Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally Oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era. In the History of Ireland (795–1169), early medieval era, myths were ...

, Banba (modern spelling: Banbha ), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the

Tuatha Dé Danann The Tuatha Dé Danann (, meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deities of pre-Christian Gaelic ...

, is a matron goddess of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. She was married to Mac Cuill, a grandson of the

Dagda The Dagda ( , ) is considered the great god of Irish mythology. He is the chief god of the Tuatha Dé Danann, with the Dagda portrayed as a father-figure, king, and druid.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia''. ABC-CLIO ...

. She was part of an important triumvirate of matron goddesses, with her sisters,

Ériu In Irish mythology, Ériu (; ), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was the eponymous matron goddess of Ireland. The English name for Ireland comes from the name Ériu and the Germanic languages, Germanic (Old Norse or ...

and Fódla. According to Seathrún Céitinn she worshipped Macha, who is also sometimes named as a daughter of Ernmas. The two goddesses may therefore be seen as equivalent. Céitinn also refers to a tradition that Banbha was the first person to set foot in Ireland before the

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

, in a variation of the legend of Cessair. In the ''Tochomlad mac Miledh a hEspain i nErind: no Cath Tailten'',The Progress of the Sons of Mil from Spain to Ireland TCD H.4.22
, Celtic Literature Collective it is related that as the Milesians were journeying through Ireland, "they met victorious Banba among her troop of faery magic hosts" on Senna Mountain, the stony mountain of Mes. A footnote identifies this site as Slieve Mish in Chorca Dhuibne,

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

. The soil of this region is a non- leptic podzolbr>
If the character of Banba originated in an earth-goddess, non-leptic podzol may have been the particular earth-type of which she was the deification. The LÉ Banba (CM11), a ship in the Irish Naval Service, was named after her. Initially, she could have been a goddess of war as well as a fertility goddess.

References

Irish goddesses Tuatha Dé Danann War goddesses Fertility goddesses Tutelary deities Irish royal consorts Personifications of Ireland National personifications Names for Ireland {{celt-myth-stub