Drogheda Lir

What was The Dagda's Cauldron?

As well as producing unlimited food, this cauldron had the power to bring the dead back to life. It has a circle design on it that some speculate could be a map of Plato's lost city of Atlantis.

What was the Danu Lugh's Spear?

The spear was made of the finest yew and threw off sparks as big as eggs as the fiery lance found its mark. To keep the fire from consuming the man who threw it, the lance head was dipped in a mysterious magic liquid.

How does one get to the Land of the Ever Young?

To get to Tir na Nog (pronounced "teer-nah-knowg"), travel west over the sea or pass through the gateways of the mounds of the Sidhe (pronounced "shee").

The veil between our world and this one is thin there. But be careful: Time passes differently. One hero spent three years with his otherworldly lover, only to return to this world and find 300 years had passed.

What was the Danu Sword of Light?

This sword was magically forged, and no one could stand against it once it was drawn. It is also described as a "glowing white torch" (and sounds a lot like a Jedi light saber from Star Wars).

Druids were famous for not writing their stories down.

The Druids wanted the stories to remain told and stay in the culture. This lasted until Christian scribes came to Ireland and wrote everything down – in Latin. And then only the educated could understand. The manuscripts were mostly destroyed in Viking raids.

Who are the semi-devine Tuatha De Danann (pronounced Thoo-a day Du-non)?

The name translates as Tribe of Danu, and they boasted of supernatural powers and ruled Ireland for about 200 years starting about 1900 BCE.

 They had four instruments of great power: The Sword of Light, Lugh's Spear, The Dagda's Cauldron and The Lia Fáil.

Odin's eight-legged horse Sleipnir has a rather raunchy origin story.

The Norse gods hired a giant to build an impenetrable wall around Asgard. The giant, with the help of his stallion Svadilfari, were about to meet the gods' impossible deadline when the trickster Loki stepped in.

The gods were frantic not to pay the price the giant was asking. Loki changed into a mare and led Svadilfari a merry chase until the giant couldn't meet the deadline. When Svadilfari finally caught up to mare/Loki, the inevitable happened, and Loki/mare gave birth to Sleipnir.

Roots of Celtic mythology come primarily from The Book of Invasions.

In Irish mythology, the country had six invasions. The first five were from beings from the heavens and underneath the Earth and existed in stories passed down by the Druids in 800-900 AD.

The last invasion was by the people who came from what is now Spain and Portugal.

Yggdrasil and James Cameron's Avatar world have a lot in common.

In Norse mythology Yggdrasil is the giant tree at the center of the universe of the nine worlds. Just as Avatar has a giant tree at the center of that world.

To top it off, Yggdrasil has three roots, and a dragon, an eagle and four stags that live within it.

Valkyries are waitresses? What?

The Valkyries – and there are a lot of them – not only choose who dies in battle, but they also escort their own chosen ones to the hall at Valhalla, ruled by Odin. Once in Valhalla, the Valkyries serve the fallen warriors mead.

What magical object did the warrior-king Dagda use to feed his people?

Dagda was an important Celtic god who was a warrior who led an invasion of ancient Ireland. He also had a magic cauldron that gave inexhaustible food to feed every one of his followers. He is caught spying on an enemy, and the enemy makes him accept the challenge to eat all of the porridge in his bottomless cauldron. Dagda does – and even licks the last bits up with his fingers.

Why does Odin have only one eye?

The king of the Norse gods gave an eye in exchange for wisdom. He liked to wander around in Midgard, the land of humans, and he thought it would be great if he could just stay in Asgard and see everything without having to walk around. After a perilous journey, Odin got to Mimir's Well, but knew he would have to pay a stiff price for a drink. Mimir demanded Odin's right eye, and the god ripped it out himself and handed it over. Then Odin saw everything, including the future.

What is the Norse gods' secret to staying forever young?

Eating the golden apples of Idun kept the gods forever young. But one day Loki, the mischief maker, was forced to give Idun and her apples to a shape-shifting giant named Thjasse who stole her away when he was in the guise of an eagle. The other gods found out what Loki had done, changed him into a falcon and had him steal Idun and her apples back.

Loki, god of mischief, cut off the long golden hair of the goddess of the harvest. And this is what her husband did … 

Sif's husband was Thor, and he was so angry that he went to his father, Odin, and demanded a judgement. Odin made Loki go under the Earth to the gnomes, and they, liking Loki, spun a cap of gold, which he took back to Sif, and she was happy.