View source for Lugh

{{short description|Irish god of skills and the arts}}
{{About|the Irish deity|other subjects with similar names|Lug (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Irish
| name = Lugh
| image = Lugh spear Millar.jpg
| caption = Illustration of Lugh and his magical spear by [[H. R. Millar]]
| member_of = the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]]
| abodes = {{hlist| [[Hill of Tara|Tara]] }}
| weapons = {{hlist| [[#Lug's Spear|Gae Assail]]| [[Fragarach]]| [[#Sling-stone|Tathlum]] }}
| animals = {{hlist| [[Failinis]]| [[Enbarr]] }}
| festivals = {{hlist|[[Lughnasadh]]| [[Assembly of Talti|Aonach Tailteann]] }}
| parents = {{hlist| [[Cian]]| [[Ethniu]]}}
| siblings = 
| consorts = {{hlist| [[Buí]]| [[Nás]]| [[Deichtine]] (mortal)}}
| children = {{hlist| [[Ibic]]| [[Ebliu]]| [[Cúchulainn]] (mortal)}}
| deity_of = God of Justice, war, kingship, craftsmen, skills, trade and harvests.
| other_names = Lug, Lugus.
| roman_equivalent = [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]]
}}

'''Lugh''' or '''Lug''' ({{IPA|sga|l̪uɣ|lang}}; {{langx|ga|label=[[Irish language|modern Irish]]|Lú}} {{IPA|ga|l̪ˠuː|}}) is a figure in [[Irish mythology]]. A member of the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]], a group of [[supernatural]] beings, Lugh is portrayed as a warrior, a king, a master craftsman and a [[Salvation|saviour]].<ref name=olmsted>Olmsted, Garrett. ''The Gods of the Celts and the Indo-Europeans''. University of Innsbruck, 1994. p.117</ref> He is associated with skill and mastery in multiple disciplines, including the arts.<ref name=monaghan>Monaghan, Patricia. ''The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore''. Infobase Publishing, 2004. pp.296-297</ref> Lugh also has associations with oaths, truth, and the law,<ref name=olmsted/> and therefore with rightful kingship.<ref name=koch1200>Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia''. ABC-CLIO, 2006. p.1200</ref>He is also associated with intelligence.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lugh in Celtic Mythology: Myths, Powers, and Symbols - Centre of Excellence |url=https://www.centreofexcellence.com/lugh-in-celtic-mythology/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250622045358/https://www.centreofexcellence.com/lugh-in-celtic-mythology/ |archive-date=2025-06-22 |access-date=2025-08-26 |website=www.centreofexcellence.com |language=en}}</ref> Lugh is linked with the harvest festival of [[Lughnasadh]], which bears his name. His most common epithets are ''Lámfada'' ({{langx|ga|label=[[Modern Irish]]|Lámhfhada}} {{IPA|ga|ˈl̪ˠaːw ad̪ˠə|}}; "long hand" or "long arm", possibly for his skill with a [[spear]] or his ability as a ruler) and ''Samildánach'' ({{langx|ga|label=Modern Irish|Samhaildánach}} {{IPA|ga|ˈsˠawəlʲ d̪ˠaːnˠəx|}}; "equally skilled in many arts").<ref name="ohogain"/> This has sometimes been anglicised as "Lew of the Long Hand".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brophy |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QrkXAAAAYAAJ |title=Sketches of the Royal Irish Constabulary |date=1886 |publisher=Burns and Oates |pages=146, 158 |language=en |access-date=21 December 2023 |archive-date=16 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916223014/https://books.google.com/books?id=QrkXAAAAYAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=de&nbsp;Burgh |first=Thomas J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6c5YrgEACAAJ |title=Ancient Naas. [Extracted from the Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society. ] - Scholar's Choice Edition |date=2015-02-14 |publisher=Creative Media Partners, LLC |isbn=978-1-296-02343-0 |language=en |access-date=26 December 2023 |archive-date=16 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916223045/https://books.google.com/books?id=6c5YrgEACAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In mythology, Lugh is the son of [[Cian]] and [[Ethniu]] (or Ethliu). He is the maternal grandson of the [[Fomorians|Fomorian]] tyrant [[Balor]], whom Lugh kills in the ''[[Cath Maige Tuired|Battle of Mag Tuired]]''. Lugh's son is the hero [[Cú Chulainn]], who is believed to be an incarnation of Lugh.

Lugh has several magical possessions. He wields an unstoppable fiery spear and a sling stone and owns a hound named ''[[Failinis]]''. He is said to have invented ''[[fidchell]]'', ball games, and horse racing.<ref name=ohogain/>

He is the Irish manifestation of the pan-[[Celt]]ic god [[Lugus]], and his [[Welsh mythology|Welsh]] counterpart is [[Lleu Llaw Gyffes]]. The ''[[interpretatio romana]]'' has Lug correspond to the [[Roman religion|Romans god]] [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]].

==Name==
===Etymology===
The meaning of Lugh's name is still a matter of debate. Some scholars propose that it derives from a suggested [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] root {{lang|ine-x-proto|(h2)lewgh-}} meaning "to bind by oath" (compare [[Old Irish]] {{lang|sga|luige}} and [[Welsh language|Welsh]] {{lang|cy|llw}}, both meaning "oath, vow, act of swearing" and derived from a suffixed [[Proto-Celtic language|Proto-Celtic]] form, {{lang|cel-x-proto|lugiyo-}}, "oath"),<ref>Matasović, Ranko, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 9, Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2009, p. 247.</ref> suggesting that he was originally a god of oaths and sworn contracts.<ref name="ohogain"/> When Balor meets Lugh in the Second Battle of Moytura he calls Lugh a "babbler".<ref name=cmt-ss134/> 

In the past his name was generally believed to come from another suggested Proto-Indo-European root {{lang|ine-x-proto|leuk-}}, "flashing light", and since the Victorian era he has often been considered a [[sun god]], similar to the Greco-Roman [[Apollo]]. However, the figure of Lugh in Irish mythology and literature seems to be a better match with a [[Gallo-Roman religion|romanized]] god identified with [[Mercury (god)|Mercury]], described by Julius Caesar in his ''[[De Bello Gallico]]''.<ref name="ohogain"/> There are serious phonological issues with deriving the name from {{lang|ine-x-proto|leuk-}}, notably that Proto-Indo-European {{lang|ine-x-proto|-k-}} never produced Proto-Celtic {{lang|cel-x-proto|-g-}};,<ref>Peter Schrijver, Studies in British Celtic Historical Phonology, Rodopi, 1995, pp. 348-348</ref> for this reason, most modern specialists in Celtic languages no longer accept this etymology.<ref>See, however, Matasović, Ranko, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 9, Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2009, p. 248: "''*Lugu'' … perhaps originally 'the shining one'".</ref>

===Epithets===
* {{lang|sga|Lámfada}} ({{IPA|ga|ˈl̪ˠaːβˠ ad̪ˠə|}} ("long hand") – possibly for his skill with a [[spear]] or his ability as a ruler<ref name=koch1200/>
* {{lang|sga|Samildánach}} ("equally skilled in all the arts")<ref name=cmt-ss053-083/>
* {{lang|sga|Lonnansclech}} ("fierce / strong, combative")<ref name=cmt-ss055/>
* {{lang|sga|Lonnbéimnech}} ("fierce striker")<ref>{{cite web |last=Carmody |first=Isolde |date=16 December 2012 |title=Lug comes to Tara |website=storyarchaeology.com |url=https://storyarchaeology.com/lug-comes-to-tara/ |url-status=live |access-date=16 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916223011/https://storyarchaeology.com/lug-comes-to-tara/ |archive-date=16 September 2024 }}</ref>
* {{lang|sga|Macnia}} ("young warrior / hero")<ref name=koch1200/>
* {{lang|sga|Conmac}} ("dog-youth / lad of hounds")<ref>{{cite book |last=MacNeill |first=Eoin |year=1953 |title=Duanaire Finn: The book of the lays of Fionn |publisher=Irish Texts Society |page=205 }}</ref>

==Description==
Lugh is typically described as a youthful warrior. In the brief narrative ''Baile in Scáil'', Lugh is described as being very large and very beautiful and a spear-wielding horseman.<ref>''Baile in Scáil: The Phantom's Frenzy'', {{harvp|Dillon|1946|pp=11–14}};{{URL|1=http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/phantom.html|2=text}} via Celtic Literature Collective, accessed 5 August 2019</ref>

When he appears before the wounded Cú Chulainn in the Táin Bó Cúalnge he is described as follows:
<blockquote>A man fair and tall, with a great head of curly yellow hair. He has a green mantle wrapped about him and a brooch of white silver in the mantle over his breast. Next to his white skin, he wears a tunic of royal satin with red-gold insertion reaching to his knees. He carries a black shield with a hard boss of white-bronze. In his hand a five-pointed spear and next to it a forked javelin. Wonderful is the play and sport and diversion that he makes (with these weapons). But none accosts him and he accosts none as if no one could see him.<ref name=Tain>{{cite report |last=O'Rahilly |first=Cecile |year=1975 |title=Táin Bó Cúalnge |lang=ga, en |trans-title=The Cattle-Raid of Cooley |type=translation |department=Recension&nbsp;1 |website=Corpus of Electronic Texts |publisher=University College |place=Cork, IE |url=https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T301012/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=4 August 2019  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916223006/https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T301012/index.html |archive-date=16 September 2024 }}</ref></blockquote>

Elsewhere Lugh is described as a tall young man with bright red cheeks, white sides, a bronze-coloured face and blood-coloured hair.<ref name="banshee">{{cite web |last=Ó Dálaigh |first=Gofraidh Fionn |title=Ar an doirseoir ris an deaghlaoch |website=suburbanbanshee.net |url=http://suburbanbanshee.net/irishptr/irepoems/tabhasdo.html |access-date=4 August 2019 |archive-date=26 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726115920/http://suburbanbanshee.net/irishptr/irepoems/tabhasdo.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In ''The Fate of the Children of Turenn'' Lugh's appearance is compared to the sun on several occasions. He is described by Bres as follows:
: Then arose Breas, the son of Balar, and he said: "It is a wonder to me", said he, "that the sun to rise in the west today, and in the east every other day". "It would be better that it wer so", said the druids. "What else is it?" said he. "The radiance of the face of Lugh of the Long Arms", said they.<ref>''The Fate of the Children of Tuireann'', {{harvp|O'Curry|1863|pp=176–177}}</ref>

Elsewhere in the same passage, the following remark is made:
: ... they were not long there when they saw an army and a goodly host coming towards them from the East, and in the vanguard there was one young man high in authority over all; and like to the setting sun was the radiance of his face and forehead, and they were unable to gaze upon his countenance on account of its splendour. And this is who it was - Lugh Lamhfhada Loinnbheimionach ... from the Land of Promise ... and when the ''Cathbarr'' (Manannan's helmet) was let off of him the appearance of his face and forehead was as brilliant as the sun on a dry summer's day.<ref>{{cite book |title=Oide Cloinne Tuireann |year=1901 |publisher=M.H. Gill and Son |location=Dublin, IE |page=67 |url=https://archive.org/details/fateofchildrenof00sociiala/mode/2up |access-date=21 August 2020}}</ref>

==Mythology==

===Birth===
Lugh's father is [[Cian]] of the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]], and his mother is [[Ethniu]] (Eithne in [[Modern Irish]]), daughter of [[Balor]] of the [[Fomorians]]. In ''Cath Maige Tuired'' their union is a dynastic marriage following an alliance between the Tuatha Dé and the Fomorians.<ref name=cmt-ss008/> In the ''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]],'' Cian gives the boy to [[Tailtiu]], queen of the [[Fir Bolg]], in [[fosterage]].<ref>''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]'' [http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/lebor4.html#55 §59] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715225248/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/lebor4.html#55 |date=15 July 2010 }}</ref> In the Dindsenchas, Lugh, the foster-son of Tailtiu, is described as the "son of the Dumb Champion".<ref name=rennes-099/> In the poem Baile Suthain Sith Eamhna Lugh is called "descendant of the poet."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Skene |first1=William Forbes |title=Celtic Scotland: Land and people |date=1890 |location=Edinburgh, Scotland |page=413 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tDsUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR15 |access-date=5 March 2021 |archive-date=16 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916220518/https://books.google.com/books?id=tDsUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR15#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>

A [[Folklore|folktale]] told to [[John O'Donovan (scholar)|John O'Donovan]] by Shane O'Dugan of [[Tory Island]] in 1835 recounts the birth of a grandson of Balor who grows up to kill his grandfather. The grandson is unnamed, his father is called Mac Cinnfhaelaidh and the manner of his killing of Balor is different, but it has been taken as a version of the birth of Lugh, and was adapted as such by [[Lady Gregory]]. In this tale, Balor hears a druid's prophecy that he will be killed by his own grandson. To prevent this he imprisons his only daughter in the Tór Mór (great tower) of [[Tory Island]]. She is cared for by twelve women, who are to prevent her from ever meeting or even learning of the existence of men.<ref name="odonovan"/>

On the mainland, Mac Cinnfhaelaidh owns a magic cow who gives such abundant milk that everyone, including Balor, wants to possess her. While the cow is in the care of Mac Cinnfhaelaidh's brother Mac Samthainn, Balor appears in the form of a little red-haired boy and tricks him into giving him the cow. Looking for revenge, Mac Cinnfhaelaidh calls on a ''[[leanan sídhe]]'' (fairy woman) called [[Biróg]], who transports him by magic to the top of Balor's tower, where he seduces Ethniu. In time, she gives birth to triplets, which Balor gathers up in a sheet and sends to drown in a whirlpool. The messenger drowns two of the babies but unwittingly drops one child into the harbour, where he is rescued by Biróg. She takes him to his father, who gives him to his brother, [[Goibniu|Gavida]] the smith, in fosterage.<ref name="odonovan">[[John O'Donovan (scholar)|John O'Donovan]] (ed. & trans.), ''Annala Rioghachta Éireann: Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters'' Vol. 1, 1856, pp. 18–21, footnote ''S''; T. W. Rolleston, ''Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race'', 1911, pp. 109–112; [[Augusta, Lady Gregory]], ''Gods and Fighting Men'', 1094, pp. 27–29</ref>

There may be further triplism associated with his birth. His father in the folktale is one of a triad of brothers, Mac Cinnfhaelaidh, Gavida, and Mac Samthainn, whereas in the ''Lebor Gabála'', his father Cian is mentioned alongside his brothers Cú and Cethen.<ref name=lge-para314/><ref>Cf. {{harvp|O'Curry|1863|pp=170–171}}, n 161, n162</ref>{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|e.g. According to the ''Rennes Dindsenchas'' §14, Cú killed Cethen, and there once was a well-known phrase that "Thou hast acted for me Cú and Cethen".<ref name=rennes-ss14&066/>}} Two characters called [[Lugaid (disambiguation)|Lugaid]], a popular [[medieval]] Irish name thought to derive from Lugh, have three fathers: [[Lugaid Riab nDerg]] (Lugaid of the Red Stripes) was the son of the three ''[[Findemna]]'' or fair triplets,<ref>Vernam Hull (ed. & Trans.), [http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/medb.html "''Aided Meidbe'': The Violent Death of Medb"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131129042653/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/medb.html |date=29 November 2013 }}, ''Speculum'' v.13 issue 1. (Jan. 1938), pp. 52–61</ref> and [[Lugaid mac Con Roí]] was also known as ''mac Trí Con'', "son of three hounds".<ref>James MacKillop, ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology'', Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 273</ref> In Ireland's other great "sequestered maiden" story, the tragedy of [[Deirdre]], the king's intended is carried off by three brothers, who are hunters with hounds.<ref>[http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/usnech.html "Deirdre, or the Exile of the sons of Usnech"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514140750/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/usnech.html |date=14 May 2011 }} (ed. & trans. unknown)</ref> The canine imagery continues with Cian's brother Cú ("hound"), another Lugaid, [[Lugaid Mac Con]] (son of a hound), and Lugh's son [[Cúchulainn]] ("Culann's Hound").<ref>MacKillop 1998, pp. 102–104, 272–273</ref> A fourth Lugaid was [[Lugaid Loígde]], a legendary [[King of Tara]] and ancestor of (or inspiration for) Lugaid Mac Con.

===Lugh joins the Tuatha Dé Danann===
As a young man Lugh travels to [[Tara, Ireland|Tara]] to join the court of King [[Nuada]] of the Tuatha Dé Danann. The doorkeeper will not let him in unless he has a skill he can use to serve the king. He offers his services as a wright, a smith, a champion, a swordsman, a harpist, a hero, a poet, a historian, a sorcerer, and a craftsman, but each time is rejected as the Tuatha Dé Danann already have someone with that skill. When Lugh asks if they have anyone with all those skills simultaneously, the doorkeeper has to admit defeat, and Lugh joins the court and is appointed [[Chief Ollam of Ireland]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://bardmythologies.com/lugh/|title=Lugh|website=bardmythologies.com|date=5 June 2014|access-date=2017-08-01|archive-date=1 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801160341/http://bardmythologies.com/lugh/|url-status=live}}</ref> He wins a flagstone-throwing contest against [[Ogma]], the champion, and entertains the court with his [[harp]]. The Tuatha Dé Danann are, at that time, oppressed by the Fomorians, and Lugh is amazed at how meekly they accept their oppression. Nuada wonders if this young man could lead them to freedom. Lugh is given command over the Tuatha Dé Danann, and he begins making preparations for war.<ref name=cmt-ss053-083/>

===Sons of Tuireann===
[[Tuireann]] and Cian, Lugh's father, are old enemies, and one day his sons, Brian, [[Iuchar]], and [[Iucharba]] spot Cian in the distance and decide to kill him. They find him hiding in the form of a pig, but Cian tricked the brothers into allowing him to transform back into a man before they killed him, giving Lugh the legal right to claim compensation for a father rather than just a pig. When they try to bury him, the ground spits his body back twice before keeping him down, and eventually confesses that it is a grave to Lugh.<ref>[http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/turenn.html "The Fate of the Children of Tuirenn"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108072326/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/turenn.html |date=8 January 2014 }}, {{harvp|Cross|Slover|1936|pp=49–81}}</ref>

Lugh holds a feast and invites the brothers, and during it he asks them what they would demand as compensation for the murder of their father. They reply that death would be the only just demand, and Lugh agrees. He then accuses them of the murder of his father, Cian, and sets them on a series of seemingly impossible quests. The brothers go on an adventure and achieve them all except the last one, which will surely kill them. Despite Tuireann's pleas, Lugh demands that they proceed and, when they are all fatally wounded, he denies them the use of one of the items they have retrieved, a magic pigskin which heals all wounds. They die of their wounds and Tuireann dies of grief over their bodies.<ref>[http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/turenn.html "The Fate of the Children of Tuirenn"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108072326/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/turenn.html |date=8 January 2014 }}, {{harvp|Cross|Slover|1936|pp=49–81}}</ref>

===Battle of Magh Tuireadh===
Using the magic artefacts the sons of Tuireann have gathered, Lugh leads the Tuatha Dé Danann in the [[Cath Maige Tuireadh|Second Battle of Mag Tuireadh]] against the [[Fomorians]]. Prior to the battle, Lugh asked each man and woman in his army what art he or she would bring to the fray. He then addressed his army in speech, which elevated each warrior's spirit to that of a king or lord.<ref name=cmt-ss120/> Nuada is killed in the battle by Balor. Lugh faces Balor, who opens his terrible, poisonous eye that kills all it looks upon, but Lugh shoots a [[sling (weapon)|sling]] -stone that drives his eye out the back of his head, killing Balor and wreaking havoc on the Fomorian army behind.<ref name=cmt-ss074-167/>

After the victory Lugh finds [[Bres]], the half-Fomorian former king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, alone and unprotected on the battlefield, and Bres begs for his life. If he is spared, he promises, he will ensure that the cows of Ireland always give milk. The Tuatha Dé Danann refuse the offer. He then promises four harvests a year, but the Tuatha Dé Danann say one harvest a year suits them. But Lugh spares his life on the condition that he teach the Tuatha Dé Danann how and when to plough, sow, and reap.<ref name=cmt-ss074-167/>

===Later life and death===
Lugh instituted an event similar to the [[Olympic Games]] called the [[Assembly of Talti]] which finished on [[Lughnasadh]] (1 August) in memory of his foster mother, [[Tailtiu]], at the town that bears her name, now [[Teltown]], [[County Meath]]. He likewise instituted Lughnasadh fairs in the areas of Carman and [[Naas]] in honour of [[Carman]] and Nás, the eponymous tutelary goddesses of these two regions. Horse races and displays of martial arts were important activities at all three fairs. Lughnasadh is a celebration of Lugh's triumph over the spirits of the [[Celtic Otherworld|Otherworld]] who had tried to keep the harvest for themselves. It survived long into Christian times and is still celebrated under a variety of names. ''Lúnasa'' is now the [[Irish language|Irish]] name for the month of August.

According to a poem of the ''[[dindsenchas]]'', Lugh was responsible for the death of Bres. He made 300 wooden cows and filled them with a bitter, poisonous red liquid which was then "milked" into pails and offered to Bres to drink. Bres, who was under an obligation not to refuse hospitality, drank it down without flinching, and it killed him.<ref>{{harvp|Gwynn|1913|pp=216–223}}, ''The Metrical Dindshenchas'' Part III. [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T106500C/text040.html Poem 40: Carn Huí Néit] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090906025125/http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T106500C/text040.html |date=6 September 2009 }}</ref>

Lugh is said to have invented the board game [[fidchell]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/kerryman/news/john-gives-celtic-board-game-a-new-lease-of-life-29498070.html |title=John gives Celtic board game a new lease of life |work=Independent.ie |access-date=2017-10-31 |archive-date=7 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107003907/https://www.independent.ie/regionals/kerryman/news/john-gives-celtic-board-game-a-new-lease-of-life-29498070.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

One of his wives, Buach, had an affair with [[Cermait]], son of [[the Dagda]].<ref name=bergin-dagda/> Lugh killed him in revenge, but Cermait's sons, [[Mac Cuill]], [[Mac Cecht]], and [[Mac Gréine]], killed Lugh in return, spearing him through the foot then drowning him in [[Hill of Uisneach#Features|Loch Lugborta]] in [[County Westmeath]]<ref>{{harvp|Gwynn|1924|pp=278–291}}, ''The Metrical Dindshenchas'' Part IV. Poem 86:"[https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T106500D/text086.html Loch Lugborta] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181231200130/https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T106500D/text086.html |date=31 December 2018 }}"</ref> He had ruled for forty years. Cermait was later revived by his father, the Dagda, who used the smooth or healing end of his staff to bring Cermait back to life.<ref name=bergin-dagda/>

===In other cycles and traditions===
* In the [[Ulster Cycle]] he fathered [[Cúchulainn]] with the mortal maiden [[Deichtine]]. When Cúchulainn lay wounded after a gruelling series of combats during the ''[[Táin Bó Cuailnge]]'' (Cattle Raid of Cooley), Lugh appeared and healed his wounds over a period of three days.
* In ''Baile in Scáil'' (The Phantom's Trance), a story of the [[Historical Cycle]], Lugh appeared in a vision to [[Conn of the Hundred Battles]]. Enthroned on a daïs, he directed a beautiful woman called the Sovereignty of Ireland to serve Conn a portion of meat and a cup of red [[ale]], ritually confirming his right to rule and the dynasty that would follow him.
* In the [[Fenian Cycle]] the [[dwarf (mythology)|dwarf]] [[harp]]er [[Cnú Deireóil]] claimed to be Lugh's son.<ref>"[https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095619885 Cnú Deireóil] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916220618/https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095619885 |date=16 September 2024 }}", Mackillop (1998) ed., ''Oxford Dictionary of Celtic Mythology''.</ref>
* The [[Luigne]], a people who inhabited Counties [[County Meath|Meath]] and [[County Sligo|Sligo]], claimed descent from him.
* Ainle is listed as the son of Lug Longhand (here called "Leo lam-fota")<ref name=metrical-III-p009/> and is killed by Curnan the Blacklegged in the Rennes Dinsenchas.<ref name=rennes-082/> Ainle, whose name means "champion" is described as being renowned and glorious, but in the same poetic verse is also described as being a weakling with no grip in battle.<ref name=metrical-III-p009>{{harvp|Gwynn|1924|pp=9–11}}, ''The Metrical Dindshenchas'' Part IV. Poem/Story 3:"[https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T106500D/text003.html Druim Cliab] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916220538/https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T106500D/text003.html |date=16 September 2024 }}", and notes, {{URL|1=https://archive.org/stream/metricaldindsenc04royauoft#page/376/mode/2up |2=p. 377}}</ref>
* Lugh appears in folklore as a [[trickster]], and in [[County Mayo]] thunderstorms were referred to as battles between Lugh and Balor, which leads some to speculate that he was a storm god.

==Family==
Lugh is given the [[matriname]] ''mac Ethlenn'' or ''mac Ethnenn'' ("son of Ethliu or [[Ethniu]]", his mother) and the [[Patronymic surname|patriname]] ''mac Cein'' ("son of [[Cian]]", his father).<ref name=koch1200/> He is the maternal grandson of the [[Fomorians|Fomorian]] tyrant [[Balor]], whom Lugh kills in the ''[[Cath Maige Tuired|Battle of Mag Tuired]]''. Lugh's son is the hero [[Cú Chulainn]], who is believed to be an incarnation of Lugh.<ref>[[Walter Evans-Wentz|Evans-Wentz, Walter]] (1911). ''[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/ffcc/ffcc270.htm The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160224121903/http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/ffcc/ffcc270.htm |date=24 February 2016 }}'', p.369</ref><ref>[[Eleanor Hull|Hull, Eleanor]] (1898). ''The Cuchullin Saga in Irish Literature''.</ref>

He had several wives, including Buí (AKA Buach or Bua "Victory") and Nás, daughters of Ruadri Ruad, king of Britain. Buí lived and was buried at [[Knowth]] (Cnogba).<ref>{{harvp|Gwynn|1913|pp=40–47}} ''The Metrical Dindshenchas'', Part 3. Poem 4: {{URL|1=https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T106500C/text004.html |2=Cnogba}}</ref> Nás was buried at [[Naas]], [[County Kildare]], which is said to be named after her. Lugh had a son, Ibic "of the horses", by Nás.<ref>{{harvp|Gwynn|1913|pp=48–53}} ''The Metrical Dindshenchas'', Part 3. Poem 5: [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T106500C/text005.html Nás]</ref> It is said that Nás dies with the noise of combat. Therefore it is difficult to know where she dies. Lugh's daughter or sister was [[Ebliu]], who married [[Fintan mac Bóchra|Fintan]]. By the mortal [[Deichtine]], Lugh was the father to the hero [[Cú Chulainn]].

==Possessions==
Lugh possessed a number of magical items, retrieved by the sons of Tuirill Piccreo in Middle Irish redactions of the [[Lebor Gabála Érenn|Lebor Gabála]]. Not all the items are listed here. The late narrative ''Fate of the Children of Tuireann'' not only gives a list of items gathered for Lugh, but also endows him with such gifts from the sea god [[Manannán mac Lir|Manannán]] as the sword [[Fragarach]], the horse [[Enbarr]] (Aonbarr), the boat {{lang|ga|Scuabtuinne}} / {{lang|ga|Sguaba Tuinne}} ("Wave-Sweeper"),<ref name=ocurry-oct-scuabatuinne>{{harvp|O'Curry|1863}} tr., p. 193, 192n "Scuabtuinné, that is, the Besom, or Sweeper of the Waves"</ref> his armour and helmet.

===Lugh's spear===
{{see also|Lúin of Celtchar}}
Lugh's spear ({{lang|ga|sleg}}), according to the text of [[The four jewels of the Tuatha Dé Danann|The Four Jewels of the Tuatha Dé Danann]], was said to be impossible to overcome,<ref>Hall, Vernam (1930) ed. tr., "The four jewels of the Tuatha Dé Danann", ''Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie'' '''18''': 73–89. "No battle was maintained against the spear of Lug or against him who had it in his hand,"</ref> taken to Ireland from [[Gorias]] (or Findias).<ref name=lge-para305&315&357/>{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|However, Vernam Hull edited a "Four Jewels" text which swaps weapons between owners in the attached verse portion, making it Lug's sword that came from Gorias. Something similar happens in the verse invoked in [[Geoffrey Keating]]'s ''History of Ireland'', and in Comyn ed. tr., Lugh's sword is from Gorias, Lugh's spear is from Findias (Lugh becomes owner of both).}}

Lugh obtained the Spear of Assal ({{langx|ga|links=no|Gae Assail}}) as fine ({{lang|ga|éric}}) imposed on the children of Tuirill Piccreo (or Biccreo), according to the short account in {{lang|ga|Lebor Gabála Érenn}}<ref name=lge-para305&315&357/> which adds that the incantation "Ibar ([[Taxus baccata|Yew]])" made the cast always hit its mark, and "Athibar (Re-Yew)" caused the spear to return.<ref name=lge-para319&poemLXV/>

In a full narrative version called {{lang|ga|[A]oidhe Chloinne Tuireann}} (The Fate of the Children of Tuireann),<ref>{{harvp|O'Curry|1863|pp=157–240}}, {{harvp|O'Duffy|1888}}, {{harvp|Cross|Slover|1936|pp=49–81}}</ref> from copies no earlier than the 17th century,<ref name=bruford/> Lugh demands the spear named ''Ar-éadbair'' or ''Areadbhair'' ([[Early Modern Irish]]: {{lang|ga|Aꞃéadḃaiꞃ}}) which belonged to Pisear, king of Persia. Areadbhair's tip had to be kept immersed in a pot of water to keep it from igniting, a property similar to the [[Lúin of Celtchar]]. This spear is also called "Slaughterer"<ref>Joyce, P. W. (Patrick Weston), 1827–1914, tr. "The Fate of the Children of Turenn; or, The Quest for the Eric-Fine", ''Old Celtic Romances''  [https://archive.org/details/oldcelticromance00joyciala/ (3rd ed., 1907) (reprint 1920)]</ref> in translation.

There is yet another name that Lugh's spear goes by: "A [yew] tree, the finest of the wood" (Early Modern Irish: {{lang|ga|eó bo háille d'ḟíoḋḃaiḃ}}),<ref>''The Fate of the Children of Tuireann'', {{harvp|O'Curry|1863|pp=204–205}}</ref> occurring in an inserted verse within ''The Fate of the Children of Tuireann''. "The famous yew of the wood" ({{lang|ga|ibar alai fhidbaidha}}) is also the name that Lugh's spear is given in a tract which alleges that it, the Lúin of Celtchar and the spear Crimall that blinded Cormac Mac Airt were one and the same weapon (tract in TCD MS 1336 (H 3. 17), col. 723, discussed in the [[Lúin of Celtchar|Lúin]] page).<ref>This tract was recapped by Hennessy (1889), in his {{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=OooNAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR14 |2=introduction, p. xiv}}, to his edition of ''[[Mesca Ulad]]''. The tract occurs in the manuscript of TCD MS 1336 (H 3. 17) immediately after the ''h'' text of the [[Expulsion of the Déisi|Expulsion of the Déssi]], Kuno Meyer, ''Anecdota'', I, pp. 15–24.</ref>

Lugh's projectile weapon, whether a dart or missile, was envisioned to be symbolic of lightning-weapon.<ref>[[T. F. O'Rahilly|O'Rahilly, T. F.]] ''Early Irish History and Mythology'' (1946), pp. 60–65</ref>

Lugh's sling rod, named "Lugh's Chain", was the rainbow and the Milky Way, according to popular writer Charles Squire.{{sfnp|Squire|1905|p=62}} Squire adds that Lugh's spear which needed no wielding was alive and thirsted so for blood that only by steeping its head in a sleeping-draught of pounded fresh poppy leaves could it be kept at rest.{{sfnp|Squire|1905|p=62}} When a battle was near, it was drawn out; then it roared and struggled against its thongs, fire flashed from it, and it tore through the ranks of the enemy once slipped from the leash, never tired of slaying.{{sfnp|Squire|1905|p=62}}

===Sling-stone===

According to the brief accounts in the Lebor Gabála Érenn, Lugh used the "sling-stone" (''cloich tabaill'') to slay his grandfather, Balor the Strong-Smiter in the [[Cath Maige Tuired|Battle of Magh Tuired]].<ref>''op. cit.'' ¶312, ¶312, ¶364</ref> The narrative {{lang|ga|Cath Maige Tured}}, preserved in a unique 16th-century copy, words it slightly different saying that Lugh used the sling-stone{{efn|{{langx|sga|liic talma}} § 133, i.e. {{lang|ga|lía}} "stone" of the '{{lang|ga|tailm}} "sling".}} to destroy the evil eye of Balor of the Piercing Eye (Bolur Birugderc).<ref name=cmt-133/>

The ammunition that Lugh used was not just a stone, but a ''tathlum''<ref>eDIL s.v. [http://www.dil.ie/40228 táthluib] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303082341/http://www.dil.ie/40228 |date=3 March 2020 }}</ref> according to a certain poem in Egerton MS. 1782 ([[olim]] W.  Monck Mason MS.),<ref name=ocurry-manners2-p252/><ref name=gwynn-tathlum/> the first quatrain of which is as follows:
{{Verse translation
 | lang       = ga
 | italicsoff = 
 | rtl1       = 
 | Táthlum tromm thenntide tenn
   robūi ag Tūath Dé Danann,
   hī robriss súil Balair búain
   tall ar toghail in tromshlúaigh 
 | A tathlum, heavy, fiery, firm,
   Which the Tuatha Dé Danann had with them,
   It was that broke the fierce Balor's eye,
   Of old, in the battle of the great armies.
 | attr1      =Meyer (1905) ed.<ref>{{citation |editor-last=Meyer |editor-first=Kuno |editor-link=Kuno Meyer |title=Von dem Schleuderstein Tathlum<!--: aus Egerton 1782, fo. 41 a1. übersetzt von O'Curry, ''Manners and Customs'' II, S. 252--> |journal=Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie |volume=5 |year=1905 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s7Qw1tGXmCUC&pg=PA504 |page=504 |access-date=3 March 2020 |archive-date=16 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916221128/https://books.google.com/books?id=s7Qw1tGXmCUC&pg=PA504#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>
 | attr2      =O'Curry (1873) tr.<ref name=ocurry-manners2-p252>{{cite book |last=O'Curry |first=Eugene |author-link=Eugene O'Curry |chapter=Lecture XII Sling-Stones of composition manufacture |title=On the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish |volume=2 |publisher=Williams and Norgate |year=1873 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IX0OAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA252 |page=252 |access-date=3 March 2020 |archive-date=16 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916221123/https://books.google.com/books?id=IX0OAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA252#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> 
}}

The poem goes on to describe the composition of this tathlum, as being formed from the blood collected from toads, bears, lions, vipers and the neck-base<ref>eDIL s.v. [http://www.dil.ie/31755 méide] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916221140/https://dil.ie/31755 |date=16 September 2024 }} 'the lower part of the neck at its union with the trunk '</ref> of Osmuinn,{{efn|O'Curry italicizes it as a proper name. Meyer edits the text as ''ós muin'', but Edward J. Gwynn sheds no light as to meaning since he skips over this ingredient while listing up all the other components derived from animals.<ref name=gwynn-tathlum/>}} mixed with the sands of the Armorian Sea and the Red Sea.<ref name=ocurry-manners2-p252/>

===Fragarach===
Lugh is also seen girt with the Freagarthach (better known as [[Fragarach]]), the sword of [[Manannán mac Lir|Manannán]], in the assembly of the Tuatha Dé Danann in the ''Fate of the Children of Tuireann''.

===Lugh's horse and magic boat===
Lugh had a horse named [[Enbarr|Aenbharr]] which could fare over both land and sea. Like much of his equipment, it was furnished to him by the sea god Manannán mac Lir.  When the Children of Tuireann asked to borrow this horse, Lugh begrudged them, saying it would not be proper to make a loan of a loan. Consequently, Lugh was unable to refuse their request to use Lugh's currach (coracle) or boat, the "Wave-Sweeper" ({{langx|ga|links=no|Sguaba Tuinne}}).<ref name=ocurry-oct-scuabatuinne/>

In the [[Lebor Gabála]],<ref>Macalister ed.,  ¶319 (loc. cit.)</ref> Gainne and Rea were the names of the pair of horses belonging to the king of the isle of Sicily [on the (Tyrrhene sea)], which Lug demanded as [[éraic]] from the sons of Tuirill Briccreo.

===Lugh's hound===
{{main|Failinis}}
Failinis was the name of the whelp of the King of Ioruaidhe that Lugh demanded as éiric (a forfeit) in the [[Tuireann|''Oidhead Chloinne Tuireann'']]. This concurs with the name of the hound mentioned in an "[[Ossianic]] Ballad",<ref>Stern, L. Chr. ed., tr. (into German), in: "Eine ossianische Ballade aus dem XII. Jahrhundert", [https://books.google.com/books?id=s6wCAAAAMAAJ ''Festschrift Whitley Stokes zum siebzigsten Geburtstage''], 1900, pp. 7–12, edited from LL 207b</ref> sometimes referred to by its opening line "{{lang|ga|Dám Thrír Táncatair Ille}} (They came here as a band of three)". In the ballad, the hound is called Ṡalinnis (Shalinnis) or Failinis (in the Lismore text),<ref>Whitley Stokes, Book of Lismore, fo. 153 b. recension of the ballad in the Notice on ''Festschrift'' above, in: [https://books.google.com/books?id=_hLEikZQOWYC ''Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie'', '''3'''], p. 432–</ref> and belonged to a threesome from Iruaide whom the [[Fianna]] encounter. It is described as "the ancient greyhound... that had been with Lugh of the Mantles, / Given him by the sons of Tuireann Bicreann"<ref>O'Curry, Eugene (1862), ed. tr. "Tri Thruaighe na Scéalaigheachta (Three Sorrows of Storytelling)" [https://books.google.com/books?id=yOsAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA396 ''The Atlantis''] '''3''': 396–7.</ref>{{efn|The four verses excerpted by O'Curry do not include the hound's name, but the text actually does mention Failinis, the name of the hound in the full texts edited by Stokes and by Stern.}}

==Comparative mythology==
Lugh has been connected with the pan-[[Celt]]ic god [[Lugus]]. Through Lugus, [[John Rhys]] has argued Lugh is cognate with the [[Welsh mythological]] figure [[Lleu Llaw Gyffes]].<ref name="ohogain">Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopaedia of the Irish folk tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. pp.273-276</ref><ref name=Hutton>Hutton, Ronald (2011). "Medieval Welsh Literature and Pre-Christian Deities". ''Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies''. 61: 57–85.</ref> Sometimes Lugh is interpreted as a [[storm god]]<ref>Ward, Alan (2011). ''The Myths of the Gods: Structures in Irish Mythology''. p.13</ref> and, less often today, as a [[sun god]].<ref name=monaghan/> Thus, equating Lugh with the Roman gods [[Jupiter (god)|Jupiter]] or [[Sol (Roman mythology)|Sol]], respectively. Others have noted a similarity in Lugh's slaying of [[Balor]] to the slaying of [[Baldr]] by [[Loki]].<ref name="dolmens">{{cite book |last1=Borlase |first1=William Copeland |title=The Dolmens of Ireland |date=1897 |publisher=Chapman and Hall |location=Indiana University |pages=796, 802, 806, 813 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wvJMAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA802 |access-date=6 August 2019 |archive-date=16 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916221136/https://books.google.com/books?id=wvJMAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA802#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> Lugh's mastery of all arts led [[Marie Henri d'Arbois de Jubainville]] to link Lugus with the unnamed Gaulish god whom [[Julius Caesar]] identifies with [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]] and describes as the "inventor of all the arts".<ref>[[Julius Caesar]], ''[[Commentarii de Bello Gallico]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Caes.+Gal.+6.17 6:17] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916221145/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Caes.+Gal.+6.17&redirect=true |date=16 September 2024 }}</ref><ref name=Hutton/>

St. Mologa has been theorized to be a Christian continuation of the god Lugh.<ref name=dolmens />

==Toponymy==
The County of Louth in [[Ireland]] is named after the village of Louth, which is named after the god Lugh. Historically, the place name has had various spellings; "Lugmad", "Lughmhaigh", and "Lughmhadh" (see [[County Louth Historic Names|Historic Names List]], for full listing). ''Lú'' is the modern [[Irish orthography|simplified spelling]]. Other places named for Lugh include the cairn at Seelewey (Suidhe Lughaidh, or Lug's Seat), [[Dunlewey]], and Rath-Lugaidh in Carney, Sligo.<ref name=dolmens /> Seelewey was located in Moyturra Chonlainn and, according to local folklore, was a place where giants used to gather in olden days.<ref name=dolmens />

The modern city of [[Lyon]] was founded as ''Colonia Copia Felix Munatia'' in 43 BC. By the end of the first century AD it was known as "[[Lugdunum]]", a Latinized variant of the ancient [[Gaulish]] name *Lugudunon, meaning "Fortress of Lugh".

One of the four regions in [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]] is called [[Lugo]], in honour of this god.

==See also==
* [[Irish mythology in popular culture#Lugh|Irish mythology in popular culture: Lugh]]
* [[Perseus]], whose birth is similar to that of Lugh's
* [[Táin Bó Flidhais]]
* [[Triglav (mythology)]]
* [[Triple deity]]
* [[Irish clans]]

==Explanatory notes==
{{notelist}}

===References===
;Citations
{{reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name=bergin-dagda>{{Citation |last=Bergin |first=Osborn |author-link=Osborn Bergin |title=How the Dagda Got His Magic Staff |editor=Roger Sherman Loomis |editor-link=Roger Sherman Loomis |work=Medieval studies in memory of Gertrude Schoepperle Loomis |publisher=H. Champion |year=1927 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DYE5AQAAIAAJ&q=%22Magic+Staff%22 |pages=399 |access-date=2 March 2020 |archive-date=16 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916221147/https://books.google.com/books?id=DYE5AQAAIAAJ&q=%22Magic+Staff%22#v=snippet&q=%22Magic%20Staff%22&f=false |url-status=live }} {{URL|1=http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/dagda.html |2=e-text}} via www.maryjones.us</ref>

<ref name=bruford>{{citation |last=Bruford |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Bruford |title=Gaelic Folk-Tales and Mediæval Romances: A Study of the Early Modern Irish 'Romantic Tales' and Their Oral Derivatives |journal=Béaloideas |volume=<!--Iml. -->34 |year=1966 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9xTaAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Ghaibhleann%22 |page=264<!--i–v, 1–165, 167–285--> |doi=10.2307/20521320 |jstor=20521320 |access-date=2 March 2020 |archive-date=16 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916221142/https://books.google.com/books?id=9xTaAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Ghaibhleann%22 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

<ref name=cmt-ss008>{{harvp|Gray|1982}} tr., [https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T300011/text008.html ''The Second Battle of Moytura'' §8] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929144905/https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T300011/text008.html |date=29 September 2020 }}, ed. [https://celt.ucc.ie//published/G300011/text008.html CMT §8] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929144045/https://celt.ucc.ie/published/G300011/text008.html |date=29 September 2020 }}; {{harvp|Stokes|1891|pp=58–59}}</ref>
<ref name=cmt-ss053-083>{{harvp|Gray|1982}} tr., [https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T300011/text053.html ''The Second Battle of Moytura'' §53–83] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916223018/https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T300011/text053.html |date=16 September 2024 }}, ed. [https://celt.ucc.ie//published/G300011/text053.html CMT §53–83] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929140720/https://celt.ucc.ie/published/G300011/text053.html |date=29 September 2020 }}; {{harvp|Stokes|1891|pp=74–83}}</ref>
<ref name=cmt-ss055>{{harvp|Gray|1982}} tr., [https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T300011/text055.html ''The Second Battle of Moytura'' §74] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929144805/https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T300011/text055.html |date=29 September 2020 }}, ed. [https://celt.ucc.ie//published/G300011/text055.html CMT §55] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929143837/https://celt.ucc.ie/published/G300011/text055.html |date=29 September 2020 }}; {{harvp|Stokes|1891|pp=74–75}}</ref>
<ref name=cmt-ss074-167>{{harvp|Gray|1982}} tr., [https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T300011/text074.html ''The Second Battle of Moytura'' §74], ed. [https://celt.ucc.ie//published/G300011/text074.html CMT §74]; {{harvp|Stokes|1891|pp=80–111}}</ref>
<ref name=cmt-ss120>{{harvp|Gray|1982}} tr., [https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T300011/text120.html ''The Second Battle of Moytura'' §120] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916222145/https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T300011/text120.html |date=16 September 2024 }}, ed. [https://celt.ucc.ie//published/G300011/text120.html CMT §120]; {{harvp|Stokes|1891|pp=92–93}}</ref>
<ref name=cmt-133>{{harvp|Gray|1982}} tr., [https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T300011/text133.html ''The Second Battle of Moytura'' §133] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181231134059/https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T300011/text133.html |date=31 December 2018 }}, ed. [https://celt.ucc.ie//published/G300011/text133.html CMT §133] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181231180159/https://celt.ucc.ie/published/G300011/text133.html |date=31 December 2018 }}; {{harvp|Stokes|1891|pp=100–101}}</ref>
<ref name=cmt-ss134>{{harvp|Gray|1982}} tr., [https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T300011/text134.html ''The Second Battle of Moytura'' §134] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929141256/https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T300011/text134.html |date=29 September 2020 }}, ed. [https://celt.ucc.ie//published/G300011/text134.html CMT §134] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929135357/https://celt.ucc.ie/published/G300011/text134.html |date=29 September 2020 }}; {{harvp|Stokes|1891|pp=100–101}}</ref>

<ref name=gwynn-tathlum>{{cite journal |last=Gwynn |first=Edward J. |author-link=Edward Gwynn |title=Some Irish Words |journal=Hermathena |volume=24 |number=49 |year=1935 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tEkUAAAAIAAJ&q=%22Monck+mason%22 |pages=64–65<!--56–66--> |jstor=23037229 |access-date=3 March 2020 |archive-date=16 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916222147/https://books.google.com/books?id=tEkUAAAAIAAJ&q=%22Monck+mason%22 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name=lge-para314>{{harvp|Macalister|1941}} ed. tr. ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'',{{URL|1=https://archive.org/details/leborgablare04macauoft/page/122/mode/2up|2=¶314}}</ref>
<ref name=lge-para305&315&357>{{harvp|Macalister|1941}} ed. tr. ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'', {{URL|1=https://archive.org/details/leborgablare04macauoft/page/106/mode/2up |2=¶305}}, ¶315, ¶357.</ref>
<ref name=lge-para319&poemLXV>{{harvp|Macalister|1941}} ed. tr.  ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'', ¶319, {{URL|1=https://archive.org/details/leborgablare04macauoft/page/282 |2=Poem LXV}}, pp. 282–291</ref>

<ref name=rennes-ss14&066>''Rennes Dinnsenchas'', §14, #66 "Áth Luain" {{harvp|Stokes|1894|pp=285–286, 464–466}}</ref>
<ref name=rennes-082>''Rennes Dinnsenchas'', #82 "Druim Cliab", {{harvp|Stokes|1895|pp=32–33}}</ref>
<ref name=rennes-099>''Rennes Dinnsenchas'', #99 "Tailtiu", {{harvp|Stokes|1895|pp=50–51}}</ref>
}}

;Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
; (''[[Baile In Scáil]]'', The Phantom's Trance)
* {{citation |editor-last=Dillon |editor-first=Myles Dillon |editor-link=Myles Dillon |others=reedited by Mary Jones |title=Baile in Scáil: The Phantom's Frenzy |work=The Cycle of the Kings |place=Oxford |publisher=OUP |year=1946 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7YIrAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Baile+in%22 |pages=11–14 |isbn=9781851821785 |access-date=2 March 2020 |archive-date=16 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916222650/https://books.google.com/books?id=7YIrAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Baile+in%22 |url-status=live }} {{URL|1=http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/phantom.html|2=text}} via Celtic Literature Collective, accessed 5 August 2019

; (''[[Cath Maige Tuired]]'')
* {{cite book |editor-last=Gray |editor-first=Elizabeth A. |editor-link=<!--Elizabeth A. Gray--> |title=Cath Maige Tuired: The Second battle of Mag Tuired |publisher=Drucker |year=1982 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BjzYAAAAMAAJ |access-date=2 March 2020 |archive-date=16 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916222656/https://books.google.com/books?id=BjzYAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }} {{Via|pre= |text=Full text [https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T300010//index.html here]|CELT}} {{URL|1=http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/cmt/cmteng.htm |2=text}} via sacred-texts.com 
* {{citation |editor-last=Stokes |editor-first=Whitley |editor-link=Whitley Stokes (Celtic scholar) |title=The Second Battle of Moytura |journal=Revue celtique |volume=12 |year=1891 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WjVKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA52 |pages=52–130; 306–308 |access-date=2 March 2020 |archive-date=16 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916222653/https://books.google.com/books?id=WjVKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA52#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }},  [https://archive.org/details/revueceltiqu12pari text] via Internet Archive, [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T300011.html text] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170425085258/http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T300011.html |date=25 April 2017 }} via CELT

; (''[[Compert Con Culainn]]'')
* {{Cite Compert Con Culainn I}}

;(LGE<!-- {{Cite LGE}}-->)
* {{citation |editor-last=Macalister |editor-first=R.A.S. |editor-link=R.A.S. Macalister |title=Section VII: Invasion of the Tuatha De Danann |work=Lebor gabála Érenn, Part IV |series=<!--Irish Texts Society vol. XLI--> |year=1941 |url=https://archive.org/details/leborgablare04macauoft/page/134 }}

; (''[[Metrical Dindshenchas]]'')
<!--
* {{cite book|last=Gwynn |first=Edward J. |author-link=Edward Gwynn |title=The Metrical Dindshenchas: Part 1 |publisher=Hodges, Figgis & Co. |year=1903 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7rQiAAAAMAAJ |series=Todd Lecture Series VIII}} {{URL|1=http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T106500A/index.html|2=e-text}} via CELT
* {{cite book|last=Gwynn |first=Edward J. |author-link=Edward Gwynn |title=The Metrical Dindshenchas: Part 2 |publisher=Hodges, Figgis & Co. |year=1906 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7rQiAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA72 |series=Todd Lecture Series VIII}} {{URL|1=http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T106500B/index.html|2=e-text}} via CELT-->
* {{citation |last=Gwynn |first=Edward J. |author-link=Edward Gwynn |title=The Metrical Dindshenchas: Part 3 |publisher=Hodges, Figgis & Co. |year=1913 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7rQiAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PR1 |series=Todd Lecture Series X |access-date=2 March 2020 |archive-date=16 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916222648/https://books.google.com/books?id=7rQiAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PR1#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}, {{URL|1=http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T106500C/index.html|2=e-text}} via CELT
* {{citation |last=Gwynn |first=Edward J. |author-link=Edward Gwynn |author-mask=2 |title=The Metrical Dindshenchas: Part 4 |publisher=Hodges, Figgis & Co. |year=1924 |url=https://archive.org/stream/metricaldindsenc04royauoft |series=Todd Lecture Series X }}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=V6wiAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Loch+Lugborta%22 snippet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916222702/https://books.google.com/books?id=V6wiAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Loch+Lugborta%22#v=snippet&q=%22Loch%20Lugborta%22&f=false |date=16 September 2024 }} via Google, {{URL|1=http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T106500D/index.html|2=e-text}} via CELT

;(''[[Oidheadh Chlainne Tuireann]]'', The Death of the Children of Tuireann)
* {{cite book |editor-last=Cross |editor-first=Tom Peete |editor-link=Tom Peete Cross |editor-last2=Slover |editor-first2=Clark Harris |editor-link2=<!--Clark Harris Slover--> |title=The Fate of the Children of Tuirenn |work=Ancient Irish Tales |place=Oxford |publisher=[[Henry Holt & Co]] |year=1936 |url=http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/turenn.html |pages=49–81 |access-date=6 January 2008 |archive-date=8 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108072326/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/turenn.html |url-status=live }}
* {{citation |editor-last=O'Curry |editor-first=Eugene |editor-link=Eugene O'Curry |title=The Fate of the Children of Tuireann ([A]oidhe Chloinne Tuireann) |journal=Atlantis |volume=4 |year=1863 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z5JEAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA157 |pages=157–240 |access-date=2 March 2020 |archive-date=21 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421131346/https://books.google.com/books?id=Z5JEAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA157#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}
* {{citation |editor-last=O'Duffy |editor-first=Richard J. |editor-link=<!--Richard J. O'Duffy--> |title=Oidhe Chloinne Tuireann: Fate of the children of Tuireann |publisher=M.H. Gill & Son (for the Society for the Preservation of the Irish language) |year=1888 |url=https://archive.org/details/clannuisnigbeing00crai/page/n6/mode/2up }}
* {{cite book |editor-mask=2 |editor-last=O'Duffy |editor-first=Richard J. |editor-link=<!--Richard J. O'Duffy--> |title=Oidhe Chloinne Tuireann: Fate of the children of Tuireann |publisher=M.H. Gill & Son (for the Society for the Preservation of the Irish language) |year=1901 |url=https://archive.org/details/oidhechloinnetui00oduf }} (Some of the earlier notes on MSS in the earlier edition are wanting)
* https://www.dias.ie/wp-content/uploads/2002/11/tionol2002_baillie.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306053836/https://www.dias.ie/wp-content/uploads/2002/11/tionol2002_baillie.pdf |date=6 March 2021 }}
(M G L Baillie
School of Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen's University, Belfast)

; (''Rennes Dindshenchas'')
* {{citation |editor-last=Stokes |editor-first=Whitley |editor-link=Whitley Stokes (Celtic scholar) |title=Rennes Dindshenchas |journal=Revue celtique |volume=15 |year=1894 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S1tH7aa5KoAC&pg=PA272 |pages=272–336, 418–484, idx & corrigenda 284–312 |access-date=2 March 2020 |archive-date=16 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916222659/https://books.google.com/books?id=S1tH7aa5KoAC&pg=PA272#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}, [https://archive.org/details/revueceltiqu15pari/page/272/mode/2up text] via Internet Archive; [https://www.ucd.ie/tlh/trans/ws.rc.15.001.t.text.html e-text] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811050119/http://www.ucd.ie/tlh/trans/ws.rc.15.001.t.text.html |date=11 August 2016 }} via UCD
* {{citation |editor-last=Stokes |editor-first=Whitley |editor-link=Whitley Stokes (Celtic scholar) |title=Rennes Dindshenchas |journal=Revue celtique |volume=16 |year=1895 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AzQzAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA31 |pages=31–83, 135–167 269–283, idx & corrigenda 284–312 }}, [http://archive.org/details/revueceltique16pari/page/33 text] via Internet Archive; [https://www.ucd.ie/tlh/trans/ws.rc.16.001.t.text.html e-text] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802155130/https://www.ucd.ie/tlh/trans/ws.rc.16.001.t.text.html |date=2 August 2020 }} via UCD

; (''[[Táin Bó Cuailnge]]'', The Cattle Raid of Cooley)
* {{cite book|editor-last=Kinsella |editor-first=Thomas. |editor-link=Thomas Kinsella |title=The Táin |place=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1969 }} {{ISBN|0-19-280373-5}}.

;(Other)
* Cross, Tom Peete and Clark Harris Slover. ''Ancient Irish Tales'', Henry Holt & Company, Inc., 1936. {{ISBN|1-56619-889-5}}.
* Ellis, Peter Berresford. ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. {{ISBN|0-19-508961-8}}.
* MacKillop, James. ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. {{ISBN|0-19-280120-1}}.
* Ovist, Krista L. ''The integration of Mercury and Lugus: Myth and history in late Iron Age and early Roman Gaul''. Chicago: University of Chicago Divinity School dissertation, pp.&nbsp;703, 2004. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/305095727 (link)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916222655/https://www.proquest.com/docview/305095727 |date=16 September 2024 }}
* {{cite book |last=Squire |first=Charles |title=The Mythology of the British Islands: An Introduction to Celtic Myth, Legend, Poetry, and Romance |location=London |publisher=[[Blackie and Son]] |year=1905 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0GEAAAAAMAAJ}}
* Wood, Juliette. ''The Celts: Life, Myth, and Art''. Thorsons Publishers, 2002. {{ISBN|0-00-764059-5}}.
{{refend}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Nuada]]}}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[List of High Kings of Ireland|High King of Ireland]]|years  = [[Annals of the Four Masters|AFM]] 1870–1830 BC<br>[[Geoffrey Keating|FFÉ]] 1447–1407 BC}}
{{s-aft|after  = [[The Dagda|Eochaid Ollathair]]}}
{{S-end}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-bef | before=[[Amergin Glúingel]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Chief Ollam of Ireland]]|Chief Ollam of Ireland| years=Mythological era}}
{{s-aft | after=[[Adna mac Uthidir]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Celtic mythology (Mythological)}}
{{Celtic mythology (Ulster)}}

{{subject bar|portal2=Mythology|portal3=Ireland|commons=y}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Lugh| ]]
[[Category:Arts gods]]
[[Category:Characters in Táin Bó Cúailnge]]
[[Category:History of County Louth]]
[[Category:Legendary High Kings of Ireland]]
[[Category:Mercurian deities]]
[[Category:Mythological kings]]
[[Category:Mythological swordfighters]]
[[Category:Sky and weather gods]]
[[Category:Smithing gods]]
[[Category:Solar gods]]
[[Category:Thunder gods]]
[[Category:Trickster gods]]
[[Category:Triple gods]]
[[Category:Tuatha Dé Danann]]
[[Category:Ulster Cycle]]
[[Category:Horse deities]]
[[Category:Savior gods]]