Irish goddesses

Brigid or Brigit ( , ; meaning 'exalted one'), also Bríg, is a goddess of pre-Christian Ireland. She appears in Irish mythology as a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the daughter of the Dagda and wife of Bres, with whom she had a son named Ruadán.

deity

deity in Celtic mythology

Medb (), later spelled Meadhbh (), Méabh(a) () and Méibh (), and often anglicised as Maeve ( ), is queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Her husband in the core stories of the cycle is Ailill mac Máta, although she had several husbands before him who were also kings of Connacht. She rules from Cruachan (now Rathcroghan, County Roscommon). She is the enemy (and former wife) of Conchobar mac Nessa, king of Ulster, and is best known for starting the Táin Bó Cúailnge ("The Cattle Raid of Cooley") to steal Ulster's prize stud bull Donn Cúailnge.

thumb|"Macha Curses the Men of Ulster", Stephen Reid (artist)|Stephen Reid's illustration from [[Eleanor Hull's ''The Boys' Cuchulainn (1904)]] Macha () was a sovereignty goddess of ancient Ireland associated with the province of Ulster, particularly the sites of Navan Fort (Eamhain Mhacha) and Armagh (Ard Mhacha''), which are named after her. Several figures called Macha appear in Irish mythology and folklore, all believed to derive from the same goddess. She is said to be one of three sisters known as 'the three Morrígna'. Like other sovereignty goddesses, Macha is associated with the land,

thumb|″The Harp of Erin″ painting by Thomas Buchanan Read In Irish mythology, Ériu (; ), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was the eponymous matron goddess of Ireland.

thumb|250px|right|Badb would commonly take the form of the hooded crow. In Irish mythology, the Badb (Old Irish, ), or in modern Irish Badhbh (, )—also meaning 'crow'—is a war goddess who takes the form of a crow, and is thus sometimes known as Badb Catha ('battle crow'). She is known to cause fear and confusion among soldiers to move the tide of battle to her favoured side. Badb may also appear prior to a battle to foreshadow the extent of the carnage to come, or to predict the death of a notable person. She would sometimes do this through wailing cries, leading to comparisons with the bean-s

In Gaelic (Irish, Scottish and Manx) myth, the Cailleach (, ) is a divine hag, associated with the creation of the landscape and with the weather, especially storms and winter. The word literally means 'old woman, hag', and is found with this meaning in modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic, and has been applied to numerous mythological and folkloric figures in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. In modern Irish folklore studies, she is sometimes known as The Hag of Beara, while in Scotland she is known as Beira, Queen of Winter.

Áine () is an Irish goddess of summer, wealth, beauty and sovereignty. She is associated with midsummer and the sun, and is sometimes represented by a red mare. She is the daughter of Egobail, the sister of Aillen and/or Fennen, and is claimed as an ancestor by multiple Irish families. As the goddess associated with fertility, she has command over crops and animals and is also associated with agriculture.

In Irish mythology, Neman or Nemain (Modern Irish: Neamhan, Neamhain) is the spirit-woman or goddess who personifies the frenzied havoc of war. In the ancient texts where The Morrígan appears as a trio of goddesses — the three sisters who make up the Morrígna — include Macha and Badb; Nemain is strongly associated with Badb with whom she shares a husband, Neit. Nemain may be an aspect of Badb.

right|thumb|300px|The River Boyne with [[Newgrange in the background.]] right|thumb|300px| The River Boyne as seen from [[Brú na Bóinne.]]

deity

thumb|upright|Illustration of Clíodhna in R.D. Joyce's Ballads of Irish Chivalry (1872) In Irish mythology, Clíodhna (Clídna, Clionadh, Clíodna, Clíona, transliterated to Cleena in English) is a Queen of the Banshees of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Clíodna of Carrigcleena is the potent banshee that rules as queen over the sióga (fairies) of South Munster, or Desmond.

right|thumb|200px|'' Cian Finds Balor's Daughter'', drawing by H. R. Millar, c. 1905.

Fand ("tear", "teardrop of beauty") or Fann ("weak, helpless person'") is an otherworldly woman in Irish mythology. The two forms of her name are not phonetic variants, but two different words of different meaning and the history of her name is debated.

thumb|alt=water and a remote island|Dingle in Ireland In Irish mythology, Banba (modern spelling: Banbha ), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, is a matron goddess of Ireland. She was married to Mac Cuill, a grandson of the Dagda.

Étaín or Édaín (Modern Irish spelling: Éadaoin) is a figure of Irish mythology, best known as the heroine of Tochmarc Étaíne (The Wooing of Étaín), one of the oldest and richest stories of the Mythological Cycle. She also figures in the Middle Irish Togail Bruidne Dá Derga (''The Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel''). T. F. O'Rahilly identified her as a sun goddess.

In Irish mythology, the goddess Airmed (also given as Airmid) was one of the Tuatha Dé Danann. With her father Dian Cecht and brother Miach, she healed those injured in the Second Battle of Magh Tuiredh.

Ernmas is an Irish mother goddess, mentioned in Lebor Gabála Érenn and "Cath Maige Tuired" as one of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Her daughters include the trinity of eponymous Irish goddesses Ériu, Banba and Fódla, the trinity of war goddesses the Badb, Macha and Mórrígan, and also a trinity of sons, Glonn, Gnim, and Coscar. Her other sons are Fiacha and Ollom. Ernmas was killed during the first battle of Mag Tuired and is called a "she-farmer" in the Lebor Gabála Érenn.

Tailtiu or Tailltiu (; modern spelling: Tailte) is the name of a presumed goddess from Irish mythology. The goddess's name is linked to Teltown (< OI Óenach Tailten) in Co. Meath, site of the Óenach Tailten. A legendary dindsenchas "lore of places" poem relates a myth connecting the presumed goddess Tailtiu with the site. However, linguistic analysis of the name reveals that Tailtiu as a place-name derives from a loan word of Brythonic origin represented by the Welsh telediw "well formed, beautiful." The mythological character of Tailtiu likely derives her name from the place-name.

Flidas or Flidais (modern spelling: Fliodhas, Fliodhais) is a female figure in Irish Mythology, known by the epithet Foltchaín ("beautiful hair"). She is believed to have been a goddess of cattle and fertility.

In Irish mythology, Fódla or Fótla (modern spelling: Fódhla, Fodhla, Fóla), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, is one of the tutelary goddesses of Ireland. Her husband is Mac Cecht. Her name, pronounced (), is believed to derive from Old Irish ('sod, land'), indicating her nature as a goddess of the land. A fanciful etymology in the Book of Leinster reads it as , "a sod upon Díl," memorialising the death of a daughter of Míl Espáine.

In Irish mythology, Caitlín () was the wife of Balor of the Fomorians and, by him, the mother of Ethniu. She was also a prophetess and warned Balor of his impending defeat by the Tuatha Dé Danann in the second battle of Magh Tuiredh. During that battle she wounded the Dagda with a projectile weapon. She was also known by the nickname Cethlenn of the Crooked Teeth.

Irish female mythological figure

Irish goddess

female given name

thumb|240px|right|Pierre Puvis de Chavannes|Pierre-Cécile Puvis de Chavannes: An Aisling, 1883