A Guide To Irish Mythology

201 Pages·1998·3.652 MB·English

by  Daragh Smyth

Daragh Smyth
A GUIDE TO IRISH MYTHOLOGY

D A RAG H SMYTH
A GUIDE TO
IRISH MYTHOLOGY
IRISH ACADEMIC PRESS
This book was typeset by
Gilbert Gough Typesetting Services, Dublin, for
IRISH ACADEMIC PRESS
Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin
and in North America for
IRISH ACADEMIC PRESS
c/o ISBS 5804 N.E. Hassalo Street, Portland, OR
97213, USA.
© Daragh Smyth 1988, 1996
A catalogue record for this book
is available from the British Library.
ISBN 0-7165-2612-3
First edition 1988
Second edition 1996
All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by
any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise), without the prior written
permission of both the copyright owner and
publisher of this book.
Printed in Ireland by
ColourBooks Ltd, Dublin.
To my parents

Contents
Preface 9
Introduction 11
the guide 15
Special Notes 180
Source Material 186
Index 190

Preface
I wish to express my gratitude to all those involved in the first edition
of this book.
This second edition has new entries including the rites of sovereignty
and the tarb fes or bull feast.
It has an expanded entry on the Fir Bolg or Belgae, and a new entry
on the Dál nAraide.
Some dates have been changed and some AM dates have been left
unaltered even though they are questionable, precise dates being un­
available.
Much of early Irish history has been regarded as mythology; why
this should be is unclear. There is abundant evidence of an early
historical period. Irish recorded history starts at AD 431. Why this
should be so remains unclear to me. However, this is a book about
mythology and not about history; yet they do overlap; as Robert Graves
put it, Trish mythology is history’.
A historical rather than a romantic bias is suggested as an approach
to reading this book.