Mythology

long before Christianity was embraced anywhere in the world, the ancient land of Ireland was held in the highest regard by the wise, as they believed that even the Gods sought the emerald isle out, as a suitable dwelling place. It can of course be argued that all ancient lands inevitably have their own unique mysterious nature and qualities attached to them. It has always been recognized that Ireland lays claim to a special form of enchantment all of its own. Some say that the reason why Ireland was held in such high esteem by the ancients of the East, is that as Hibernia it was known as the garden of Phoebus, a last remnant of a lost paradisial civilization remaining on Earth. Even in a dramatically changing modern Ireland, it is still possible to perceive these more subtler aspects. Although it has become increasingly more challenging even for sensitive individuals to make this contact, one can still seek out those quite enchanted knolls far from the clamour of the throngs, and walking alone into the house of simplicity which Eriu has built at the brink of the enchanted otherworld, she permit's the all-embracing mind to see, enriching the spirit from the endless heaven of memories. Alas all can look, but only the gentle and sensitive can SEE.

The pre-history of Ireland, as well as its relatively recent history, is full of accounts of invasions and conquests. One of the best well known sources of Irish mythological stories is called Lebor Gabala, the Book of Invasions. According to the book the fifth group of inhabitants of Ireland were the Tuatha De Danann, notably the most famous. When translated from the Gaelic, means the people/children of the Goddess Dana or Danu, who was associated with fertility and motherhood. They were said to have arrived in Ireland in 1895 B.C. Some say they arrived from Greece, the more esoteric explanation is that they arrived from a different dimension or plane of consciousness, in order to enlighten and guide humanity. It is said that on their arrival they burned their boats to avoid detection and the clouds of smoke from the fires out of which the De Danann emerged, gave rise to the belief that they had arrived in magical clouds. Thus from the beginning, the Tuatha De Danann had the image of other-worldiness about them. Yet others say that they used no ships at all and indeed emerged from clouds of smoke, but the first sighting of the Royal Host was on the Iron mountains in Co.Leitrim. Naturally the native inhabitants finding no ships, came to the conclusion that they were destroyed.

The Irish Celtic symbolist Jeff Fitzpatrick Adams, from the time he was a young boy growing up in Belfast, to the present, has been profoundly and deeply moved and inspired by the Tuatha De Danann. He believes that Irish Celtic art could not have reached the glorified height that it did between the fifth and ninth centuries, without the intervention of these divine people. This third stream of course would never be accepted in any "real" scholarly debate, but on an intuitive level it becomes hugely relevant and significant. Along side the Celtic people and the new Christian vision/way, was the profound spiritual influence of the Tuatha De Danann. Jeff Believes that the art could only have developed in the manner that it did, due to the spiritual and exceptionally high degree of artistry and craftsmanship of these legendary otherworld artisans. When Giraldus Cambrensis in the thirteenth century saw the Book of Kells he declared that "it was the work, not of men, but of angels", he was perhaps very close to the truth.

The Book of invasions state that after the Tuatha De Danann defeated the Firbolgs and Formorians, they faced the Milesians on the field of battle. Some say the Tuatha De Danann slipped away to the hollow hills of Ireland. Others say that an agreement was reached between the Milesians and Irish Sovereignty representing the Tuatha De Danann, namely the triple Goddess of Ireland, Eriu, Banba, and Fodla. The account states that the Celtic paople were given the upper realms of Ireland in which to dwell. And the Tuatha De Danann received the ancient hollow hills (fairy mounds) otherwise known as sidhe's. They were later worshipped and acknowledged as the Gods and Goddesses of the Celtic Irish; their Christian transcribers have generally reduced their stature to kings and heroes. It is in the enchanted otherworld that the Tuatha De Danann await salvation which for them entails re-entering Ireland/Earth when humanity no longer occupy the upper/physical realm. Due to a gradual loss of contact and interaction with the Tuatha De Danann they have gradually dwindled in the imagination of modern Celtic peoples and in Gaelic folklore, known at last as the fairy folk. Sadly second sight is no longer widespread among the Gaelic- speaking peoples. Indeed one would do well to understand that the Tuatha De Danann and what is commonly referred to as nature elementals, that is fairies, although both occupying the mysterious fairy realm, are indeed two very different kinds of beings. The fairy folk, although not without their magical abilities and powers, still gaze in awe and wonder at their otherworld neighbours, and would never cross them, for they are still seen as Gods and Goddesses.

Jeff is one of the most technically proficient Celtic artists at work today. His pieces have a note of fervent adoration, for he himself addresses them to the influence of the Tuatha De Danann and also to a being whose self was revealed to him through vision and meditation, as the living essence of Eire. This conception of nature as a living entity was a fundamental element in the Irish mystic A.E's philosophy:

Mother, thy rudest sod to me Is thrilled with fire of hidden day, and haunted by all mystery.

Jeff believes that one of the tasks of the artist and mystic is to relate the materially manifested beauty to that which is unmanifested. There are by-ways which might easily deceive the unwary. Strengthening an intuitive relationship with what A.E referred to as the National being, can assist and ultimately guide the unwary.

Suggestions for further reading:
Robert Kirk, walker between worlds, RJ Stewart.
The living World of Faery, RJ Stewart.
The Underworld Initiation, RJ Stewart.
Gods and fighting Men, Lady Gregory.
For those interested in the Tuatha De Danann, the Lebor Gabala, volumes released by the Irish texts society.
The Celtic twilight, W.B. Yeats.
The Candle of Vision, A.E
The National Being, A.E

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