The Six Invasions of Ireland: My Interpretation

Dia duit, agus failte!

(That means "Hello, and welcome!" in Gaeilge, the native tongue of Ireland)

For this joyous Irish-filled holiday, I am proud to showcase my latest interpretation of the Irish mythical story of the Six Invasions!

The first two waves of invaders, the Peoples of Cessair and Partholon, are said to be descendants of the Bible's Noah--of Ark fame.

Hence, I represent them both as Ancient Middle Eastern people.

The third wave of invaders, the People of Nemed, are said to be Scythians (an Ancient Iranic people from Central Asia and what is now Ukraine), so I represent Nemed as a Scythian warrior in full armor.

The fourth wave of invaders, the Firbolgs, are the descendants of those of Nemed's people who had fled to Greece, so I represent them wearing Ancient Greek robes.

(Presumably, they had assimilated into Greek culture by the time they came to Ireland)

The Firbolgs are also big and burly, similar to how they appear in pre-5th edition Dungeons and Dragons.

The fifth wave of invaders, the Tuatha De Danann (the last divine rulers of Ireland) are said to have arrived in dark clouds of list...so I depict them as shadowy figures in the fog.

The sixth and final wave of invaders, the Milesians (mortal ancestors of the Irish) are said to have come from Spain.

Hence, I researched traditional dress from Galicia (the culturally Celtic region of Spain), and represent the Milesians dressed that way.

I also drew my own map of where I presume the Six Invasion routes would have gone, based on information given in the mythology:

Based on when the Celts (or at least Celtic cultural elements) are believed to have arrived in Ireland--around 500 B.C.E.--the Six Invasions story would have started at around 1200 B.C.E.

Note that the names of the Six Invaders are written in Ogham, the ancient alphabet of Ireland, to add authenticity to the story.

Since Celtic mythology is obsessed with the number three, I also feature a third panel to represent the Six Invasions story:

My own depiction of the Fomorians and their leader Balor

Both Balor and his Fomorian army are based on their representations in Dungeons and Dragons.

Fomorians in D&D are purple pockmarked giants with yellow eyes...so that is how I portray them.

Balors are a type of demon in D&D, where they are modeled after balrogs from J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth.

In fact, D&D's balors were originally called balrogs...but the name was changed due to a lawsuit from Tolkien's estate in the 1970s C.E., when the game was young.

That is also why hobbits are called halflings in D&D.

Hence, I essentially portray the Irish mythical Balor as a one-eyed balrog.

He is also the grandfather of Lugh, the Irish god of skills and talents (and also the guy who offed him).

His declaration in the picture above is also a Star Wars reference, alluding to the famous moment where Darth Vader reveals himself as Luke Skywalker's father.

With all that, I send off with a simplified summary of the Six Invasions myth:

Two groups descended from Noah came and died, leaving only one survivor each.

Some Scythians showed up, left, and returned in two separate waves.

One group of these Scythians wiped out the other in an internal conflict, and then wiped out a bunch of hideous giants...but were themselves overrun by Spanish migrants who eventually became the Irish.

Those Scythians who had ruled for so long became the Irish fairies, or "Good People".

La Fheile Padraig sona duit!

(That means "Happy St. Patrick's Day" in Gaeilge)