenn (The Book of the Tak-
ing of Ireland), also popularly known as the Book of
Invasions. It was written in the late eleventh century
by an anonymous scholar whose aim was to create a
comprehensive history of Ireland from Creation down
to his own time. It is the culmination of centuries of
development, and bears all the hallmarks of a compi-
lation. However, it soon became the canonical account
of Ireland’s early history and was frequently copied
and redacted over the following centuries. So great was
its authority that various other related texts, such as
Cath Maige Tuired (The Battle of Mag Tuired) and
Scél Tuáin meic Cairill (The Story of Tuán mac Cairill)
were altered to accommodate it.
Lebor Gabála Érenn
Lebor Gabála Érenn depicts six successive invasions
beginning with the arrival of Cessair, the daughter of
Bith son of Noah. However, all her followers perish
in the Flood, except for Fintan mac Bóchra, who sur-
vives in many forms to relate the history of Ireland to
future generations. The second invasion is led by
Partholón who fights a battle against a demonic race
(the Fomoiri) from over the sea. His forces are finally
wiped out by plague. There then follows a third inva-
sion led by Nemed. After Nemed’s death, his people
are oppressed by the Fomoiri until they rise up and
attack their masters. Only thirty survive, some of
whom go to Greece, the rest to the north of the world,
and these survivors supply the next two invasions. The
first of these (the fourth invasion in the overall
scheme) return under the names of Fir Bolg, Gailióin,
and Fir Domnann. These are the first invaders to be
reflected in the names of historical tribes: Fir Bolg is
a collective name applied elsewhere to the subject
tribes (aithechthúatha) and connected to the continen-
tal Celtic tribal name Belgae; the Gailióin were later
known as the Laigin, who give name to the modern
province of Leinster; and the Fir Domnann are found
in Connacht (known as the “Irrus Domnann”) and in
Celtic Britain (the “Dumnonii”). The group that went
to the north of the world became skilled in the magic
arts and came to be called Túatha Dé Danann (tribes
of the goddess Danu/Danann). They arrive in Ireland
and demand the kingship from the Fir Bolg (the name
is here used collectively for all the previous invaders).
This demand gives rise to the first battle of Mag Tuired
in which the Fir Bolg are defeated, and is later fol-
lowed by the second battle of Mag Tuired.
The sixth and final invasion is led by the sons of
Míl Espáine, the ancestors of the dominant peoples of
medieval Ireland who styled themselves Goídil
(Gaels). The sons of Míl defeat the Túatha Dé Danann
in battle and proceed to Tara where they encounter
three goddesses (Banba, Fótla, and Ériu), each of
whom wins a promise to have the land named after
them. The Goídil are duped into returning to their ships
by the Túatha Dé Danann, who then create a wind
which blows them out to sea. The poet Aimirgin calms
the wind so that the sons of Míl can land, and the
Túatha Dé Danann are subsequently defeated in the
battle of Tailtiu (Teltown, Co. Meath).
Although this text undoubtedly contains native
elements, its extant structure and content is rooted
firmly within Christian biblical tradition. The open-
ing section is provided by the biblical account of
creation, and the Great Flood is said to be the cause
of the obliteration of Cessair’s people. The name of
the leader of the second invasion, Partholón, is clearly
borrowed from Latin Bartholomeus, whose name is
explained in Latin sources as “the son of he who stays
the waters,” that is, a survivor of the Great Flood.
The story of the Gaels is particularly closely linked
to biblical narrative and Latin learning. They are
traced back to Japhet son of Noah. The first in their
line, Fénius Farsaid, was present at Babel when the
languages of the world were rendered incomprehen-
sible to each other. His offspring were in Egypt at
the same time as the Israelites, and Fénius’s son
married Scota, a pharoah’s daughter. Her name is
Latin for “Irishwoman” and her son, Goídel Glas,
gave name to the Gaels (Goídil) and their language
(Goídelc) which he created. Like the Israelites, they
were later persecuted by the Egyptians, and were
forced to wander the earth until they eventually
reached Spain. They are led in their wanderings by
Míl Espáine, whose name is derived from Latin miles
Hispaniae (soldier of Spain) and reflects the belief
that the Latin name for Ireland, Hibernia, was derived
from Iberia. Like Moses, he leads his people on an
extraordinary journey out of captivity but dies before
they reach the land in which it has been prophesied
that they will settle.