- Tailtiu
Tailtiu (Old Irish pronunciation IPA|/ˈtalʲtʲu/; also written "Tailltiu, Tailte" ) is the name of a presumed
goddess fromIrish mythology and the town inCounty Meath , now called Teltown, that was named after her.According to the
Book of Invasions , Tailtiu was the daughter of the king of Spain and the wife ofEochaid mac Eirc , lastFir Bolg High King of Ireland , who named his capital after her (now Teltown, betweenNavan andKells ). She survived the invasion of theTuatha Dé Danann and became the foster mother of Lug. Lug established a festival, "Áenach Tailteann" in her honour, which continued to be celebrated as late as the 18th century. She died after clearing the plain of Breg in County Meath, and Lug instituted funeral games in her honour at the festival ofLughnasadh .In historical times the town of Tailtiu was where the principal assembly of the early
Uí Néill dynasties was held.From the Locus Project at CELT, Tailte had one or two raths [residence(s)] in Munster:
* ráith canann: a ráith of queen Tailte, LL 201; cf. Rathcannon tl., Co. Limerick
* ráith con: rath of queen Tailte, LL 201; in Tuath Tailten, UM 165b, Lec. 514, Stowe D ii 2, 656; cf. Rathcon, in dry. and d. Cashel, TaxRathcanann and Rath Con may or may not be identical.
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