Johnston, Elva

Deirdre (Derdriu) , mythological figure, beautiful and cursed, is a tragic protagonist of the early medieval Ulster cycle. She first emerged into literature in the eighth or ninth century and, over the course of nearly a thousand years, was defined and refined till she found a…

Étaín (Éadaoin, Aideen) , mythological figure, a beautiful woman, both human and otherworldly, is the protagonist of one of the most famous of all Old Irish sagas, ‘Tochmarc Étaíne’ (‘The wooing of Étaín’). She was simultaneously feared and revered – revered as a dispenser of…

Fergus son of Roach, a key figure in the Ulster cycle, was foster-father of Cú Chulainn (qv), lover of Queen Medb (qv), and (as mac roich ‘son of the great horse’) the most virile man in…

Gráinne was a legendary daughter of the equally legendary pre-Christian king of Tara, Cormac (qv) son of Art. The story of her love for the tragic hero Diarmait grandson of Duibne is one of the most famous tales of the Fenian Cycle, a tale…

Macha , tutelary goddess, gave her name to one of the most important of all Irish royal sites, Emain Macha (‘the twins of Macha’) in Co. Armagh, now known as Navan Fort. While Emain Macha was a prehistoric site of great religious significance, it was remembered by the early medieval…

Samthann (d. 739), saint and abbess of Cluain Brónaig (Clonbroney, Co. Longford), was the daughter of Diamrán of the Ulster Dál Fiatach and of his wife Columba, who is not otherwise known. Unlike many other Irish saints, a historical person can be discerned under the layered…