Goddesses of the Fomorians
The Fomorians were the ancient powers that the Tuatha Dé Danann displaced — older, darker, associated with the sea, the underworld, and the chaotic forces that preceded order. They are not simply villains. Several of the most important figures in Irish mythology have Fomorian blood, and the two races were bound together by alliance and marriage as much as by war.
The Fomorian women in the manuscripts are few but significant. They are prophetesses, mothers of gods, and keepers of power that predates the Tuatha Dé Danann themselves. Their stories are inseparable from the great conflicts that shaped the mythological world of Ireland.
Fomorians Goddesses
Bua
Fomorian Queen Bua was a Fomorian queen. Her name means “victory.” She was one of the few named women on the Fomorian side of the great conflict with the Tuatha Dé Danann — confirmation that the Fomorian world had its queens and its female powers, not just its male kings and warriors. Her individual story […]
Cethlenn
Fomorian Prophetess and Wife of Balor Cethlenn was the wife of Balor and the mother of Ethniu. Before the Second Battle of Mag Tuired, she warned Balor that the battle would go badly for the Fomorians. He didn’t listen carefully enough. She was right. She also fought in the battle herself. She wounded the Dagda […]
Domnu
The Fomorian Abyss Domnu is the deep from which the Fomorians draw their power. Her name means exactly that — deep, hollow, abyss. The Fir Domnainn, the “peoples of the deep,” are named after her. Indech, one of the principal Fomorian kings at the Second Battle of Mag Tuired, carries her name in his title: […]
Ethniu
Mother of Lugh Ethniu was the daughter of Balor, the Evil-Eyed king of the Fomorians. Balor received a prophecy that his grandson would kill him. His response was to lock Ethniu in a crystal tower on Tory Island, off the Donegal coast, with twelve women to keep her company and strict orders that she was […]