Talk:Irish mythology

Some of this is Scots as much as Irish. Perhaps it would be better placed in Celtic or Gaelic mythology. -- Derek Ross

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Pre-christion Ireland and Scotland were a single cultural region, (in fact the term "Scot" was originally applied to people in Ireland), so yes this stuff probably should be moved somewhere more general. Probably Gaelic mythology is the place to put it rather than Celtic mythology (on the assumption that Welsh and Breton mythology is sufficiently different). --Eob

I think there will probably need to be a sort out at some point. But this was really put up (with the move to the PHP bracketed solution firmly in mind) so that precisely these sorts of issues could be addressed. Once we get brackets we can do this such that we can split the different implementations of the various Celtic deities by ethnicity e.g. [Lugh (Breton Celtic deity)], [Lugh (Britannic Celtic deity)], [Lugh (Irish Celtic deity)] etc. sjc --

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Some of these stories are not religious in nature. Many of them continued past the Christianization of Ireland and were accepted as historical or folk tales. This page should not be renamed 'stories of the Irish religion' it would be akin to describing Paul Bunyan as part of the American religion.

But exactly the same thing can be said about the Bible. And yet LMS still moved Christian Mythology to The stories of Christianity -- so if we are to be neutral, we must do the same thing to Irish mythology. Also, even if they survived the arrival of Christianity as folk tales, they were religious stories to begin with. -- SJK

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A few points I'd like to make.

• The statement re Scotland and Ireland is a bit sweeping. There is a distinct limit to the spread of Irish as a language inSscotland in the prehistoric era basically just the Nort West.It would probably be truer to view Irish-speaking areas of scotland between the 5th and 9th centuries to actually be an part of Ireland, culturally at least. Plus all the major source documents are of Irish origin.
• Of the 4 cycles. the Mythological is entitirely devoted to 'events' in Ireland, the Ulster has a short section on the training of Cuchulainn that is set in scotland and the Historical deals with semi-historical Irish kings. Only the Fenian has a significant Scottish element.
• Irish mythology is a perfectly respectable academic label, and has been since at least the mid 19th century.
• There is no real evidence for considering Irish mythology as being in any way religious. The religious element is a mix of introductions by Chriatian scribes, Victorias and new age hipie-dippy types.The 'gods' were apparently not worshipped and are, in fact, more like the heros of Greek mythology. Would you say that Norse mythology, Greek mythology, etc should be moved, too?

I would like to restructure this article to give more information on the sources, nature and structure of Irish mythology and have made a brief start at User:Bmills/Irish mythology. Also of interest (maybe) is Táin Bó Cúailnge. Bmills 13:06, 5 Dec 2003 (UTC)

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Here is the text I am overwriting:

Irish mythology is the collection of tales and beliefs out of Celtic folklore and religion in Ireland, mostly prior to the widespread introduction of Christianity. Major legendary cycles that have survived to the present day include the Tain and the Fenian cycle.

Contents

1 Topics in Irish mythology 1.1 Festivals and Seasons 1.2 Gods and Goddesses 1.3 Heroes and Heroines 1.4 Legendary creatures 1.5 Places 1.6 Miscellaneous 1.7 Accounts and Writings 2 Other sources 3 Also see 4 External links 5 Children of Lir

Topics in Irish mythology

Festivals and Seasons

• Samhain
• Beltane
• Lughnassa
• Imbolc

Gods and Goddesses

• Tuatha de Danaan
• The Dagda
• Morrigan
• Cian
• Brighid
• Boann
• Banbha
• Cliodna
• Creidhne
• Cyhiraeth
• Danu
• Dian Cecht
• Donn
• Eriu
• Fodla
• Goibhniu
• Luchta
• Lugh, (also spelt Lug)
• Macha
• Nechtan
• Neit
• Nemhain
• Nuada
• Oengus
• Ogma

Heroes and Heroines

• Fionn mac Cumhail
• Cu Chulainn
• Brian Boru, a historical character rather than a mythological being.

Legendary creatures

• Sidhe
• Banshee
• Leprechaun
• Goblin
• Púca

Places

• Giant's Causeway

Miscellaneous

• Celts and human sacrifice

Accounts and Writings

• The Book of Invasions
• Táin Bó Cúailnge

Other sources

• Lady Augusta Gregory: Gods and Fighting Men (available as an etext at [1] (http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/gafm))

Also see

• Celtic mythology

External links

• Timeless Myths (http://www.timelessmyths.com/celtic)

Children of Lir

I've changed the Tragedy of the Children of Lir from one of the "greatest" Irish stories to one of the best known, partly because it's a value judgement and therefore not NPOV, but also because, as an Irish mythology buff, I think it's one of the worst. Personal taste and all that. --Nicknack009 08:39, 26 Jan 2005 (UTC)