In Irish mythology, Bres (or Bress) was a king of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He is often referred to by the name Eochaid / Eochu Bres. He was an unpopular king, and favoured his Fomorian kin.
Name
Eochu Bres has been translated as "beautiful horseman." The scribes who wrote down the text of the Cath Maige Tuired record Bres as meaning 'beautiful', however, this may be a false etymology. The original meaning of Bres may have derived from a root meaning "fight," "blow," "effort," "uproar," or "din."
Description
In the Lebor Gabála and Cath Maige Tuired, Bres is portrayed as beautiful to behold, yet harsh and inhospitable. However, the poem Carn Hui Neit from the dindsenchas praises Bres' "kindly" and "noble" character and calls him the "flower" of the Tuatha Dé Danann. There, the following flattering descriptions are provided for Bres:
- gifted with excellences
- master of love-spells
- kindly friend
- noble and fortunate
- ornament of the host
- with a visage never woeful
- flower of the Tuatha De
- hot of valour
- spear-attended king
Family
In Cath Maige Tuired Bres' parents were Prince Elatha of the Fomorians and Ériu of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Alternately in The Fate of the Children of Turenn, Bres' father is Balor of the Evil Eye. Bres was guided by his father to Balor, another leader of the Fomorians, for the help he sought.
He led the Fomorians in the Second Battle of Magh Tuireadh but lost. He was found unprotected on the battlefield by Lugh and pleaded for his life. Lugh spared him because he promised to teach the Tuatha Dé agriculture.
In a contradictory account from the dindsenchas Bres' death is described at the hands of Lugh. Lugh made 300 wooden cows, and filled them with a bitter, poisonous red liquid which was then "milked" into pails and offered to Bres to drink. Bres, who was under an obligation not to refuse hospitality, drank it down without flinching, and it killed him. The Lebor Gabála mentions this incident briefly, however the deadly liquid is identified as sewage.