The Dagda is considered the great god of Irish mythology. He is the chief god of the Tuatha Dé Danann, with the Dagda portrayed as a father-figure, king, and druid. He is associated with fertility, agriculture, manliness and strength, as well as magic, druidry and wisdom. He can control life and death, the weather and crops, as well as time and the seasons.
The rising Sun illuminates the inner chamber of Newgrange only at the winter solstice.
Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era. In the early medieval era, some myths were transcribed by Christian monks, who heavily altered and Christianised the myths. Irish mythology is the best-preserved branch of Celtic mythology.
Riders of the Sidhe, a 1911 painting of the aos sí or Otherworldly people of the mounds, by the artist John Duncan
Cuchulain in Battle by Joseph Christian Leyendecker, 1911
The Fomorians, as depicted by John Duncan (1912)
Folio 53 of the Book of Leinster. Medieval manuscripts are the main source for Irish mythology and early literature.