===========================================================
"According to legend, when the Danaans landed in Ireland, they arrived from the sky on a ship of dark clouds on the eve of Beltaine.
tell us or rather me some more! "

The question was asked in another thread but the origions of the Gods are a fairly big subject so I started a new one.
===========================================================

The Origions of the Tuath De Dannan in Legend are given in Lebar Gabala Eren - The Book of the Invasions (1) and Cath Magh Tuireadh - The (second) battle of Moytura (2)

Lebar Gabala Eren 55 - 57
So that they were the Tuatha De Danann who came to Ireland. In this wise they came, in dark clouds. They landed on the mountains of Conmaicne Rein in Connachta; and they brought a darkness over the sun for three days and three nights.

They demanded battle of kingship of the Fir Bolg. A battle was fought between them, to wit the first battle of Mag Tuired, in which a hundred thousand of the Fir Bolg fell. Thereafter they [the TDD] took the kingship of Ireland. Those are the Tuatha Dea - gods were their men of arts, non-gods their husbandmen. They knew the incantations of druids, and charioteers, and trappers, and cupbearers. .


It was thought they had powers beond mortal men and they were not from the same land/plane.

Cath Magh Tuireadh 1 - 10
The Túatha Dé Danann were in the northern islands of the world, studying occult lore and sorcery, druidic arts and witchcraft and magical skill, until they surpassed the sages of the pagan arts.

They studied occult lore and secret knowledge and diabolic arts in four cities: Falias, Gorias, Murias, and Findias.

From Falias was brought the Stone of Fál which was located in Tara. It used to cry out beneath every king that would take Ireland.

From Gorias was brought the spear which Lug had. No battle was ever sustained against it, or against the man who held it in his hand.

From Findias was brought the sword of Núadu. No one ever escaped from it once it was drawn from its deadly sheath, and no one could resist it.

From Murias was brought the Dagda's cauldron. No company ever went away from it unsatisfied.

There were four wizards in those four cities. Morfesa was in Falias; Esras was in Gorias; Uiscias was in Findias; Semias was in Murias. Those are the four poets from whom the Túatha Dé learned occult lore and secret knowledge.

The Túatha Dé then made an alliance with the Fomoire, and Balor the grandson of Nét gave his daughter Ethne to Cían the son of Dían Cécht. And she bore the glorious child, Lug.

The Túatha Dé came with a great fleet to Ireland to take it by force from the Fir Bolg. Upon reaching the territory of Corcu Belgatan (which is Conmaicne Mara today), they at once burned their boats so that they would not think of fleeing to them. The smoke and the mist which came from the ships filled the land and the air which was near them. For that reason it has been thought that they arrived in clouds of mist.

The battle of Mag Tuired was fought between them and the Fir Bolg. The Fir Bolg were defeated, and 100,000 of them were killed including the king, Eochaid mac Eirc.

Neither of these should be taken literally and some of the allegory and Iconography are christian insterts. Both are heavily christianised  Lebar Gabala Eren is a synchronisation/compilation of various clans creation myths. Professor Robin Flower theorised that it was an effort to bring Ireland in line with the chronicles of Eusebius where all the kingdoms of the world were shown to lead up to the birth of Christ (3)

In the passage quoted from Cath Magh Tuireadh we can see Lugh credited with bringing one of the four treasures of the Tuath De Dannan to Ireland but that itself may be a christian instert because later in CMT his parents are quoted as being both TdD and Fomorian meaning he wouldnt have been born until after the tuath De Dannnan arrived in Ireland and at that the TdD do not know him.

After Bres, Núadu was once more in the kingship over the Túatha Dé; and at that time he held a great feast for the Túatha Dé in Tara. Now there was a certain warrior whose name was Samildánach on his way to Tara. At that time there were doorkeepers at Tara named Gamal mac Figail and Camall mac Ríagail. While the latter was on duty, he saw the strange company coming toward him. A handsome, well-built young warrior with a king's diadem was at the front of the band.

They told the doorkeeper to announce their arrival in Tara. The doorkeeper asked, ‘Who is there?’

‘Lug Lonnansclech is here, the son of Cían son of Dían Cécht and of Ethne daughter of Balor. He is the foster son of Tailtiu the daughter of Magmór, the king of Spain, and of Eochaid Garb mac Dúach.’

The doorkeeper then asked of Samildánach, ‘What art do you practice? For no one without an art enters Tara.’

Before I start the Archaeology refs I would like to mention that the invasions are mythology and not to be taken literally. The Tuath De Dannan are the Irish Gods not a wave of invaders and the Gaelic Legends are primarily valued for parable, allegory and iconography. They were never intended to be and are in NO WAY an accurate historical record.

Since the Tuath De Dannan are supposedly the invasion that occurred before the Iron Age it would make them the Neolithic invaders whos origions are unknown. They are thought to have brought large amounts of pigs and other cattle with them which limits the amount of distance they could have travelled and there is no archaeological evidence for a mass exodus from nearby land masses like Britain.  

The neolithic invaders changed Irish society over night. A hunter gather society became an Agrarian society and the Ceide Fields were built(4). Laurence Flanangan (5) theorises that they brought a type of Priest-king with them because of the sudden emergance of advanced religous structures like Bru na Boinne - Newgrange and Temuir na Ri - Tara Hill (6)

1) Lebar Gabala Eren
http://homepage.eircom.net/~seabhacaille/C...lge0004.html#55

2) Cath Magh Tuireadh
http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T300010/index.html

3) The Irish Tradition by Prof. Robin Flower
http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T300010/index.html

4) The ceide Fields
http://www.museumsofmayo.com/ceide.htm

5) Ancient Ireland: Life before the Celts
http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Ireland-Life...s/dp/0312218818

6) Bru na Boinne
http://www.knowth.com/newgrange.htm

Ta!
Now what about Cullens Hound?

Evermorelong that to a while to write, do ye want to know something specific about Cu Chulainn...

Na, just being pedantic. soz! im fairly up on me european myths/leg ends and fakelore.
"Cu Chulainn is my idea of a proper hero, deserves his own tv show"

Ah! ye pain in the arse ye.

well yer wish is my command, Cu Chulainns (crappy studenty) Tv show

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mko8MS03emA

Here, since you had me spend an hour writing that out for ye why dont you enlighten me and the UPtV folks and lash out one on the birth of Cu Chulainn man

Okey dokey!