Donn and the House of the Dead

 

 

 

 "The wind concentrated upon the ship where Donn the king was, and Donn was drowned at the Sandhills; whence Tech Duinn derives its name." - Lebor Gabala Erenn, volume 5

  There is some debate about whether the Irish have a God of the dead, but if they do its generally agreed that it would be Donn, a king of the Milesians who died at sea when the sons of Mil were trying to take Ireland. The place where he died, off the southwest coast of Ireland, was called Tech Duinn - Donn's house. Tech Duinn became equated in folklore with the Otherworldly land of the dead and Donn with a primal ancestor and underworld God (Jones, 2004). In the Death Tale of Conaire Donn is explicitly called the King of the Dead and a 9th century text has Donn claiming that all who die will go to him and his house (OhOgain, 2006).
   According to Green Donn's name means 'Dark One', however looking up the Old Irish we see a variety of meanings for the word donn including brown, noble, poet, stolen property, pregnant, and ale (Green, 1997; eDIL, n.d.). The dictionary also defines Donn as "Probably the god of the dead or the ancestral father to whom all are called at their death; Amalgamated with the Christian Devil" (eDIL, n.d.). Both Green and Jones compare Donn to the Roman Dis Pater, who Caesar said the Gauls believed they descended from; as Donn was seen to be an ancestor of the Gaels and also a deity of the land of the dead this comparison seems valid. Green goes further in saying that Donn is likely also Da Derga, who appears according to her as a death God in the story of Da Derga's Hostel (Gren, 1997). Berresford Ellis suggests that Donn might also relate to Dagda and Bile (Berresford Ellis, 1987). O'hOgain agrees with the Dagda association, seeing the name Donn as originally an epithet most likely of an Dagda's; he relates the name to the concept of darkness and the realm of the dead (O'hOgain, 2006).
    There are a variety of explanations for why Donn died. I have heard some Irish pagans say that it is because he insulted Eriu, one of the main sovereignty goddesses of Ireland, when the Milesinas were negotiating with her. Others say Eriu only predicted his doom but did not cause it (Berresford Ellis, 1987). The actual text from one redaction says: "Then Donn son of Mil said: I shall put, said he, under the edge of javelin and sword all that are in the island now, only let land be reached. The wind concentrated upon the ship where Donn the king was, and Donn was drowned at the Sandhills; whence Tech Duinn derives its name" (Macalister, 1956) I tend to read this myself and believe that it was his threat to kill all living things in Ireland that led to the sea and air turning against him and causing his death before his ship could land.
   Folklore tells us that Tech Duinn is a place where the dead go, but not necessarily their final destination. Some believe that the house of Donn is where the dead go before moving on to the Otherworld (Berresford Ellis, 1987). In the 8th to 10th centuries Tech Duinn was seen as an assembly place of the dead, and a place that the dead both went to and left from (OhOgain, 2006). Besides Tech Duinn (present day Bull Rock, County Cork) Donn is also connected to Cnoc Firinne in county Limerick and Dumhcha in county Clare.
    The Donn of Cnoc Firinne had strong aspects of a lord of the aos sidhe, being called Donn Firinne and said to kidnap people into his hill who had been thought to have died (OhOgain, 2006). Like many other Irish deities belief in Donn seems to have survived conversion to Christianity by shifting him from God to Good Neighbor, albeit a very powerful one. In county Clare Donn was Donn na Duimhche, Donn of the Dune, and was believed to ride out as a fairy horseman with his army (OhOgain, 2006).
   Donn may or may not always have been seen as a deity but he certainly seems to have been understood as one from at least the 8th century onward, until his shift into an Otherworldly horseman. throughout his shifting mythology though he has always been related to death and the dead, both as the Lord of the 'house' where the dead go and also as a primordial ancestor of the people. He also has a strong association to the sea, the drowned, and to horses.



References
Macalister, R. (1956) Lebor Gabala Erenn, volume 5
Jones, M., (2004) Tech Duinn. Retrieved from http://www.maryjones.us/jce/techduinn.html
Green, M., (1997) Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend
eDIL (n.d.) Donn
Berresford Ellis, P., (1987). A Dictionary of Irish Mythology
O'hOgain, D., (2006). The Lore of Ireland.