Ériu

Ériu (Mod. Ir. Éire), goddess among the Tuatha Dé Danann [see Irish mythology], who serves as eponym for Ireland. In Lebor Gabála Érenn it is related that she and her sisters, Banba and Fótla (whose names are also traditionally used for Ireland), married the Milesian invaders Mac Gréine, Mac Cécht, and Mac Cuill.

One of three sisters, divine eponyms and tutelary goddesses of Ireland, along with Banba and Fódla; sometimes Ériu is a personification of Ireland. According to an oft-cited passage from the Lebor Gabála[Book of Invasions] Ériu is chosen to give her name to Ireland itself. When the Milesians invade Ireland, Ériu and her sisters greet them, each wanting the invader to name the country after herself. Asserting herself ahead of her sisters, Ériu meets the Milesians at Uisnech, tells them that Ireland is the fairest land under the sun, and flatters them as the most perfect race the world has ever seen. When one of the leaders, Donn mac Míled insults her, Ériu predicts that neither he nor his children will ever enjoy Ireland, and he subsequently drowns. The poet of the Milesians, Amairgin, promises Ériu that the country will bear her name. Éire is the Modern Irish spelling for Ériu, and Erin is an anglicized form. Banba and Fódla have been poetic references for Ireland. Ériu is traditionally described as wearing circlets or rings, which may imply, along with the etymology of her name, an identification with the sun or moon.

Although the Ériu of the Lebor Gabála can be identified with the Ériu who mothers Bres in Cath Maige Tuired[The Battle of Mag Tuired], these and variant texts present a conflicting picture of her pedigree. Her father is usually named as Delbáeth(2), her mother either Ernmas or Eirnin; her foster-father is Codal. She is usually married to Mac Gréine (sometimes known as Cethor), but she has a celebrated affair with Elatha, son of Delbáeth (1), to produce Bres. While not named in Baile in Scáil[Phantom's Frenzy], she is thought to be Lug Lámfhota's consort, a sovereignty figure, in that narrative. She is later killed at the Battle of Tailtiu by Suirge, where the Milesians slaughter all the kings and queens of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

Ériu is also named as the founder of the festival at Uisnech. As a personification of Ireland, she may be the queen ‘married’ in the sacred ritual marriage of fled bainisi or banais ríghe.

Bibliography

• Julius Pokorny, “‘Der Name Ériu’”, Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie, 15 (1925), 197–202
• T. F. O'Rahilly, “‘On the Origin of the Names” Érainn and Ériu’, Ériu, 14 (1946), 7–28