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 ...

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

Fomorians The Fomorians or Fomori (, Modern ) 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 earth. Later, they were portrayed as sea raider ...

. His epithet, ''Gricenchos'' or ''Grigenchosach'', is obscure. Macalister translates it as "clapperleg";

R. A. Stewart Macalister Robert Alexander Stewart Macalister (8 July 1870 – 26 April 1950) was an Irish archaeologist. Biography Macalister was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Alexander Macalister, then Professor of Zoology, University of Dublin. His father w ...

(ed. & trans.), ''

Lebor Gabála Érenn ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of Ireland's Taking"; Modern Irish spelling: ''Leabhar Gabhála Éireann'', known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'') is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language inten ...

: 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'Donovan family is an ancient Irish nobility, Irish noble 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, ...

leaves it untranslated.

John O'Donovan John O'Donovan may refer to: *John O'Donovan (scholar) (1806–1861), Irish language scholar and place-name expert *John O'Donovan (politician) (1908–1982), Irish TD and Senator *John O'Donovan (police commissioner) (1858–1927), New Zealand pol ...

(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 Partholón () is a character in medieval Irish Christian pseudohistory, said to have led one of the first groups to settle in Ireland. His name comes from the Biblical name ''Bartholomaeus'' (Bartholomew), and may be borrowed from a character in ...

, 311 years after 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 ...

, 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.

References

Fomorians {{celt-myth-stub