Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later Early Irish ...

, Cichol or Cíocal Gricenchos is the earliest-mentioned leader of the

Fomorians The Fomorians or Fomori ( sga, Fomóire, Modern ga, Fomhóraigh / Fomóraigh) are a supernatural race in Irish mythology, who are often portrayed as hostile and monstrous beings. Originally they were said to come from under the sea or the eart ...

. His epithet, ''Gricenchos'' or ''Grigenchosach'', is obscure.

Macalister Macalister, MacAlister, MacAllister and their variants are forms of a Gaelic surname which means 'son of Alisdair'. The name originated in Scotland and belonged to a branch of the Clan Donald; they became an independent clan in 1493. From about the ...

translates it as "clapperleg"; R. A. Stewart Macalister (ed. & trans.), ''

Lebor Gabála Érenn ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of the Taking of Ireland"), known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'', is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language intended to be a history of Ireland and the Irish fro ...

: The Book of the Taking of Ireland'' Part III, Irish Texts Society Vol. 39, 1940, pp. 2-15, 72-75, 85 Comyn as "of withered feet".

O'Donovan The O'Donovans are an Irish family. Their patronymic surname derives from Irish ''Ó Donnabháin'', meaning the grandsons or descendants of Donnubán, referring to the 10th century ruler of the Uí Fidgenti, Donnubán mac Cathail. During the ...

leaves it untranslated. John O'Donovan (ed. & trans), '' Annala Rioghachta Éireann: The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters'' Vol 1, Hodges, Smith & Co, 1856, p. 5 According to the ''

'', he arrived in Ireland with 200 men and 600 women, who subsisted by fishing and fowling for 200 years until the arrival of Partholón, 311 years after the

Flood A flood is an overflow of water ( 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 an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

, whose followers were the first to bring animal husbandry, the plough, houses and brewing to Ireland. Ten years later, Partholón defeated Cichol and the Fomorians in the

Battle of Mag Itha Mag Itha, Magh Ithe, or Magh Iotha was, according to Irish mythology, the site of the first battle fought in Ireland. Medieval sources estimated that the battle had taken place between 2668 BCE and 2580 BCE (''Anno Mundi'' 2530 or 2618). The opposi ...

References

Fomorians {{celt-myth-stub