Ireland enjoyed a long period of peace and prosperity. Lugh Lamfada seemed to rule the Tuatha Dé Danann, after the battle and Nuada's death. Usually his consort was said to be Eriu, but other sources had given 3 to 4 other wives. One of his wives (unnamed) had an affair with Cermait, the son of Dagda. Lugh killed Cermait for seducing his wife. Dagda wept tears of blood over the death of his son.

Cermait had three sons – Sethor MacCuill, Cethor MacCecht and Tethor MacGreine. At Uisnech, the sons of Cermait ambushed and killed Lugh, to avenge their father. Lugh had ruled Ireland for forty years.

Dagda succeeded Lugh as king. Dagda had received a mortal wound by Caitlin, wife of Balor, in the Second Battle of Moytura, but did not die until he had reigned for 80 years. The reign of Delbáeth lasted for 10 years, before his son Fiachna succeeded him and also ruled for 10 years. Fiachna had died fighting Eogan of Inber Mor.

Then, Fiachna was succeeded by the sons of Cermait (MacCuill, MacCecht and MacGreine) and ruled Ireland for 27 years. The three brothers were married to the daughters of Fiachna and Ernmas: Banba, Fodla and Eriu.

The MacGreine and his brothers divided the land between themselves. It wasn't until some years later that Íth, arrived with some of his companions.

See the Danann Kings for the table on the rulers of Ireland before the arrival of the Milesians. See also the genealogy, Children of Danu.


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Íth was the son of Breogan and brother of Cualnge and Fuat. Ith was also the uncle of Míl Espáine (Mil). See the Notes for more information about Míl and his ancestors.

The Milesians were more precisely the sons of Míl Espáine (Miled). Míl's ancestors had originally come from Scythia, but Míl had brought them out of Scythia and later Egypt, before they settled in Spain, which was known as the Land of the Dead.

On one clear day, Íth, uncle of Míl, could see the enchanting isle of Erin (Ireland) from Spain, and decided to travel and explore this beautiful, new land. Íth arrived peacefully in Ireland with his followers.

The Dananns welcomed Íth to Erin (Ireland) at first, but became suspicious of Íth's motives for coming to Erin. Through misunderstanding of Íth's comment about the land, the Danann kings murdered Íth and his two brothers. The other followers escaped with Íth's body.

When his body was brought back to his family in Spain, the sons of Míl sought to avenge great uncle's death. They embarked with their warriors and families to Erin in sixty-five ships. A bard named Amairgin (Amergin), who was the son of Míl, led the warriors to Erin (Ireland).

The Dananns decided to avoid confrontations with the Milesians, they used their magic to hide Erin in a fog. The Danann had also cast the spell of straying on the Milesian fleet. However, Amergin used his own magic to dispel the magic.

Another son of Míl, named Eber Donn, wanted to exterminate the entire Danann race. The Danann send a magical storm against the Milesian ships, where Eber Donn was thrown overboard and drowned in the raging sea.

Amergin managed to guide the ships to safety, and landed on Ireland. It was said that the three wives (Banba, Fodla and Eriu) of the three Danann kings sought out the Milesian leaders. Each queen asked the Milesians to name Ireland after her. It was Eriu who won the honour. Ireland became known as Erin or Erinn. It was the help of the goddess, that the Milesians won the war against the Tuatha Dé Danann.

All three Danann kings along with their three queens were killed in Battle of Tailtiu. The Tuatha Dé Danann were defeated and forced to retreat. They did not leave Erin, but continued to live in Ireland, with their conquerors. Manannan placed a powerful spell of invisibility over the many parts of Ireland; magical palaces were hidden under the mound. The places were called Sidh or Sidhe. With their magic, the Dananns can appear or vanish from sight. The Tuatha Dé Danann became immortal.

Eber Finn and Eremon, the other two sons of Míl, partitioned Ireland into two and became their kings. Eremon ruled northern Ireland and Eber in the south. See Eber Finn and Eremon in the High Kings page and Amairgin (Amergin) for more detail about the early Milesian kings.



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Notes

Before we finished this page, there a little history on the ancestors of the Milesians that may be of interested to you. Here you will find that their history was mixed with event in the Bible and the setting of Greek and Roman myths.

According to the Lebor Gabrala (Book of Invasions), the pre-Milesians had originally come from Scythia, and were descendants of Japheth, the son of the Biblical Noah. Scythia is also rumored to be the original race of King Arthur, who is said to have been Sarmatian. Sarmatia was the nation that Scythia became.

Fenius Farisaid, the leader of his people, was present during the time of the Tower of Babel. Fenius was the son of Japheth, therefore he was the grandson of Noah. Fenius became the father of Niúl.

His son Niúl had married an Egyptian princess named Scota. It goes on to say that the son of Niúl and Scota, named Goídel Glas, was living at the time of Moses and the Israelites were still living in slavery in Egypt. Moses had healed the infant Goídel Glas from a snakebite, and foretold that Goídel's descendants would one day live in a land with no serpents. Fenius Farisaid was still alive to instruct his grandson on creating the Gaelic language. (Boy! This is Irish myth at its best. The time frame is really horribly mess up.)

Since Goidel Glas had become a friend to Moses and the Israelites, the Egyptians banished the pre-Milesians from Egypt. They wandered through the Russian Steppes, to their former home in Scythia, before heading west.

These people arrived in Spain, where they settled, before their invasion into Ireland.
Related Information
Name
Mil, Míl, Miled.
Míl Espáine.


Eponym
Mils – Milesians.


Sources
Lebor Gabala Erren (Book of Invasions).


Related Articles
Breogan, Íth, Míl Espáine, Amairgin, Eber Finn, Eremon, Eber Donn, Goídel Glas, Banba, Fodla, Eriu, Ogma.

Genealogy:
Children of Danu
Milesians.