What is Fomorians known for?
The Fomorians are a race of beings in medieval Irish writing who oppose each group that settles Ireland. The Lebor Gabála Érenn, the "Book of the Taking of Ireland", has them fighting Partholón, Nemed and later the Tuatha Dé Danann. They are often described as coming from the sea or from under it, and some texts make them monstrous.
Their most famous figure is Balor, whose single eye killed whatever it looked at. In Cath Maige Tuired, "The Battle of Mag Tuired", the Tuatha Dé Danann defeat the Fomorians and Balor is killed by his own grandson Lugh.
Scholars read the Fomorians as forces of chaos and blight set against the gods of order and harvest. On this site they appear in the Irish settlement stories and Balor's eye.
The enemies in the site's Irish stories: Balor's eye, Mag Tuired and the waves of settlers in the Book of Invasions.
Mentioned on these pages
- FileBalor
- FileLebor Gabála Érenn (Book of Invasions)
- FileTuatha Dé Danann
- PassageBalor's killing eye (Second Battle of Mag Tuired)
- PassageThe Tuatha Dé Danann arrive in dark clouds (Lebor Gabála Érenn)
- PersonNemed
- PersonNuadu (Nuada Airgetlám)
- PersonPartholón
- PersonWhitley Stokes
- PlaceMag Tuired (Moytura)
- PlaceTory Island
Linked people and places
Sources
- The Second Battle of Mag TuiredAn Irish saga in which the Tuatha Dé Danann, the old gods of Ireland, defeat the Fomorians, including Lug's fight with the one-eyed giant Balor. It survives in a single manuscript from the 1500s, now in the British Library, though the story is much older. Whitley Stokes first translated it in 1891.Cath Maige Tuired: The Second Battle of Mag Tuired, ed. and trans. Elizabeth A. Gray (Irish Texts Society, 1982), CELT editionPrimary text Archived copy, 2026-10-01
- WikipediaA free online encyclopedia written and edited by volunteers. It is a good starting point and usually lists its own sources, but anyone can change it, so we treat it as a guide to better sources, not the final word.Wikipedia, 'Fomorians'Reference Archived copy, 2026-09-25
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