Eochu, Eochaid Ollathair, (Horseman, Great Father, All Father). Ruad Rofhessa (“mighty one/lord of great knowledge”)
Samildánach (“many-skilled”)
Aed Abaid of Ess Ruad, Fer Benn (“horned man” or “man of the peak”), Cera (possibly “creator”), Cerrce (possibly “striker”), Easal, Eogabal, Crom-Eocha, Dáire
one end of the club killed the living and the other end revived the dead) , Undry (His bottomless cauldron), Uaithne (Living oak harp which caused the seasons to change in their order and also played three types of music, the music of sorrow, the music of joy and the music of dreaming. Other accounts tell of it being used to command the order of battle.) He possessed two pigs, one of which was always growing whilst the other was always roasting, and ever-laden fruit trees.
Description –
He was a beautiful god of the heathens, for the Tuatha Dé Danann worshipped him: for he was an earth-god to them because of the greatness of his power. A warrior. He was portrayed as wearing a brown low-necked tunic which just reached his hips and a hooded cape. On his feet were horse-hide boots. Behind him he pulled his eight pronged war club on a wheel, and when it was dragged behind him it left a track as deep as the boundary ditch between two provinces. Some of the more exaggerated and comical descriptions are believed to be embellishments added later when Christianity was spreading throughout ireland to make him more offish.
Notable Legends –
The Dagda was a High King of the Tuatha Dé Danann after his predecessor Nuada was injured in battle. The Tuatha Dé Danann are the race of supernatural beings who conquered the Fomorians, who inhabited Ireland previously, prior to the coming of the Milesians. His lover was Boann and his daughter was Breg. Prior to the battle with the Fomorians, he coupled with the goddess of war, the Mórrígan, on Samhain in exchange for a plan of battle
In one famous tale, the Fomorians–rivals of the Tuatha Dé Danaan–try to trick the Dagda. They make him a mammoth pot of porridge made with grotesque ingredients like live goats. Bound by the laws of hospitality, the Dagda must eat it or risk offending them. He slurps down the entire bowl of porridge with a gigantic spoon described as big enough for a man and woman to lie inside. Once finished, the Dagda finds his belly to be as large as a whale’s. This shames him not one bit and he promptly attempts to sleep with the daughter of his enemy. (The morrigan)
The Dagda had an affair with Bóand, wife of Elcmar. In order to hide their affair, Dagda made the sun stand still for nine months; therefore their son, Aengus, was conceived, gestated and born in one day. He, along with Bóand, helped Aengus search for his love.
In a poem about Mag Muirthemne (Plain of the Darkness of the Sea or Plain Under the Sea’s Roof), the Dagda banishes an Octopus with his “mace of wrath” using the following words: “Turn thy hollow head! Turn thy ravening body! Turn thy resorbent forehead! Avaunt! Begone!”
He is credited with a seventy or eighty-year reign (depending on source) over the Tuatha Dé Danann, before dying at the Brú na Bóinne, finally succumbing to a wound inflicted by Cethlenn during the second battle of Magh Tuiredh
In many tales, the Dagda finds himself bound by the laws of hospitality and he never fails to oblige. He unabashedly allows himself physical comforts, particularly food and sex.
Sacred Associations – Yew tree, The physical, Porridge, Hospitality, oak, harp, pigs, cauldrons, clubs, agriculture, the seasons, the sun (as a passage of time)
Through the Dagda we learn, confidence, to act generously and selflessly. We learn to respect our physical needs and to honor our commitments
Ocean's Meadow 