Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later Early Irish ...

, Banba (modern spelling: Banbha ), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the

Tuatha Dé Danann The Tuath(a) Dé Danann (, meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deities of pre-Christian Gae ...

, is a matron

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. She was married to Mac Cuill, a grandson of the

Dagda The Dagda (Old Irish: ''In Dagda,'' ga, An Daghdha, ) is an important god in Irish mythology. One of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Dagda is portrayed as a father-figure, king, and druid.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia' ...

. She was part of an important triumvirate of matron goddesses, with her sisters,

Ériu In Irish mythology, Ériu (; modern ga, Éire ), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was the eponymous matron goddess of Ireland. The English name for Ireland comes from the name Ériu and the Germanic (Old Norse or Ol ...

and Fódla. According to Seathrún Céitinn she worshipped

Macha Macha () was a sovereignty goddess of ancient Ireland associated with the province of Ulster, particularly the sites of Navan Fort (''Eamhain Mhacha'') and Armagh (''Ard Mhacha''), which are named after her.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A H ...

, who is also sometimes named as a daughter of Ernmas. The two goddesses may therefore be seen as equivalent. Céitinn also refers to a tradition that Banbha was the first person to set foot in Ireland before the

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

, in a variation of the legend of

Cessair Cessair or Cesair (spelled Ceasair in modern Irish, meaning sorrow, affliction) is a character from the ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'', a medieval Christian pseudohistory of Ireland. According to the ''Lebor Gabála'', Cessair was the leader of the firs ...

. In the ''Tochomlad mac Miledh a hEspain i nErind: no Cath Tailten'',The Progress of the Sons of Mil from Spain to Ireland TCD H.4.22
, Celtic Literature Collective it is related that as the Milesians were journeying through Ireland, "they met victorious Banba among her troop of

faery A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, ...

magic hosts" on Senna Mountain, the stony mountain of Mes. A footnote identifies this site as

Slieve Mish , translation = ossiblymountains of Mis , language = Irish , photo=File:Fenit Marina Ireland.JPG , photo_caption= Slieve Mish Mountains from across the Tralee Bay in the village of Fenit , country=Republic of Ireland , location = Kerry ...

in Chorca Dhuibne,

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

. The soil of this region is a non- leptic

podzol In soil science, podzols are the typical soils of coniferous or boreal forests and also the typical soils of eucalypt forests and heathlands in southern Australia. In Western Europe, podzols develop on heathland, which is often a construct of ...

br>
If the character of Banba originated in an earth-goddess, non-leptic podzol may have been the particular earth-type of which she was the deification. The

LÉ Banba (CM11) LÉ ''Banba'' (CM11) was a in the Irish Naval Service (INS) and was one of three purchased by the Irish government in light of changing politics in Northern Ireland that was creating more gunrunning, and, the beginning of the drugs trade. The ot ...

, a ship in the

Irish Naval Service The Naval Service ( ga, An tSeirbhís Chabhlaigh) is the maritime component of the Defence Forces of Ireland and is one of the three branches of the Irish Defence Forces. Its base is in Haulbowline, County Cork. Though preceded by earlier ma ...

, was named after her. Initially, she could have been a goddess of war as well as a fertility goddess.

References

Irish goddesses Tuatha Dé Danann War goddesses Fertility goddesses Tutelary deities Irish royal consorts Personifications of Ireland National personifications Names for Ireland {{celt-myth-stub