InIrish mythology,Ériu (Old Irish:[ˈeːɾʲu];Modern Irish:Éire[ˈeːɾʲə]ⓘ), daughter ofDelbáeth andErnmas of theTuatha Dé Danann, was the eponymous matrongoddess ofIreland.
The English name for Ireland comes from the name Ériu and theGermanic (Old Norse orOld English) wordland.
Since Ériu is represented as goddess of Ireland, she is often interpreted as a modern-day personification of Ireland, although since the nameÉriu is theOld Irish form of the word Ireland, her modern name is often modified toÉire orErin to suit a modern form.
The nameÉriu has been derived from reconstructedArchaic Irish*Īweriū,[1] which is related to the ethnic nameIverni.[2] TheUniversity of Wales derives this fromProto-Celtic *Φīwerjon- (nominative singularΦīwerjō).[3] This is further derived fromProto-Indo-European*piHwerjon- ("fertile land" or "land of abundance"), from the adjective*piHwer- "fat" (cognate withAncient Greekpíeira andSanskritpīvara, "fat, full, abounding").[2]
The Archaic Irish form was borrowed into Ancient Greek asἸέρνηIernē andἸουερνίαIouernia, and intoLatinHibernia.[2]
In theBanshenchas (a mediaeval text describing legendary and historical Irish women),[4] Ériu and her sisters are called:
Different texts attribute differing personal relationships to Ériu. Ériu's sisters are consistently named as Banba and Fódla, who are members of the Tuatha Dé Danann, and the three sisters share a trio of brothers as husbands. In theBanshenchas, Ériu is described as the wife of Cetar, while Banba and Fódla are named as the wives of Etar and Detar, respectively.[4] More commonly, she is named as the wife or lover ofMac Gréine ("Son of the Sun"), a grandson of theDagda, although in theBanshenchas, her husband is simply namedGrian ("Sun").[5][6][4] Ériu is also portrayed as the lover ofElatha, a prince of theFomorians, with whom she produces a son namedBres, and as the mistress of Bres's enemy - the heroLugh. BothElatha and Ériu are described in some sources as the children ofDelbaeth, indicating they may be half-siblings.[7] Elsewhere Ériu is named as the daughter of Fiachra,[4] and her mother is named as Ernmas. Her foster-father in the RennesDindsenchas is named as Codal the Roundbreasted, and when he fed Ériu on a peak calledBenn Codail, it caused the land in Ireland to heave toward the sky, and it would have kept rising until the entire land would have been the peak or otherwise until the sun would have scorched Ériu and the wind pierced her ears.[8]
With her sisters,Banba andFódla, Ériu forms a triumvirate of goddesses. When theMilesians arrived fromGalicia, each of the three sisters asked that her name be given to the country. This was granted to them, although Ériu (Éire) became the chief name in use.[6] (Banba and Fódla are still sometimes used as poetic names for Ireland, much asAlbion is used as a poetic name forGreat Britain.)
According to the 17th-century Irish historianGeoffrey Keating (Irish:Seathrún Céitinn), the three sovereignty goddesses associated with Éire, Banbha and Fódla wereBadb,Macha andThe Morrígan. Ériu, Banba and Fódla are also interpreted asgoddesses of sovereignty.[9]