Gods of the Fir Bolg
The Fir Bolg were the fourth people to take Ireland in the mythological tradition, descendants of the Nemedians who had gone into slavery in Greece and returned. They are not supernatural beings in the way the Tuatha Dé Danann were — they are understood as a human race, and their kings and chieftains are the closest thing the mythology has to mortal rulers of the divine age.
The five sons of Dela divided Ireland between them on arrival — the first division of the provinces — and ruled until the Tuatha Dé Danann came and defeated them at the First Battle of Mag Tuired. Their greatest champion, Sreng, fought Nuada to a standstill and took his arm. Their last king, Eochaid mac Eirc, died in that battle.
The figures listed here are the kings and champion of the Fir Bolg, drawn from the early Irish sources.
Fir Bolg
Dela
Founding Ancestor of the Fir Bolg Dela is the founding ancestor of the Fir Bolg — the third mythological people to settle Ireland. He didn’t come to Ireland himself. His five sons did that. But without Dela, there are no five sons, no return from Greece, no division of Ireland into five provinces, and no […]
Eochaid mac Eirc
Last High King of the Fir Bolg Eochaid mac Eirc was the last and greatest High King of the Fir Bolg, and the reign the tradition remembers as a golden time. No rain fell during his kingship — only gentle dew. Every year brought a harvest. No man killed another in Ireland while he ruled. […]
Gann mac Dela
Fir Bolg Provincial King Gann mac Dela was one of the five sons of Dela who brought the Fir Bolg back to Ireland and divided the island between them. He served as High King of the Fir Bolg in succession after his brother Slainge. He and his brother Genann are consistently mentioned together in the […]
Genann mac Dela
Fir Bolg Provincial King Genann mac Dela was one of the five sons of Dela who brought the Fir Bolg back to Ireland and divided the island between them. He served as High King in the succession of the five brothers, consistently paired with his brother Gann — the two of them forming the middle […]
Rudraige mac Dela
Ancestor of the Ulster Dynasties Rudraige mac Dela was one of the five sons of Dela who brought the Fir Bolg to Ireland and divided the island into five provinces. His share was Ulster — the northern province. He served as High King in the succession of the five brothers. What sets Rudraige mac Dela […]
Sengann mac Dela
Fir Bolg King of Munster Sengann mac Dela was one of the five sons of Dela who brought the Fir Bolg to Ireland and divided the island between them. His share was Munster — the southern province. He served as High King of the Fir Bolg in the succession of the five brothers. He is […]
Slainge mac Dela
First High King of the Fir Bolg Slainge mac Dela was the eldest of the five sons of Dela and the first of the Fir Bolg to set foot in Ireland when they returned from their bondage in Greece. As the eldest, the kingship came to him first. He was the first High King of […]
Sreng
Champion of the Fir Bolg Sreng mac Sengainn was the greatest warrior of the Fir Bolg, and he struck one blow that changed everything. Before the First Battle of Mag Tuired — the battle between the Fir Bolg and the incoming Tuatha Dé Danann — Sreng served as the Fir Bolg’s envoy. He met the […]