Biróg, in Irish mythology

Irish mythology

The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...

, is a leanan sídhe

Leanan sídhe

In Celtic folklore, the "Barrow-Lover" is a beautiful woman of the Aos Sí who takes a human lover. Lovers of the leannán sídhe are said to live brief, though highly inspired, lives...

or fairy woman. A folktale recorded by John O'Donovan

John O'Donovan (scholar)

John O'Donovan , from Atateemore, in the parish of Kilcolumb, County Kilkenny, and educated at Hunt's Academy, Waterford, was an Irish language scholar from Ireland.-Life:...

 in 1835 relates how the Fomorian

Fomorians

In Irish mythology, the Fomoire are a semi-divine race said to have inhabited Ireland in ancient times. They may have once been believed to be the beings who preceded the gods, similar to the Greek Titans. It has been suggested that they represent the gods of chaos and wild nature, as opposed to...

 warrior Balor

Balor

In Irish mythology, Balor of the Evil Eye was a king of the Fomorians, a race of giants. His father was Buarainech and his wife was Cethlenn...

, to frustrate a prophecy that he would be killed by his own grandson, imprisons his only daughter Eithne

Ethniu

In Irish mythology, Ethniu or Eithne ; also Ethliu, Ethlinn, and a variety of other spellings – see below) is the daughter of the Fomorian leader Balor, and the mother of Lugh....

 in the tower of Tory Island

Tory Island

Toraigh is an inhabited island 14.5 km off the northwest coast of County Donegal, Ireland. It is also known in Irish as Oileán Thoraigh, Oileán Thoraí or Oileán Thúr Rí.-Language:The main spoken language on the island is Irish, but English is also understood...

, away from any contact with men. But Biróg helps a man called Mac Cinnfhaelaidh, whose magical cow Balor stole, to gain access to the tower and seduce her. Eithne gives birth to triplets, but Balor gathers the them up in a sheet and sends a messenger to drown them in a whirlpool. The messenger drowns two of the babies, but unwittingly drops one in the harbour, where he is rescued by Biróg. She takes the child back to his father, who gives him to his brother, Gavida

Goibniu

In Irish mythology Goibniu or Goibhniu was the smith of the Tuatha Dé Danann. The name of his father appears as Esarg or Tuirbe Trágmar, the 'thrower of axes.' Irish texts do not mention his mother but his counterpart in Welsh mythology, Gofannon, is a son of Dôn...

 the smith, in fosterage

Fosterage

Fosterage, the practice of a family bringing up a child not their own, differs from adoption in that the child's parents, not the foster-parents, remain the acknowledged parents. In many modern western societies foster care can be organised by the state to care for children with troubled family...

. The boy grows up to kill Balor. By comparison with texts like Cath Maige Tuired and the Lebor Gabála Érenn

Lebor Gabála Érenn

Lebor Gabála Érenn is the Middle Irish title of a loose collection of poems and prose narratives recounting the mythical origins and history of the Irish from the creation of the world down to the Middle Ages...

, the unnamed boy is evidently Lugh

Lugh

Lug or Lugh is an Irish deity represented in mythological texts as a hero and High King of the distant past. He is known by the epithets Lámhfhada , for his skill with a spear or sling, Ildánach , Samhildánach , Lonnbeimnech and Macnia , and by the...

, and his father, Mac Cinnfhaelaidh, is a stand-in for Lugh's father Cian

Cian

In Irish mythology, Cían , son of Dian Cecht of the Tuatha Dé Danann, is best known as the father of Lug by the Fomorian princess Ethniu.He was born with a caul on his head, and was turned into a pig as a boy when struck by a druid's wand. Thereafter he could transform into a pig at will...

.