Sovereignty Goddess and Namesake of Ireland
Ireland’s Irish name — Éire — is Ériu’s name. It has been since the Milesian conquest at the end of the mythological age, and it has held through every political and religious change that followed.
When the Milesians — the last mythological invaders of Ireland — landed on the island, they met the three divine sisters one by one. Ériu came to them and gave them a welcome. She asked one thing: that the island bear her name forever. The Milesian poet Amairgen granted it. The Milesians won the war. Ériu won the naming, and the naming has lasted longer.
She was the wife of Mac Gréine — “son of the sun” — and their marriage is the mythology’s most concentrated statement about sacred kingship: the sovereignty goddess of the land married to the sun’s representative. Every legitimate Irish king at his inauguration participated in the symbolic version of this partnership. Ériu is the ground of it.
She is one of three sovereignty goddess sisters — with Banba and Fódla — all daughters of Delbaeth, all married to one of the three co-kings who shared Ireland’s divine sovereignty in the final Tuatha Dé Danann era. All three sisters met the Milesians and asked that Ireland bear their names. The poet made the promise to all three. But Ériu’s name is the one that took hold in everyday use, while her sisters’ names survived in poetry.
She is also the land’s gatekeeper. The tradition records that the Milesian hero Donn insulted her on the shore. He drowned in the storm before he could reach Ireland. The sovereignty goddess decides who is permitted to arrive.
Her husband Mac Gréine was killed at the Battle of Tailtiu during the conquest. After the Tuatha Dé Danann withdrew into the síde, Ériu went with them — but her name remained on the island, spoken daily in the language of the people who had defeated her.
Key facts about Ériu
- Names: Ériu; her name is the source of Éire (Ireland’s Irish name)
- Rules over: The sovereignty of Ireland; the land in its entirety; legitimate kingship
- Weapons: Not recorded
- Animals: Not recorded
- Other Symbols: Ireland itself; the sovereignty cup; the naming-moment
- Parents: Delbaeth (father)
- Siblings: Banba; Fódla
- Spouse: Mac Gréine (“son of the sun”)
- Children: Not recorded
- Greek equivalent: Gaia (the land as divine body)
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