TOO-ah day DAN-en – People of the goddess Danu. (Also known as simply Tuatha Dé.)

An ancient, pre-Christian, supernatural race of gods who were said to be the fifth race of invaders of Ireland, pre-dating the invasion of the Milesians, who are the last wave of invaders and are considered to be the ancestors of the present Irish people. The Tuatha Dé Danann defeated several other groups of people before being defeated themselves by the Milesians. There are many stories of their battles and lives. They are the main topic of the Irish Mythological Cycle. The Tuatha de Danann were defeated by the Milesians. A decision was made to divide Ireland. The Milesian Chief Druid, Amergin, craftily gave to the Milesians everything above ground, and gave to the Tuatha Dé Danann everything below ground. They are considered to be the ancestors of the Aos Sí, aka Good neighbors or Fairy Folk (and many other names!) Much more to come on the blog about these gods & goddesses!

Tomás Ó hAodha has created an 18-minute video that gives an excellent brief history of the Tuatha Dé Danaan. You can find that by clicking on the link in the post to the Glossary item. I’ll be writing a lot more on the topic and telling some of the stories that Tomás refers to in his video.