Tuatha Dé Danann Coloring Pages
Here's the short version of the Tuatha Dé Danann (say "TOO-ah day DAH-nan"): a magical people sail into Ireland, win two huge battles, rule for close to 200 years, and then lose the land and vanish into the hills. Their name means "the people of the goddess Danu." The stories are below in the order they happened, so you can follow along from the arrival to the very end.
Arriving in Ireland
The old stories say the Tuatha Dé Danann came from four magical northern cities, where they learned their powerful magic. Each city gave them a treasure to take along: a stone that cried out when the true king stood on it, a spear that never missed, a sword nobody could escape, and a cauldron that never ran empty. Some tellings say they sailed in on ships, and others say they floated in on a mist so thick it hid the sun for three days.
The King With the Silver Arm
Ireland already had people living in it, the Fir Bolg, so the newcomers had to fight for their new home. Their king, Nuada, lost an arm in that battle. The Tuatha Dé Danann believed a king had to be perfect, so he had to step aside, even though he was a good leader. Their healer made him a replacement arm out of silver, and the king became known as Nuada of the Silver Arm.
While Nuada was away from the throne, the people crowned a new king who turned out to be stingy and unfair, and the Tuatha Dé Danann were glad to see Nuada come back.
The Great Battle
Next came the Fomorians, a fierce rival people, and the Tuatha Dé Danann needed every hero they had. The Dagda, a huge, jolly figure who loved his food, was one of their leaders. He carried a giant club (the stories say one end could knock down an enemy and the other could heal), and his magic cauldron never ran empty, so nobody went hungry.
Then a young stranger named Lugh turned up at Nuada's door and said he could do everything: build, forge, play the harp, write poems and fight. Nuada put him in charge, and Lugh led the Tuatha Dé Danann against the Fomorians and their champion, Balor of the Evil Eye. One well-aimed shot to Balor's eye ended the battle, and the Tuatha Dé Danann won.
Lugh, the Shining One
When the Fomorians attacked, Lugh led the Tuatha Dé Danann against them, and his enemy on the battlefield was Balor of the Evil Eye, who was also his own grandfather. The whole battle came down to one shot from Lugh...
Giving Up the Land
The Tuatha Dé Danann ruled for close to 200 years. Then ships arrived from the south, carrying the Celts who became the Irish, led by the poet Amergin. The Tuatha Dé Danann tried to keep them away with magic and storms, but Amergin sang the waves calm. In the end the two peoples made a deal: the Celts would have the land above ground, and the Tuatha Dé Danann would keep the world underneath it.
The Dagda handed out the hills so every family had a mound to call home, and that's how the Tuatha Dé Danann became the hidden folk of the Sidhe. Later folklore says they shrank over time, and that some of them came back as leprechauns and Fir Darrigs.
