Irish Gods and Goddesses: Meet the Celtic Gods and Goddesses of Ireland

The Irish gods and goddesses are the Tuatha Dé Danann, the “People of the Goddess Danu”, a race of gods who rule Ireland in the old stories until the Milesians drive them into the hills and mounds. The best known are the Dagda, Danu, Lugh, Aengus, the Morrígan and Brigid, and almost everything we know about them comes from medieval Irish manuscripts, not from anything the pagan Irish wrote down themselves.

Long before Christianity arrived in Ireland, the ancient Celts worshipped hundreds of Celtic gods and goddesses. These deities were believed to have magical powers that enabled them to influence all aspects of daily life, from love and war to the weather and seas.

This page sticks to Ireland. For the gods of Gaul, Britain and Wales as well, head to our guide to Celtic deities across the Celtic world.

Nobody kept a count of the Irish gods, and most names survive in only a handful of texts and place names. Some of these were revered across Ireland, while others were worshipped only in specific regions or locations.

Irish Gods and Goddesses at a Glance

• Who they are: the Tuatha Dé Danann (TOO-ha day DAN-an), a divine people led at different times by Nuada, Lugh and the Dagda.
• Where their stories come from: medieval manuscripts such as Lebor Gabála Érenn (the Book of Invasions) and Cath Maige Tuired (the Second Battle of Moytura), copied and reworked by Christian scribes from roughly the 9th to the 12th century.
• What happened to them: in the Book of Invasions the Milesians, ancestors of the Gaels, defeat them. In later legend they withdraw into the hills and ancient mounds, the sídhe (SHEE), and slowly turn into Ireland’s fairy folk.
• Heroes, not gods: Cú Chulainn and Queen Medb often appear on lists of Irish gods, but they belong to the Ulster Cycle of hero tales. More on them further down.

Here’s who’s who, where each one turns up in the old texts, and where you can still find them on the map of Ireland:

The Major Irish Gods and Goddesses

The major Irish gods featured heavily in many myths and legends, symbolizing different aspects of life in ancient Ireland. They were given all-embracing powers that made them more difficult to categorize than Roman gods.

1. The Dagda Mor

The Dagda was arguably the most important and powerful of all the Celtic gods. As the warrior leader of the Tuatha Dé Danann, he belonged to a magical race known for its supernatural powers.

Also known as the “good god,” the Dagda was the god of the earth, agriculture, time, weather, and seasons. He is also said to be the ruler of life and death and wields a club that can restore or destroy lives with a single blow.

This ancient Celtic god also carried a magical cauldron that was so powerful that no matter how many people sat down to eat, it would feed them all. Dagda also carried a magical harp with which he could call in the seasons and evoke any mood.

The Dagda played a critical role in the festival of Samhain, which takes place on November 1st each year.

This festival signified the end of the old year, and if Dagda had sex with the war goddess the Morrigan during Samhain, their sexual union was believed to “guarantee the fertility and prosperity of the tribe.”

In the sources and on the map: the Dagda is all over Cath Maige Tuired, where he meets the Morrígan at the River Unshin in County Sligo on Samhain, just before the battle. His other name, Eochaid Ollathair, means “Eochaid the All-Father”, as the Dagda’s encyclopedia entry notes. In the stories his home is Brú na Bóinne (Newgrange) in County Meath, and the Grianán of Aileach in County Donegal is said to have been built by him as a tomb for his son Aed.

Find Out About Dagda Mor

2. Danu

Danu is an ancient Celtic goddess from whom the Tuatha Dé Danann got their name. That makes her one of the oldest figures in Irish mythology, even though not a single story about her survives.

Believed to be the Celtic mother goddess of all gods and Celtic people, Danu was associated with fertility, wisdom, waters, and Earth. A 9th-century Irish glossary, Sanas Cormaic (Cormac’s Glossary), calls her Anu, “mother of the gods of Ireland”, and says she fed the gods well.

In the southwestern province of Munster lie two hills known as the Paps of Anu, in County Kerry. These are believed to symbolize the breasts of the mother goddess, reinforcing the idea of Earth as a womanly body.

Despite her importance, Danu features in no surviving Celtic myths and stories. The name “Danu” itself is a modern reconstruction from the “Danann” in Tuatha Dé Danann, and the popular tale of her nurturing a sacred oak called Bile and giving birth to the Dagda doesn’t appear in the medieval Irish texts at all.

Find Out About Danu

3. Lugh

The god Lugh, or Lug, was a warrior and king of the Tuatha Dé Danann. His impressive ability with a spear earnt him the name Lugh Lámhfhada, which means Lugh of the long arm. His spear was so powerful and blood-thirsty that “it would often try to fight without anyone wielding it.”

In addition to being an impressive warrior, this Celtic god was also celebrated for his superior craftsmanship and “his skills as a poet, judge, and ruler.” At the same time, god Lugh was something of a trickster who is said to have “tricked his father’s killers into bringing him magical items that would help the Tuatha Dé Dannan win their war.”

Lugh is often called a sun god, though the medieval texts present him as Samildánach, the master of all skills, and he was often associated with the Roman God Mercury. He was also the divine father of Cú Chulainn, a famous warrior hero in Celtic mythology.

Of all the Irish gods and goddesses, god Lugh stands out for his victory over the Fomorians. In Cath Maige Tuired he faces his own grandfather, the Fomorian king Balor, and kills him with a sling-stone that, in the words of the Second Battle of Moytura text, “carried the eye through his head”.

In the sources and on the map: Lughnasa, the harvest festival at the start of August, carries his name, and it’s one of the ancient pagan Celtic holidays still marked today. In the stories he founded the games at Teltown (Tailtiu) in County Meath in memory of his foster-mother, and the Hill of Uisneach in County Westmeath is one of the places he’s said to be buried.

Find Out About Lugh

4. Aengus

According to Irish mythology, Aengus was the illegitimate son of the Dagda and was born after just one day.

His mother, Boann, the goddess of the River Boyne, was married to another god of Tuatha Dé Danann when the Dagda seduced her, leaving her pregnant with Aengus. He tried to hide the pregnancy by slowing time, a move that resulted in Aengus being born on the same day he was conceived.

Aengus was known for his beauty and youth and was often depicted surrounded by a flock of birds, which were “said to be physical manifestations of the love god’s kisses.”

As a Celtic deity, Aengus was a formidable warrior who wielded a magical sword known as Moralltach or the Great Fury.

In the sources and on the map: his love story with Caer Ibormeith is told in Aislinge Óenguso (The Dream of Aengus), and Brú na Bóinne (Newgrange) is his home in the tales. He wins it from his father with a bit of wordplay, asking for the mound for “a day and a night” and then claiming that all time is made of days and nights. The tomb’s midwinter sunrise has its own story, covered in how the Celts celebrated winter solstice.

Find Out About Aengus

5. The Morrígan

The goddess Morrigan was primarily known as the goddess of war but had strong associations with both sovereignty and fertility. She’s known by many different names, including the Phantom Queen.

Like many Celtic gods, the Morrigan was a shapeshifter and often appeared over a battlefield in the form of a crow. As she flew, it was believed she could inspire great courage in her warriors while instilling fear in the hearts of their enemies.

The Morrigan is both a single goddess and one of Celtic mythology’s many triple deities. With her sisters, usually Badb, the goddess of death and Macha, the goddess of battle (or Nemain, the goddess of frenzy in some versions), she forms a trio of war goddesses associated with stirring up the fury and frenzy of battle.

The Morrigan was believed to have the power to predict the outcome of any battle.

According to Celtic mythology, the Morrigan was a beautiful woman who seduced the Dagda, even though her attempts at attracting the great warrior hero, Cú Chulainn, failed.

Although she failed to exact her revenge against the warrior hero, she later prophesied his death in battle and settled on his corpse’s shoulder in the form of a crow. In the Morrígan’s feud with Cú Chulainn, she attacks him in animal form, including as an eel and a wolf, and he wounds her every time.

On the map: her home in the stories is Oweynagat, the “Cave of the Cats” at Rathcroghan in County Roscommon, which was said to open onto the Otherworld at Samhain.

Find Out About the Morrigan

6. Brigid

The goddess Brigid is a powerful figure in Celtic mythology and another of its many triple deities. Together with her two sisters, she was the goddess of healing, the goddess of smithcraft, and the goddess of poetry.

Many historians believe her influence was so strong that the Catholic Church adopted the Celtic goddess Brigid into their teachings, transforming her into the catholic Saint Brigid of Kildare. Others argue the link between the goddess and the saint has been overstated.

Unlike Saint Brigid, however, the goddess Brigid was complex, combining both creative and destructive traits. She was both the goddess of healing and motherhood, while simultaneously being the goddess of fire and passion.

In the sources and on the map: Sanas Cormaic calls her the goddess the poets worshipped and names her two sisters, Brigid the healer and Brigid the smith, all three daughters of the Dagda. Her feast on 1 February, Imbolc, became St Brigid’s Day, which has been a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland since 2023 (see St Brigid’s Day 2027 dates and rights). Kildare is the place most tied to her name.

7. Ériu

In Irish folklore, Ériu is the goddess of Ireland and provides the nation with its modern Irish name of Éire. Alongside her sisters, Banba and Fódla, Ériu is one of the triple goddesses of the Celtic world.

Ériu stood against the Milesians who invaded Ireland in the Book of Invasions, and although they subsequently defeated her and the Tuatha Dé Danann, they agreed that the land would bear her name. She meets them on the Hill of Uisneach in County Westmeath, where the poet Amergin makes the promise, and she’s said to be buried under the Catstone (Ail na Míreann) on the hill.

After the defeat, the Tuatha Dé Danann moved into the Celtic Otherworld – a supernatural realm where, if legends are to be believed, they remain to this day. That retreat is where many of the stories of Irish fairies and folklore begin.

8. Dian Cécht

Many Celtic gods were perceived to have healing powers, but Dian Cécht, or Diancecht, is widely regarded as the main Celtic healing god and god of medicine.

Dian Cécht ministered to members of the Tuatha Dé Danann, healing their wounds by bathing them in a magical “well of healing.” He was also a master craftsman and fashioned a silver arm for King Nuada, the first king of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

As godly as he was, Dian Cécht was still capable of professional envy, and when his son Miach fashioned a new arm of flesh and blood for the king, Dian Cécht killed him.

In the sources and on the map: all of this comes from Cath Maige Tuired, which adds that 365 herbs grew from Miach’s grave, and that Dian Cécht scattered them so nobody would ever learn their cures. The battlefield of Moytura (Mag Tuired) is traditionally placed near Lough Arrow in County Sligo.

Find Out About Dian Cécht

9. Nuada

Nuada Airgetlám (NOO-ah-dah AR-ig-et-lawv), Nuada of the Silver Hand, was king of the Tuatha Dé Danann when they arrived in Ireland. He lost his arm at the First Battle of Moytura, and because a king had to be without blemish, he gave up the throne to the half-Fomorian Bres, who turned out to be a stingy, miserable ruler.

Once his arm was restored, Nuada took the kingship back, then stepped aside for Lugh before the second battle, where Balor killed him. On the map: the first battle is traditionally set near Cong in County Mayo.

Find Out About Nuada

Most of these gods are related to each other, which is half the drama. Here’s how the main families fit together:

Other Irish Gods and Goddesses

Alongside the major Irish gods and goddesses were many lesser deities, most of them worshipped only in specific regions or locations.

#1 Áine

Áine is the Celtic sun goddess and goddess of wealth, sovereignty, and summer. In Irish mythology, she is also a fairy queen and goddess of the moon, earth, and nature, and could shapeshift into a red horse.

The most famous story involving Áine focuses on her biting off the ear of her enemy. According to the late medieval text, Cóir Anmann, the Celtic goddess did this to avenge her father’s death at the hands of King Ailill Aulom, and other versions say he had raped her.

Áine is predominantly associated with County Limerick, although her influence spread further afield over time. Knockainey (Cnoc Áine) is named after her, and midsummer rites on Knockainey, with lit bundles of straw carried around the hill on St John’s Eve, were still recorded in 1879.

Find Out About Áine

#2 Manannán Mac Lir

According to Irish mythology, Manannán Mac Lir was an influential sea god who inherited his position from his father, Lir.

Like many Celtic gods and goddesses, Manannán Mac Lir had magical tools and animals at his disposal, including a powerful chariot known as the scuabtuinne, and a horse that could travel on either Earth or in the sea.

He is said to have been the first ruler of the Isle of Man, which is where he acquired his name.

On the map: Lough Corrib is said to take its name from Oirbsen, another name for Manannán, and a statue of him stands on Binevenagh in County Derry, looking out over Lough Foyle.

Find Out About Manannán Mac Lir

#3 Neit

Neit was the Celtic god of war and was said to be married to one or more members of the triple goddess, the Morrigan.

Although he was related to the Fomorians, he joined the Tuatha Dé Danann, fighting against his own people.

In early Irish literature, Neit was described as a dangerous man with a surly temper.

#4 Cailleach

The Cailleach, or hag, is a strange choice for an Irish goddess, but she’s been feared and revered for hundreds of years. The goddess of winter, the Cailleach is depicted as a bow-legged old crone with pale skin and only one eye.

According to Celtic myth, the Cailleach can “control the weather and the winds as well as the length and harshness of winter.”

Legend has it that the Cailleach finishes her winter stock of wood on February 1st each year. If the day is fine, she’ll collect enough firewood to prolong the winter months, but if it rains, she has no choice but to allow spring to sneak in.

It’s believed this legend helped fuel the superstition that form the basis for Groundhog Day in the US.

On the map: in Ireland she’s tied to Loughcrew in County Meath, whose Irish name, Sliabh na Caillí, means the hag’s mountain, and to the Beara Peninsula in County Cork, home of the Hag of Beara.

#5 Boann

Bionn, or Boann, was both a river goddess and the mother of Aengus. She’s said to have sacrificed her own life “to form the river Boyne, which created fertility by bringing water needed to grow crops in the area.”

In the most famous tale involving Boann, she visits the sacred Well of Segais and circles it counter-clockwise, causing water to surge from the well and rush down towards the sea, creating the river Boyne.

Boann was either killed in the rush of water or so badly injured that she fled into the sea “to escape her blemish so that none might see her mutilation.”

Find Out About Boann

#6 Caer Ibormeith

This Celtic goddess turns up in only one Irish story, but she’s often described as the goddess of dreams and prophesy.

Her primary role in Irish mythology is as the lover of the Celtic god Aengus. Caer Ibormeith appeared to Aengus in his dreams, but she took on a human form for just one day a year. 

To secure the love of his dream woman, Aengus had to pick her out from a group of 150 swans. When he succeeded, he promptly transformed into a swan and flew away with his future wife, installing her at his palace on the River Boyne.

Despite being a minor player in the Celtic pantheon, Caer Ibormeith was a powerful goddess who made her own way in the world by choosing her husband and setting out the terms for their marriage. 

Swans are a recurring theme in Celtic mythology, symbolizing light and purity and connecting the Celtic otherworld to the human realm.

#7 Clíodhna

Clíodhna was the Celtic goddess of love and beauty and is invariably pictured surrounded by three birds whose songs have the power to heal the sick and injured.

According to some, she was one of the minor deities worshipped in Cork, while others revered her as the “mythical Queen of the Banshees, the female spirits of the Tuatha Dé Danannan.” 

Clíodhna was killed when Manannán, god of the sea, sent a huge wave that swept her out to sea. 

This story is so captivating that, even today, people refer to the incoming tide in Glandore, County Cork as Clíodhna’s Wave. Some even believe that one day, Clíodhna will “summon a huge wave” that will swallow the whole province of Munster.

Heroes and Figures Often Confused With Irish Gods

A few famous names turn up on lists of Irish gods and goddesses without really belonging there. Two are heroes of the Ulster Cycle, and one isn’t Irish at all.

Cú Chulainn

Cú Chulainn isn’t a god, but he was a central character of the Ulster cycle of Celtic mythology and remains a hero in Irish folklore. 

Born to a mortal mother but sired by the great Lugh, Cú Chulainn was a demi-god and ferocious warrior. 

In the epic text, Táin Bó Cúailnge, Cú Chulainn is described as having the power to turn himself into “a terrible, many-shaped, wonderful, unheard of thing.” His fury in battle was such that it caused his hair to stand on end “like branches of a red thorn.”

Cú Chulainn was the only member of the Ulster army not to fall victim to a curse that caused them to suffer from labor pains and, as such, defeated Queen Medb’s army single-handedly.

Queen Medb of Connaught

Queen Medb is a warrior queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle, although many scholars think she began as a sovereignty goddess. Her name derives from the Irish word “Meadhbh,” meaning “she who intoxicates.”

Also known as Maeve, the Queen of Connacht was cunning and promiscuous. She is also said to have been “stronger than many of her suitors and consorts, both physically and mentally.”

However, like Dian Cécht, she still had some typical human flaws and killed her sister in a fit of jealousy.

Queen Medb also instigated the Cattle Raid of Cooley (Táin Bó Cúailnge), in which she was defeated by the youthful demigod, Cú Chulainn.

Her royal seat is Rathcroghan in County Roscommon, and the cairn on top of Knocknarea in County Sligo is known locally as Queen Maeve’s grave.

Cernunnos and the Other Non-Irish Celtic Gods

Cernunnos, the horned Celtic god, often lands on lists of Irish gods, but he belongs to Gaul (roughly modern France). His name is known from a carving found in Paris, and there’s no clear evidence he was worshipped in Ireland. The same goes for Taranis, Epona and Sulis, who all live on the wider Celtic deities page instead.

Explore Celtic Deities Beyond Ireland

Irish Gods and Goddesses: Questions and Answers

Who is the Most Powerful Irish God(dess)?

There are many contenders for the title of the most powerful Celtic god, but it’s the Dagda that generally comes out on top. The Dagda was the leader of the Tuatha Dé Danann, “making him the head of the pantheon of Celtic gods.”

The title of the most powerful Celtic goddess goes to the Morrigan, whose status as a triple deity gives her greater powers than even Danu.

Who is the Main Irish God?

As the god of Earth and the main father figure in Irish mythology, the Dagda is the main god of the Irish stories. Lugh is the one with the widest reach: a god with the same name turns up as Lugus in Gaul and Lleu in Wales.

How Many Irish Gods and Goddesses Are There?

There’s no fixed number. The medieval Irish texts name a few dozen members of the Tuatha Dé Danann, and more local gods survive only in place names and folklore. Across the wider Celtic world, over 400 deity names are recorded in Gaul alone. Some of the lesser gods were worshipped only in specific places. For instance, the river goddess Boann was a minor deity in much of Ireland but was “very precious to the people of Leinster.”

Are the Tuatha Dé Danann Gods?

Mostly, yes, though the scribes who wrote their stories down rarely call them gods. The Book of Invasions presents them as a magical people who ruled Ireland before the Milesians, and most accounts of the Tuatha Dé Danann read them as the old pagan gods, recast for a Christian audience.

Who is the Irish God of the Sea?

Manannán mac Lir is the Irish god of the sea. He rides a chariot over the waves, rules an Otherworld island, and is said to give his name to the Isle of Man. His father, Lir, is an older sea god best known from the Children of Lir story.

Conclusion

Celtic mythology is full of ancient gods and goddesses, the most famous of which are the Dagda and the Morrigan.

The characteristics of these Celtic deities embodied the traits most prized by the people of Ireland, while the tales and myths surrounding them offered useful life lessons designed to inspire courage and fortitude.

Even today, the Irish gods and goddesses of yesteryear continue to “shape the Irish identity of the present.”