§ 4

Concerning a great plague (Teidm mor) which killed a fourth of the population in Ireland.

The event is attributed to a supernatural cause. Gilla Lugán, who used to visit ‘the fairy mound’ (sith) every year during Samain, learned of it in two or three ways: Óengus Óc, son of the Dagda (Áenghus Occ mac an Daghda), told him that the plague was caused by three battalions of demons from the northern islands of the world.

Gilla Lugán himself witnessed one such battalion at Maistiu as it ruined Leinster, and his son had seen the demons, too.

The sith referred to may be the Brug na Bóinne (Newgrange) (John Carey, A single ray of the sun: religious speculation in early Ireland (1999): 21 note 32; John Waddell, ‘Continuity, cult and contest’ in Landscapes of cult and kingship... (2011): 204). An alternative suggestion is Ferta Escláim, referred to in a poem of the Dindshenchas Érenn as a place where “good men used to cast questions” (John Waddell, ‘Continuity, cult and contest’ in Landscapes of cult and kingship... (2011): 204). For discussion, see also Donnchadh Ó Corráin, ‘Ireland c.800: aspects of society’ in A new history of Ireland... (2005): 582.

Subjects

plagueplague
...

Keywords

SamainSamain
...

Agents

Gilla LugánGilla Lugán

Entry reserved for but not yet available from the subject index.

See more Óengus mac ind ÓcÓengus mac ind Óc
Aengus mac ind Óc, Mac Óc, Mac ind Óc
(time-frame ass. with Túatha Dé Danann)
Óengus (Aengus) mac (ind) Óc; Mac Óc: mythological figure in medieval Irish literature, one of the Túatha Dé Danann; associated with youth and love; identified in some narratives as a son of the Dagda and Bóann.
See more The DagdaThe Dagda
Eochaid Ollathair, In Dagda
No short description available
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Places

Maistiu

Maistiu/Mullach Maisten ... Mullaghmast

County Kildare

See more Brug na Bóinne

Brug na Bóinne ... Brú na Bóinne

County Meath

See more Ferta EscláimFerta Escláim

No description available