History Characters / CelticMythology

* HumanSacrifice: Associated with this.

!!Bres

* FaceHeelTurn: In the story of the first Cath Maige Tuired, Bres is a wise ambassador, loyal to his half-brothers and Nuada. However, as soon as the throne is vacant do to Nuada's maiming he manipulates his way into being chosen as king of the gods, then enslaves his own kin and people to the [[AbusivePrecursors Fomorians.]]

* TheBard

* MissingMom: Had his mother torn away from him by the druid Fear Doirche

* BitchSlap: When a king's steward attempted to steal credit for Fionn's act of heroism and claim the latter's reward for himself, Fionn slapped him in the face. Which sent the steward's head flying off his shoulders and sent it flying through the air before splattering on the far wall of the king's throne room.

* RuleOfThree: She is sometimes conflated with The Morrigan and Anand (Anu) as a triplicate goddess.

Daughter of High King Cormac mac Airt and the WorldsMostBeautifulWoman. Grainne agreed to marry Fionn mac Cumhaill (unaware of the fact that Fionn [[OldManMarryingAChild was quite past his prime by then]]), only to run off with Fionn's most handsome underling whether he liked it or not.

* TheLancer: Acts as this to Fionn. He's Fionn's second in command. He relies on his SuperToughness in battle and is a brutal fighter, while Fionn relies more on his skill and doesn't get excessively violent with his opponents. Goll is more often the more brooding and dark-minded of the two while Fionn at his best is an IdealHero. Despite these differences and their occasional quarrels/brawls, they are ultimately close allies who have each other's backs when the chips are down.

* TheRival: To Fionn Mac Cumhaill. It started with him killing Fionn's father and taking leadership of the Fianna from him. Then Fionn took control of the Fianna back from Goll. The two did eventually become allies, but even then there was an on-again-off-again rivalry between them.

* FallenHero: From Diarmuid's elopement onward, Fionn begins to go against his former principles, particularly his oath to never seek revenge. Eventually, infighting within the Fianna breaks out, and eventually the people of Ireland turn against him.

* CrazyJealousGuy: Does not take Grainne's elopement well.

* HotConsort: To princess Grainne
* InterspeciesAdoption: Fostered by Aenghus Óg of the [[TheFairFolk Tuatha Dé Danann]]

* SoBeautifulItsACurse: His beauty mark made all women who gaze upon him fall madly in love with him. This later ends up killing him because of injuries he suffered from a boar and Fionn wasn't able to heal him with the magic spring water, as Fionn's jealousy abour Diarmuid stealing Grainn from him caused him to he spill the water from the magic healing spring twice, and while he didn't splill it the third time, Diarmuid succumbed to his wounds by the time Fionn returned to him.
* StockholmSyndrome: Diarmuid's romance with Grainne is... ''complicated'', and seems to consider her his kidnapper as much as he does her lover.

%%* RebelliousPrincess

* WarriorPrince

He's depicted with antlers, seated cross-legged and is associated with animals while usually holding or wearing a torc. Due to the lack of surviving literature, details about his name, his followers or his significance in Celtic religion are unknown, with interpretations of his role varying from seeing him as a god of animals, nature and fertility to a god of travel, commerce and bi-directionality, and a liminal deity that would be between two worlds (nature and civilization, life and death, etc).

Belenos, Belinus, Bel or Beli Mawr is a sun god who in the 3rd century was the patron deity of the Italian city of Aquileia. Called the "Fair Shining One" (or "The Shining God"), he was one of the most ancient and most-widely worshiped Celtic deities and is associated with the ancient fire festival and modern Sabbat Beltane. Perhaps like Apollo, with whom he became identified in the Augustan History, Belenus was thought to ride the Sun across the whole sky in a horse-drawn chariot.

* AmazonBeauty: Was often said to be beautiful as well as a badass, which played a part in Cu Chulainn choosing her as a teacher over other options.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Although his real name was Sétanta, he was referred to as Cú Chulainn (Chulainn's Hound) for the rest of his life after receiving the moniker.

* SwappedRoles: When Pwyll chases of Arawn's hounds to claim a stag, Arawn proposes trading places and rule over each other's kingdoms for a year so Pwyll can make amends. Pwyll not only rules Annwn well, but remains respectful of Arawn's wife, and defeats his rival Hafgan in singular combat. The two return to their own domains as friends.

* MeaningfulName: He is called "Aengus Oag" (young Aengus) because the Dagda froze the sun in the sky for nine months so he would be conceived and born on the same day. He is sometimes referred to simply by his title, the Mac Oag ("the Young Son").

These are the most famous characters from Celtic Mythology. For the sake of everyone's sanity, pronunciation guides will be provided for the names. However, remember they are only rough guides, and pronunciations can vary depending on whether the name is in Old Irish, Modern Irish or an Anglicisation, ''and'' they can vary depending on the speaker's ''canint'', their dialect of Irish.

!!Cliodhna

!!Boann

The goddess and namesake of the River Boyne (''An Bhóinn'') in Leinster. According to the ''Lebor Gabla Érenn'' and ''Tain Bó Fraích'' she was the sister of Befind and daughter of Delbáeth, son of Elada, of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Her husband is variously Nechtan or Elcmar. With her lover the Dagda, she is the mother of Aengus. In order to hide their affair, the Dagda made the sun stand still for nine months; therefore, Aengus was conceived, gestated and born in one day; elsewhere, the Dagda kept hunger, thirst, and darkness from Elcmar during his journey, so that it only seemed to be a day for Elcmar.

* BoisterousBruiser: Often portrayed as this.

* CarryABigStick: The ''lorg mor'', a big club/staff (likely a shillelagh). The club end could kill nine men with a single strike...
* HealingShiv: ... but the handle end could return them to life and health.

* WarriorPoet: Can use MagicMusic with his harp, and can bust nine heads in one hit with Lorg Mor.

* TheGreenEyedMonster: He isn't so happy to stand aside for Lugh as Nuada's champion...at least at first. Eventually he and Lugh reach a truce, and he, Lugh and Dagda form a trinity known as "The Three Gods of Skill."

* PrettyBoy / HotGod: Even among the other gods, his prettiness is notable.
* UglyGuysHotDaughter: He's the Dagda's son, and noted to be extremely handsome/pretty even among the other gods.

* UglyGuysHotDaughter: He's the Dagda's son.

* AffectionateNickname: Along with "Little Hound" mentioned below, Cú Chulainn has been bestowed the [[JustForPun pet name]] "Cucuc" by his charioteer and close friend, Laeg.

* RasputinDeath: In order to kill him in such a way that he didn't simply respawn the next night, he had to be stabbed in the heart with a sword made of Yew wood, buried upside down, his grave surrounded by thorns, and have a large, heavy stone placed over his grave for good measure.

!!Diarmuid Ua Duibhne (DEER-mud OH DIV-nah)

A hypothetical older Celtic deity who is associated with negative aspects like death, snakes, burning light and human sacrifices who shows up only in the context of being defeated by St. Patrick, not showing up before the 9th century or so. Most modern scholars believe that he was invented as a means of highlighting Patrick's impressiveness by later hagiographers, but you do have a number of folktale stories around him popping up around Ireland...
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* TheGhost: Never actually shows up in person in any of the medieval literature, with only his idol making an appearance.

Son of Oisin and Eibhir, Oscar joined the ranks of Fionn's ''fiann'' after killing a large troop of invaders with a [[ImprovisedWeapon wooden stick]].