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 ...

, Fódla or Fótla (modern spelling: Fódhla, Fodhla or Fóla), 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 ...

, was one of the tutelary goddesses 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 ...

. Her husband was Mac Cecht. With her sisters, Banba and

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 ...

, she was part of an important triumvirate of goddesses. When the Milesians arrived from

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, each of the three sisters asked the

bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is an oral repository and professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's a ...

Amergin that her name be given to the country. Ériu (

Éire ( , ) is the Irish language name for "Ireland". Like its English counterpart, the term is used for both the island of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, the sovereign state that governs 85% of the island's landmass. The latter is distinc ...

, and in the dative 'Éirinn', giving English ' Erin') seems to have won the argument, but the poets hold that all three were granted their wish, and thus 'Fódhla' is sometimes used as a literary name for Ireland, as is ' Banba'. This is similar in some ways to the use of the poetic name ' Albion' for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. In the ''Tochomlad mac Miledh a hEspain i nErind'', Fótla is described as the wife of Mac Cecht, reigning as Queen of

in any year in which Mac Cecht ruled as king.''Tochomlad mac Miledh a hEspain i nErind: no Cath Tailten''
/ref> The text goes on to relate that as the Milesians were journeying through Ireland, Fótla met them ‘with her swift fairy hosts around her’ on Naini Mountain, also called the mountain of Ebliu. A footnote identifies the Naini Mountain of Ebliu as the Slieve Felim Mountains in County Limerick. According to Seathrún Céitinn she worshipped the Mórrígan, who is also named as a daughter of Ernmas. In '' De Situ Albanie'' (a late document), the Pictish Chronicle, and the '' Duan Albanach'', ''Fotla'' (modern Atholl, ''Ath-Fotla'') was the name of one of the first Pictish kingdoms.Broun, "Kingship", for Ireland see, e.g. Byrne, ''Irish Kings and High-Kings'', and more generally Ó Cróinín, ''Early Medieval Ireland''

Notes

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

See also

Notes