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, masculinity and strength, as well as magic, druidry and wisdom. He can control life and death (cf. his staff), the weather and crops, as well as time and the seasons.

He is often described as a large bearded man or giant He owns a magic staff () of dual nature: it kills with one end and brings to life with the other. and he also has similarities with the later harvest figure Crom Dubh. Several tribal groupings saw the Dagda as an ancestor and were named after him, such as the Uí Echach and the Dáirine.

The Dagda has been likened to the Germanic god Odin, the Gaulish god Sucellos,

Name

Etymology

The Old Irish name Dagda is generally believed to stem from , meaning "the good god" or "the great god".

Epithets

The Dagda has several other names or epithets which reflect aspects of his character.

  • Eochu or Eochaid Ollathair ("horseman, great father" or "horseman, all-father")
  • Ruad Rofhessa ("mighty one/lord of great knowledge")
  • Dáire ("the fertile one")
  • Fer Benn ("horned man" or "man of the peak")
  • Cera (possibly "creator"),
  • Cerrce (possibly "striker")
  • Eogabal The death and ancestral god Donn may originally have been a form of the Dagda, who is sometimes called Dagda Donn. and his lover was Boann, after whom the River Boyne is named, though she was married to Elcmar and with whom he had the god Aengus. Prior to the battle with the Fomorians, he coupled with the goddess of war, the Mórrígan, on Samhain. (Cf. ).

Of Dagda it is stated "He was a beautiful god of the heathens, for the Tuatha Dé Danann worshipped him: for he was an earth-god to them because of the greatness of his magical power", in the Middle Irish language Coir Anmann (The Fitness of Names) says:

Tales depict the Dagda as a figure of immense power. He is said to own a magic staff, club or mace which could kill nine men with one blow; but with the handle he could return the slain to life. He owned a magic harp.

Dagda's staff

In the tract found in the Yellow Book of Lecan, there were three items the Dagda named together, his staff (), there was the shirt (') of protection from sickness, and the cloak () of shape-shifting and color-change. The "great staff" () had a smooth end which brought the dead back to life (he resuscitated his son Cermait Milbél with the smooth end), but the staff's rough end caused instant death.

<!--(Also, cf. "mace of wrath" below).-->

Cauldron

The Cauldron of the Dagda is one of the Four Treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann,

Dagda's harp

After Úaithne, the Dagda's harper was abducted by the Fomorians, the Dagda went to the enemy's hall and retrieved his magic harp, which had two names, according to the text of the Cath Maige Tuired ("Second Battle of Moytura"). And when the Dagda called upon his harp by its two names: "Come Daur Dá Bláo / Come Cóir Cetharchair /

Come summer, come winter.." the harp leapt off the wall and came to him. The harp was forbidden by the Dagda from issuing any sound, unless thus called upon by the names, and "the Four Angled Music";

Family

The Dagda is said to be husband of the Morrígan, who is called his "envious wife". His children include Aengus, Cermait, and Aed (often called the three sons of the Dagda), Brigit and Bodb Derg. The Dagda's father is named Elatha son of Delbeath. Englec, the daughter of Elcmar, is named as a consort of the Dagda and the mother of his "swift son". Echtgi the loathesome is another daughter of the Dagda's named in the Banshenchas.

It has been suggested that this tale represents the winter solstice illumination of Newgrange at Brú na Bóinne, during which the sunbeam (the Dagda) enters the inner chamber (the womb of Boann) when the sun's path stands still. The word solstice (Irish grianstad) means sun-standstill. The conception of Aengus may represent the 'rebirth' of the sun at the winter solstice, him taking over the Brú from an older god representing the growing sun taking over from the waning sun. In the Aislinge Oengusso or Dream of Aengus the Dagda and Boand help Aengus to find a mysterious woman who he has fallen in love with in his dreams.

In a poem about Mag Muirthemne, the Dagda banishes an octopus with his "mace of wrath" using the following words: "Turn thy hollow head! Turn thy ravening body! Turn thy resorbent forehead! Avaunt! Begone!", the sea receded with the creature and the plain of Mag Muirthemne was left behind.

In the Dindsenchas the Dagda is described as swift with a poison draught and as a justly dealing lord. He is also called a King of Erin with hosts of hostages, a noble, slender prince, and the father of Cermait, Aengus, and Aed.

He is credited with a seventy- or eighty-year reign (depending on source) over the Tuatha Dé Danann, before dying at Brú na Bóinne, finally succumbing to a wound inflicted by Cethlenn during the battle of Mag Tuired.

Parallels

The Dagda has similarities with the later harvest figure Crom Dubh.

Bibliography

Further reading

  • World History Encyclopedia – The Dagda
  • * Mythical Ireland – Live Irish Myths Episode 4: The Dagda Leader of the Tuatha de Danaan