FSC608 Lughnasadh

The celebration of Lughnasadh has been of great importance in Ireland since prehistoric times. In early Irish literature of Irish Mythology the festival has been named after the pagan sun god, Lugh Lámhfhada, who took his name after the month of August, Lúnasa in Irish.Lugh, once a High King of Ireland, was a youthful fierce warrior and a leader of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He was a master in all skills including the arts and crafts and truth, oaths and the law who fathered the famous Irish warrior Cu Chulainn.Lugh’s foster-mother, Tailtiu, died on August 1 from exhaustion after clearing the plains of Ireland for farming. She was buried under a mound in an area known today as Teltown, County Meath (an area between Kells and Meath).To honor his mother, Lugh held the first Óenach, or Aonach, the bringing of people together to commemorate a death. It became known as Óenach Tailten, occurring in the last fortnight of July and the first fortnight of August. Óenach Tailten brought the Irish Kings together, to a landscape of governance in Meath, and under a truce would settle disputes between each other.Lughnasadh. Festivities included feasts,entertainment, atchmaking, trading, and competitive sporting games, most notably the Tailteann Games where there would have been displays of wrestling, spear throwing, running, long and high jump and horse racing. There were also contests of storytelling and gold smithery.As with other seasonal festivals, celebrations included bonfires, likely to honor the sun god and to give praise for the good weather.