Search vStore.com: [ Heroines & Heroes ~ Legends ~ Chronology of Races ] Cessair: She is one of the greatest magicians ever to trod the soil of Earth. She was the first queen of Ireland and she inhabited the land after the Great Flood with her female followers. Cu Chulain: Son of Lug the sun god and a mortal woman, Dechtire, who was the wife of the prophet Sualtim and the sister of King Conchobar of Ulster. Queen Mab: Faerie queen of Connaught. Goddess of dreams. Queen Maeve: Warrior queen of Connaught. She got into a boasting contest with her husband over the sum total of their possessions, which included a big bull, and ended with the routing of Maeve's forces. Merlin: aka. Myrddin. Son of a god and mortal princess, he features prominently in the Arthur Legend. In actuality, he most likely existed in a different period than the true Arthur. More here to come. Annwn: The Kingdom of the Dead. [ Fomorians ~ Legends ~ Chronology of Races ] Fomorians "The tribe of the Fomorians was on the scene long before any other races came to Ireland. However, the Fomors lived mainly in the sea. The first outside race to invade Ireland was the race of the Partholon; very little is known of them. After 300 years of struggle against the Fomors, the Partholons died of an epidemic. Next came the race of Nemed who also suffered from an epidemic. This time, though, some of them survived, only to be oppressed by the Fomors. Later came colonizers from Spain or Greece called the Fir Bolgs. They were actually three tribes; men of Domnu, men of Gaillion, and men of Bolg. They inter-married with the Fomors and held the country until the arrival of the "Tuatha De Danann". Source: (from Ancient and Shining Ones - by DJ Conway) Fomh�ire Fomh�ire means 'from the sea' and is the name of the gods of night and death and cold. According to myth, the Fomh�ire (or Fomorians) were mis-shapen and had now the heads of goats and bulls, and now but one leg, and one arm that came out from the middle of their breasts. They were the ancestors of the evil faeries and, according to one gaelic writer, of all misshapen persons. The giants and leprecauns are expressely mentioned as of the Fomh�ire. Source: http://www.mediatel.lu/team/nmack/mmp_myth_fomhoire.html Partholonians The Partholonians were said to have landed in Ireland at Beltaine, where they lived for three hundred years. According to myth, they battled with the Fomh�ire, a race of mis-shapen beings, probably representing the aboriginal gods of the land as there is no mention of when the Fomh�ire arrived. The whole race of the Partholonians were mysteriously wiped out by a plague. Source: http://www.mediatel.lu/team/nmack/mmp_myth_partholonians.html Nemedians The Nemedians were the next race of people to arrive in Ireland after the Partholonians were mysteriously wiped out by a plague, according to the Lebor Gab�la, the Book of Invasion. 2,000 Nemedians were said to have died from plague and the rest were forced to leave after the Fomh�ire had inflicted a great defeat on them. Source: http://www.mediatel.lu/team/nmack/mmp_myth_nemedians.html Fir Bholg Fir Bholg, the 'Men of the Bags', were also known as the men of the Goddess Domnu. Their gods were the Fomh�ire and they were defeated by the Tuatha D� Danann in the first battle of Magh Tuireadh or Moytura. Source: http://www.mediatel.lu/team/nmack/mmp_myth_firbholg.html Firbolgs - Ui Failge, Ui Bairrche, Ui Enachglais, etc. - The Euerni and later called Erainn (also known as Menapii, Bolgi, Belgae and Firbolgs) by annalists and historians, arrived after ???? BC. They called their new home Eueriio, which would later evolve through the old Irish Eriu to Eire, and from Eire to Ireland. The early annalists tell us that Firbolg people survived as distinct tribes well into early historical times. In Leinster, they were the Ui Failge, Ui Bairrche and Ui Enechglaiss to mention but a few. Source: http://www.thecore.com/let-ros/plavin/lavin.html Tuatha De Danann The De Danann people arrived after the Firbolgs, and were to force the Firbolgs into partial serfdom. The Tuatha De Danann established Tara on the Boyne Valley, the ritual inaugaration and burial place for the ancient Kings of Ireland. Source: various In a famed battle at Southern Moytura (on the Mayo-Galway border) it was that the Tuatha De Danann met and overthrew the Firbolgs. The Firbolgs noted King, Eochaid was slain in this great battle, but the De Danann King, Nuada, had his hand cut off by a great warrior of the Firbolgs named Sreng. The battle raged for four days. So bravely had the Firbolgs fought, and so sorely exhausted the De Dannann, that the latter, to end the battle, gladly left to the Firbolgs, that quarter of the Island wherein they fought, the province now called Connaught. And the bloody contest was over. Source: http://www.vretail.com/history.htm Laigain The Laiginian colonization is believed to have taken place sometime about 300 B.C., and are believed to have come from the northwestern region of Gaul, later Normandy. They are mythologically referred to as the Tuatha De Danann. Their name association with Laighi, the ancient name for Leinster, suggests that this was where they first settled. Eventually, they extended their power to Connacht, and in the process forced the Firbolg tribes into the remoter parts of the province. The remains of many great stone forts built by the Firbolgs in their defense against the Laigain tribes can still be seen in remote areas of western Ireland. Within a few generations the Laigain tribes had established themselves in Connacht, where in County Sligo their descendants include the O'Haras, O'Garas, and others. Source: http://www.thecore.com/let-ros/plavin/lavin.html The ancient Laigin or Dumnonii group moved from the western region of Normandy as the Roman built up pressure on Gaul about 100 B.C. The Laigin settled first in southern Britain and then in Ireland. The Ui Neachtain (Naughton) are said to belong to the Laigain group, later living in the territory of the Ui Maine. Source: http://miso.wwa.com/~naughton/nau_hist/naughton.html The Milesians King Milesius' sons, Eremon and Eber, are said to have come from either Spain or France to the island of Ireland, and were ancestors of the Gaels. Of the Milesians, who invaded the Tuatha De Danann lands, Eber and Eremon divided the land between them - Eremon getting the Northern half of the Island, and Eber the Southern. The Northeastern corner was accorded to the children of their lost brother, Ir, and the Southwestern corner to their cousin Lughaid, the son of Ith. Source: http://www.vretail.com/history.htm The descendants of Milesius are said to be the monarchs and leading families of early Ireland.