Anu or Ana (sometimes given as Anann or Anand) is the name of a goddess mentioned briefly in

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by Ch ...

Myths and sources

The 9th century ''

Sanas Cormaic ''Sanas Cormaic'' (or ''Sanas Chormaic'', Irish for "Cormac's narrative"), also known as ''Cormac's Glossary'', is an early Irish glossary containing etymologies and explanations of over 1,400 Irish words, many of which are difficult or outdated. ...

'' (Cormac's Glossary) says in its entry for her: : "Ana – mother of the gods of Ireland; well did she feed the gods". She may be a goddess in her own right, or an alternate name for Danu. In the ''

Lebor Gabála Érenn ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of the Taking of Ireland"), known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'', is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language intended to be a history of Ireland and the Irish fro ...

'', Anand is given as another name for

The Morrígan The Morrígan or Mórrígan, also known as Morrígu, is a figure from Irish mythology. The name is Mór-Ríoghain in Modern Irish, and it has been translated as "great queen" or "phantom queen". The Morrígan is mainly associated with war and ...

. As her name is often conflated with a number of other goddesses, it is not always clear which figure is being referred to if the name is taken out of context. The name may be derived from the

Proto-Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly reconstructed through the comparative method. Proto-Celti ...

theonym A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), " god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity. Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and ...

*''Φanon-''. Anu has particular associations with Munster: the pair of

breast shaped hills The breast is one of two prominences located on the upper ventral region of a primate's torso. Both females and males develop breasts from the same embryological tissues. In females, it serves as the mammary gland, which produces and secre ...

known as the

Paps of Anu The Paps of Anu ( ga, Dá Chích Anann, "the breasts of Anu") are a pair of breast-shaped mountains near Killarney in County Kerry, Ireland. The eastern summit, The Paps East, is high and the western top, The Paps West is high. The mountain ...

(''Dá Chích Anann'' or "the breasts of Anu") in County Kerry are said to have been named after her. While an Irish goddess, in parts of Britain a similar figure is referred to as “Gentle Annie”, in an effort to avoid offence, a tactic which is similar to referring to the fairies as “The Good People”.

Myths and sources

References

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External links