IRISH RELIGION

In the Irish language there are several names for God in general, without reference to any particular god. The most general is dia, which, with some variations in spelling, is common to many of the Aryan languages. It was used in pagan as well as in Christian times, and is the Irish word in universal use at the present day for God.

In Irish literature, both lay and ecclesiastical, there are vague references to the pagan gods, without any hint as to their identity or functions. The 'gods' are often referred to in oaths and such expressions as "I swear by the gods that my" are constantly put into the mouths of the heroes of the Red Branch.

The pagan Irish worshipped the sidhe [shee], i.e. the earth-gods, or fairies, or elves. These sidhe are associated with the mythical race called Dedannans, to whom the great majority of the fairy gods belonged. According to bardic chroniclers, the Dedannans were the fourth of the prehistoric colonies that arrived in Ireland many centuries before the Christian era.

The Dedannans were great magicians, and highly skilled in science and metal-working. After inhabiting Ireland for about two hundred years, they were conquered by the people of the fifth and last colony - the Milesians.