Lugh in the context of "Hound of Culain"

Celtic mythology is the body of myths belonging to the Celtic peoples. Like other Iron Age Europeans, Celtic peoples followed a polytheistic religion, having many gods and goddesses. The mythologies of continental Celtic peoples, such as the Gauls and Celtiberians, did not survive their conquest by the Roman Empire, the loss of their Celtic languages and their subsequent conversion to Christianity. Only remnants are found in Greco-Roman sources and archaeology. Most surviving Celtic mythology belongs to the Insular Celtic peoples (the Gaels of Ireland and Scotland; the Celtic Britons of western Britain and Brittany). They preserved some of their myths in oral lore, which were eventually written down by Christian scribes in the Middle Ages. Irish mythology has the largest written body of myths, followed by Welsh mythology.

The supernatural race called the Tuatha Dé Danann is believed to be based on the main Celtic gods of Ireland, while many Welsh characters belong either to the Plant Dôn ("Children of Dôn") or the Plant Llŷr ("Children of Llŷr"). Some figures in Insular Celtic myth have ancient continental parallels: Irish Lugh and Welsh Lleu are cognate with Lugus, Goibniu and Gofannon with Gobannos, Macán and Mabon with Maponos, and so on. One common figure is the sovereignty goddess, who represents the land and bestows sovereignty on a king by marrying him. The Otherworld is also a common motif, a parallel realm of the supernatural races, which is visited by some mythical heroes. Celtic myth influenced later Arthurian legend.

Cú Chulainn (/kuːˈkʌlɪn/ koo-KHUL-in Irish: [kuːˈxʊlˠɪn̠ʲ] ), is an Irish warrior hero and demigod in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore. He is believed to be an incarnation of the Irish god Lugh, who is also his father. His mother is the mortal Deichtine, sister of King Conchobar mac Nessa.

Born Sétanta, he gained his better-known name as a child, after killing Culann's fierce guard dog in self-defence and offering to take its place until a replacement could be reared, hence he became the "Hound (cú) of Culann". He was trained in martial arts by Scáthach, who gave him the spear Gáe Bulg. It was prophesied that his great deeds would give him everlasting fame, but that his life would be short. At the age of seventeen he defended Ulster single-handedly against the armies of Queen Medb of Connacht in the famous Táin Bó Cúailnge ("Cattle Raid of Cooley"). He is known for his terrifying battle frenzy (ríastrad), in which he becomes an unrecognisable monster who knows neither friend nor foe. He fights from his chariot, driven by his loyal charioteer Láeg and drawn by his horses, Liath Macha and Dub Sainglend.

The province of Lugo (Spanish: Provincia de Lugo, Galician: Provincia de Lugo) is a province of northwestern Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Ourense, Pontevedra, A Coruña, and León, the principality of Asturias, and in the north by the Cantabrian Sea (Bay of Biscay).

The population is 325,048, of which over a quarter live in the capital Lugo. The capital city was an ancient Celtic settlement named in honour of the god Lugh (see Lyon), later Latinised as Lucus Augusti, and which became one of the three main important Galician-Roman centres alongside Braccara Augusta and Asturica Augusta (modern Braga and Astorga respectively). The province has 67 municipalities.

The Tuatha Dé Danann (Irish: [ˈt̪ˠuə(hə) dʲeː ˈd̪ˠan̪ˠən̪ˠ], usually translated "folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods" or "divine tribe"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deities of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland.

The Tuath Dé Danann are often depicted as kings, queens, druids, bards, warriors, heroes, healers and craftsmen who have supernatural powers. They dwell in the Otherworld but interact with humans and the human world. They are associated with the sídhe: prominent ancient burial mounds such as Brú na Bóinne, which are entrances to Otherworld realms. Their traditional rivals are the Fomorians (Fomoire), who might represent the destructive powers of nature, and whom the Tuatha Dé Danann defeat in the Battle of Mag Tuired. Prominent members include the Dagda ("the great god"); The Morrígan ("the great queen" or "phantom queen"); Lugh; Nuada; Aengus; Brigid; Manannán; Dian Cecht the healer; and Goibniu the smith, one of the Trí Dé Dána ("three gods of craft"). Several of the Tuath Dé are cognate with ancient Celtic deities: Lugh with Lugus, Brigit with Brigantia, Nuada with Nodons, Ogma with Ogmios, and Goibniu with Gobannus.

Lleu Llaw Gyffes (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈɬɛɨ ˈɬau ˈɡəfɛs]), sometimes incorrectly spelled as Llew Llaw Gyffes, is a hero of Welsh mythology. He appears most prominently in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, the tale of Math fab Mathonwy, which tells the tale of his birth, his marriage, his death, his resurrection and his accession to the throne of Gwynedd. He is a warrior and magician, invariably associated with his uncle Gwydion.

His name appears to be the Welsh equivalent of the Irish Lugh and the Gaulish Lugus. It has been suggested that Lleu, like Pryderi, is related to the divine son figure of Mabon ap Modron.

Dún Lúiche, known in English as Dunlewey or Dunlewy, is a small Gaeltacht village in the Gweedore district in the north-west of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. The village sits in the Poisoned Glen, at the foot of Errigal and on the shore of Dunlewey Lough. The Cronaniv Burn flows along the southern edge of the village. Dunlewey has a tourist centre, called the Lakeside Centre or Ionad Cois Locha, which offers boat trips of the lake. To the west of the lake is a ruined church.

The Irish language name Dún Lúiche means "fort of Lugh", an ancient Irish god. Near the Lakeside Centre is a modern wooden sculpture of the god. Folklore says that the Poisoned Glen is where Lugh slew Balor, and that it is so named because poison seeped from Balor's 'evil eye'.

In Irish mythology, Deichtine or Deichtire was the sister of Conchobar mac Nessa and the mother of Cú Chulainn. Her husband was Sualtam, but Cú Chulainn's real father may have been Lugh of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

In one version of the story she was Conchobar's charioteer. When a flock of birds descended on Emain Macha and ate all the grass, the Ulstermen decided to hunt them, and they set off after them in their chariots. They chased them until night fell, and it began to snow, so they decided to seek shelter. They found a house and were welcomed in by the young man who lived there. His wife was in labour at the time, but he showed them hospitality and served them food and drink. His wife gave birth to a baby boy, and at the same time a horse outside the house gave birth to two colts. The Ulstermen went to sleep, but when they woke up they found themselves at the Brug na Bóinne (Newgrange). The house, the man and his wife had vanished, but the baby and the two colts remained. Deichtine took the boy as her foster-son and they returned to Emain.