Donn

For other uses, seeDonn (disambiguation).

Bull Rock,off the southwest coast of Ireland, is often identified with Teach Duinn (the House of Donn)

InIrish mythology,Donn( "the dark one", fromProto-Celtic:*Dhuosnos)is an ancestor of theGaelsand is believed to have been agod of the dead.Donn is said to dwell inTech Duinn(the "house of Donn" or "house of the dark one" ),where the souls of the dead gather.He may have originally been an aspect ofthe Dagda.Folklore about Donn survived into the modern era in parts of Ireland, in which he is said to be a phantom horseman riding a white horse.

Early literary sources

A 9th-century poem says that Donn's dying wish was that all his descendants would gather at Donn's house orTech Duinn(modern IrishTeach Duinn) after death: "To me, to my house, you shall all come after your deaths".The 10th-century taleAirne Fíngein( "Fíngen's Vigil" ) says that Tech Duinn is where the souls of the dead gather.In their translation ofAcallam na Senórach,Ann Dooleyand Harry Roe commented that "to go to the House of Donn in Irish tradition means to die".This suggests that the pagan Gaels saw Donn as their ancestor and believed they would go to his abode when they died.Tech Duinn may have been thought of as a place where the souls of the dead gathered before travelling to their final destination inthe otherworld,or before beingreincarnated.According toJulius Caesar,theGaulsalso claimed descent from a god whom he likened toDīs Pater,the Roman god of theunderworld.

The Christian writers who recorded theLebor Gabála Érennmade Donn intoÉber Donnone of the mythicalMilesianancestors of the Gaels.The Milesians invade Ireland and take it from theTuatha Dé Danann.During their invasion, Donn slightsÉriu,one of theeponymousgoddesses of Ireland, and he drowns in a shipwreck off the southwest coast. Donn is then buried on a rocky island which becomes known as Tech Duinn.In the literature, Tech Duinn is said to lie at or beyond the western edge of Ireland.Tech Duinn is commonly identified withBull Rock,an islet off the western tip of theBeara Peninsula.Bull Rock resembles adolmenor portal tomb as it has a natural tunnel through it, allowing the sea to pass under it as if through a portal.In Ireland there was a belief that the souls of the dead departed westwards over the sea with the setting sun.

TheMetricalDindshenchasentry for “Tech Duinn” recounts the tale:

Through the incantations of the druids a storm came upon them, and the ship wherein Donn was foundered. ‘Let his body be carried to yonder high rock’, saysAmairgen:‘his folk shall come to this spot.’ So hence it is called Tech Duinn: and for this cause, according to the heathen, the souls of sinners visit Tech Duinn before they go to hell, and give their blessing, ere they go, to the soul of Donn. But as for the righteous soul of a penitent, it beholds the place from afar, and is not borne astray. Such, at least, is the belief of the heathen. – Translation byE. Gwynn

In the taleTogail Bruidne Dá Derga( "The Destruction of Dá Derga's Hostel" ), kingConaire Mórmeets his death in Bruiden Dá Derga (the "great hall or hostel of the red god" ). On his way to the hostel, Conaire meets three red men riding red horses from the otherworld. They foretell his doom and tell him "we ride the horses of Donn... although we are alive, we are dead".Donn is called "king of the dead" in the tale.It has been suggested that Dá Derga and Dá Derga's Hostel is another name for Donn and his abode.It may be a name for the death god in the context of violent death or sacrifice, hence the name "red god".

In the taleTochmarc Treblainne( "The Wooing of Treblann" ), the otherworld woman Treblann elopes with the mortal manFráech,who sends her to safety in Tech Duinn while he embarks on a quest. In this tale, Donn is said to be the son or foster-son ofthe Dagda.Dáithí Ó hÓgáin notes similarities between the two and suggests that Donn was originally an epithet of the Dagda.

Donn is the father ofDiarmuid Ua Duibhne,whom he gives to the god of youth,Aengus mac Óg,to raise.

Modern sources

Folklore about Donn survived into theearly modern era.InCounty Limerick,a Donn Fírinne was said to dwell in the sacred hill of Cnoc Fírinne (Knockfeerina or Knockfierna), and folklore told of people being brought into the hill to be with Donn when they died.He was said to appear as a phantom horseman riding a white horse. He was also associated with the weather: thunder and lightning meant that Donn Fírinne was riding his horse through the sky, and if clouds were over the hill it meant that he was gathering them together to make rain. This imagery may have been influenced by the lore ofOdinand his horseSleipnirfrom theNorse settlersinLimerick.Donn Fírinne was also said to appear and warn anyone who interfered with his hill. On the west coast ofCounty Clarethere was a Donn na Duimhche or Donn Dumhach ( "Donn of the dunes" ), who "was also often encountered as a night-horseman".In later folklore, the name 'Donn' came to mean an 'otherworld lord' in general.

In modernIrishdonnis the most common word for the colourbrown,and by extension can also mean "sturdy (like) wood". This is one possible etymology of the English colour "dun" (greyish brown).

See also

• Danu (Irish goddess)
• Dôn
• Hy-Brasil– legendary island to the west of Ireland

External links

• Media related toDonnat Wikimedia Commons