Fódla
Encyclopedia
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...

, Fódla or Fótla (modern spelling: Fódhla or Fóla), daughter of Ernmas
Ernmas
Ernmas is an Irish mother goddess, mentioned in Lebor Gabála Érenn and "Cath Maige Tuired" as one of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Her daughters include the trinity of eponymous Irish goddesses Ériu, Banba and Fódla, the trinity of war goddesses the Badb, Macha and the Mórrígan , and also a trinity of...

 of the Tuatha Dé Danann
Tuatha Dé Danann
The Tuatha Dé Danann are a race of people in Irish mythology. In the invasions tradition which begins with the Lebor Gabála Érenn, they are the fifth group to settle Ireland, conquering the island from the Fir Bolg....

, was one of the tutelary goddess
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....

es of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. Her husband was Mac Cecht
Mac Cecht
In Irish mythology, Mac Cecht of the Tuatha Dé Danann was a son of Cermait, son of the Dagda. Mac Cecht's given name was Téthur and he was named Mac Cecht after his god, Cecht, the ploughshare. His wife was Fodla....

.

With her sisters, Banba
Banba
In Irish mythology, Banba daughter of Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, is the patron goddess of Ireland....

 and Ériu
Ériu
In Irish mythology, Ériu , daughter of Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was the eponymous matron goddess of Ireland. Her husband was Mac Gréine ....

, she was part of an important triumvirate of goddesses. When the Milesians
Milesians (Irish)
Milesians are a people figuring in Irish mythology. The descendants of Míl Espáine, they were the final inhabitants of Ireland, and were believed to represent the Goidelic Celts.-Myth:...

 arrived from Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, each of the three sisters asked the bard
Bard
In medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...

 Amergin
Amergin Glúingel
Amergin Glúingel or Glúnmar is a druid, bard and judge for the Milesians in the Irish Mythological Cycle. He was appointed Chief Ollam of Ireland by his two brothers the kings of Ireland...

 that her name be given to the country. Ériu (Éire
Éire
is the Irish name for the island of Ireland and the sovereign state of the same name.- Etymology :The modern Irish Éire evolved from the Old Irish word Ériu, which was the name of a Gaelic goddess. Ériu is generally believed to have been the matron goddess of Ireland, a goddess of sovereignty, or...

, and in the dative 'Éirinn', giving English 'Erin
Erin
Erin is a Hiberno-English derivative of the Irish word "Éirinn". ....

') seems to have won the argument, but the poets hold that all three were granted their wish, and thus 'Fodhla' is sometimes used as a literary name for Ireland, as is 'Banba
Banba
In Irish mythology, Banba daughter of Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, is the patron goddess of Ireland....

'. This is similar in some ways to the use of the poetic name 'Albion
Albion
Albion is the oldest known name of the island of Great Britain. Today, it is still sometimes used poetically to refer to the island or England in particular. It is also the basis of the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland, Alba...

' for Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

.

In the Tochomlad mac Miledh a hEspain i nErind: no Cath Tailten, Fótla is described as the wife of Mac Cecht
Mac Cecht
In Irish mythology, Mac Cecht of the Tuatha Dé Danann was a son of Cermait, son of the Dagda. Mac Cecht's given name was Téthur and he was named Mac Cecht after his god, Cecht, the ploughshare. His wife was Fodla....

, reigning as Queen of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 in any year in which Mac Cecht
Mac Cecht
In Irish mythology, Mac Cecht of the Tuatha Dé Danann was a son of Cermait, son of the Dagda. Mac Cecht's given name was Téthur and he was named Mac Cecht after his god, Cecht, the ploughshare. His wife was Fodla....

 ruled as king. The text goes on to relate that as the Milesians
Milesians
Milesia, Milesian, Milesians, or Miletans may refer to:* In Irish mythology, the Milesians were the descendants of Míl Espáine, the final invaders of Ireland who defeated and displaced the semi-divine Tuatha Dé Danann...

 were journeying through Ireland, Fótla met them ‘with her swift fairy
Fairy
A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...

 hosts around her’ on Naini Mountain, also called the mountain of Ebliu. A footnote identifies the Naini Mountain of Ebliu as the Slieve Felim mountains in County Limerick
County Limerick
It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...

. The soil of this region is peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...

y luvisol.

According to Seathrún Céitinn she worshipped the Mórrígan
Morrígan
The Morrígan or Mórrígan , also written as Morrígu or in the plural as Morrígna, and spelt Morríghan or Mór-Ríoghain in Modern Irish, is a figure from Irish mythology who appears to have once been a goddess, although she is not explicitly referred to as such in the texts.The Morrigan is a goddess...

, who is also sometimes named as a daughter of Ernmas.

In De Situ Albanie
De Situ Albanie
De Situ Albanie is the name given to the first of seven Scottish documents found in the so-called Poppleton Manuscript, now in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris...

(a late document), the Pictish Chronicle
Pictish Chronicle
The Pictish Chronicle is a name often given by historians to a list of the kings of the Picts beginning many thousand years before history was recorded in Pictavia and ending after Pictavia had been enveloped by Scotland...

, and the Duan Albanach
Duan Albanach
The Duan Albanach is a Middle Gaelic poem found with the Lebor Bretnach, a Gaelic version of the Historia Brittonum of Nennius, with extensive additional material ....

, Fotla (modern Atholl
Atholl
Atholl or Athole is a large historical division in the Scottish Highlands. Today it forms the northern part of Perth and Kinross, Scotland bordering Marr, Badenoch, Breadalbane, Strathearn, Perth and Lochaber....

, Ath-Fotla) was the name of one of the first Pictish kingdoms.

The LÉ Fola (CM12)
LÉ Fola (CM12)
LÉ Fola was a of the Irish Naval Service.Launched in 1955 as HMS Blaxton for the Royal Navy , the minesweeper was transferred fo the Irish Naval Service on 22 February 1971, and renamed after Fóla, a legendary queen of the Tuatha Dé Danann and a poetic name for Ireland.The minehunter remained in...

, a ship in the Irish Naval Service
Irish Naval Service
The Naval Service is the navy of Ireland and is one of the three standing branches of the Irish Defence Forces. Its main base is in Haulbowline, County Cork....

(now decommissioned), was named after her.
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