The Fomorians or Fomori (Old Irish: Fomóire, Modern Irish: Fomhóraigh / Fomóraigh) are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. They are often shown as hostile and monstrous beings. Originally, they were believed to come from under the sea or the earth. Later, they were described as sea raiders and giants. They were enemies of the first people who settled in Ireland and opponents of the Tuatha Dé Danann, another supernatural race in Irish mythology. Some members of these two groups had children together. The Tuatha Dé Danann defeated the Fomorians in the Battle of Mag Tuired. This event is similar to other myths from different cultures that describe wars between powerful groups, such as the Æsir and Vanir War in Norse mythology, the Titanomachy (Olympian-Titan War) in Greek mythology, and the conflict between the Devas and Asuras in Indian mythology.
One idea is that the Fomorians represented the wild or harmful forces of nature, such as chaos, darkness, death, blight, and drought.
Name
In Old and Middle Irish, the group is usually called the Fomóire or Fomóiri (plural), and a single member is called a Fomóir (singular). In Middle Irish, they are also called the Fomóraiġ (plural) and a Fomórach (singular). In Modern Irish, they are spelled Fomhóraigh/Fomóraigh (plural) and Fomhórach (singular). Their name is written in Latin letters as Muiridi in the Lebor Bretnach. In English, they are known as the Fomorians, Fomori, or Fomors.
The meaning of their name is not certain. The first part of the name is generally believed to come from the Old Irish word fo, which means "under," "below," "lower," or "beneath." The second part of the name is unclear. One idea is that it comes from the Old Irish word mur, meaning "sea," suggesting the name might mean "the undersea ones." This was a belief held by some medieval Irish writers. Another idea is that it comes from mór, meaning "great" or "big," suggesting the name might mean "the great under(world) ones" or "the under(world) giants." A third idea, supported by many scholars, is that it comes from a word in Old Irish that might have meant "demon" or "phantom," similar to the name of the Morrígan and related to the old English word "mare," as in "nightmare." This would mean the name might refer to "underworld demons" or "nether demons." Marie-Louise Sjoestedt suggests the name might mean "inferior" or "latent demons," describing the Fomorians as "like the powers of chaos, ever latent and hostile to cosmic order." John T. Koch notes a possible connection to the Tartessian word omuŕik.
Description
The Fomorians were originally believed to be harmful spirits that lived underwater and in the underground parts of the earth. In an early poem from around 700 AD, they are described as living "under the worlds of men." Later, they were shown as sea raiders. This idea may have been influenced by Viking attacks on Ireland that happened around the same time.
They are often shown as monstrous. Some stories say they have the body of a man and the head of a goat, as written in an 11th-century book called Lebor na hUidre (the Book of the Dun Cow). Others describe them as having one eye, one arm, and one leg. However, some Fomorians, like Elatha and his son Bres, who had connections with the Tuath Dé, were described as very attractive.
The Fomorians are enemies of Ireland's first settlers and of the supernatural Tuath Dé, who are their opposites. In some stories, the Fomorians and Tuath Dé are connected. A figure named Tethra is said to lead both groups.
The conflict between the Tuath Dé and Fomorians is similar to other ancient stories about wars between gods. These include the war between the Æsir and Vanir in Norse myths, the war between the Olympians and Titans in Greek myths, and the war between the Devas and Asuras in Vedic myths. Dáithí Ó hÓgáin notes that the Tuath Dé learning agricultural knowledge from the Fomorians is similar to Norse and Vedic stories, where the defeated group represents the fertility of the soil.
Myths
According to the medieval myth of Partholón, his followers were the first to arrive in Ireland after the flood described in the Bible's Genesis. However, the Fomorians were already there. Geoffrey Keating recorded a tradition stating that the Fomorians, led by Cichol Gricenchos, had arrived 200 years earlier and lived on fish and birds until Partholón arrived (this detail appears only in the third version of the Lebor Gabála Érenn). Partholón brought plows and oxen to Ireland. He defeated Cíocal in the Battle of Mag Itha, but all his people later died from a plague.
Next came Nemed and his followers. Ireland was said to be empty for 30 years after the death of Partholón's people, but Nemed and his followers encountered the Fomorians when they arrived. Céitinn reported another tradition stating that the Fomorians were seafarers from the Middle East, descendants of Ham, son of Noah. Nemed defeated the Fomorians in several battles, killing their kings, Gann and Sengann. However, two new Fomorian leaders arose: Conand, son of Faebar, who lived in Conand's Tower on Tory Island, County Donegal, and Morc, son of Dela (note that the first generation of the Fir Bolg were also said to be sons of Dela).
After Nemed's death, Conand and Morc enslaved his people and demanded a heavy tribute: two-thirds of their children, grain, and cattle. Nemed's son, Fergus Lethderg, gathered an army of 60,000, attacked them, and destroyed Conand's Tower. However, Morc attacked with a large fleet, causing great destruction on both sides. A flood drowned most survivors, and only 30 of Nemed's people escaped in a single ship, scattering to other parts of the world. The next invasion was by the Fir Bolg, who did not encounter the Fomorians.
Next came the Tuatha Dé Danann, who were often considered the gods of the Goidelic Irish. They defeated the Fir Bolg in the first Battle of Mag Tuired and claimed Ireland. Their king, Nuada Airgetlám, lost an arm in the battle and could not rule. The first king of the Tuatha Dé in Ireland was Bres, a half-Fomorian. Bres was the son of Ériu of the Tuatha Dé and Elatha, a Fomorian prince who arrived by sea on a silver boat. Both Elatha and Bres were described as very beautiful. However, Bres was a poor king who forced the Tuatha Dé to work as slaves and pay tribute to the Fomorians. He lost power when he was mocked for failing to fulfill his duties as a king. Nuada was restored to the kingship after his arm was replaced with a silver one, but the Tuatha Dé continued to suffer under Fomorian rule.
Bres fled to his father, Elatha, and asked for help to regain his kingship. Elatha refused, stating that Bres should not seek power through dishonest means. Instead, Bres turned to Balor, a warlike Fomorian chief on Tory Island, and raised an army. The Tuatha Dé also prepared for war, led by Lug, a half-Fomorian. Lug's father was Cian of the Tuatha Dé, and his mother was Ethniu, Balor's daughter. Early texts describe this as a dynastic marriage, but folklore tells a more detailed story similar to the Greek myth of Perseus. Balor, warned by a prophecy that his grandson would kill him, locked Ethniu in a glass tower to keep her safe. However, when Balor stole Cian's magical cow, Cian sought revenge by entering the tower with the help of a druidess named Biróg and seducing Ethniu. She gave birth to triplets, whom Balor ordered to be drowned. Two of the babies died or became the first seals, but Biróg saved one, Lug, and gave him to Manannán and Tailtiu to raise. As an adult, Lug earned a place in Nuada's court by mastering many skills and was given command of the army.
The second Battle of Mag Tuired was fought between the Fomorians, led by Balor, and the Tuatha Dé, led by Lug. When the two armies met, it was said that attacking the Fomorians was as dangerous as striking a cliff or facing a serpent's nest. Balor killed Nuada with his poisonous eye, which could kill anyone it looked upon. Lug faced his grandfather, Balor, and as Balor opened his eye, Lug shot a stone from his sling, striking the eye and causing it to fly out of Balor's head, devastating the Fomorian army. After Balor's death, the Fomorians were defeated and driven into the sea.
According to the Irish version of the Historia Britonum by Nennius, the Fomorians were described as mariners forced into a tower near the sea by the Tuatha Dé. Later, the Irish or descendants of Nemed, led by Fergus Lethderg, pushed the Fomorians into the sea, except for one ship that survived.
The Fomorians were still present during the time of Cú Chulainn. In the medieval Irish tale The Training of Cú Chulainn, preserved in the British Library, it is written:
Cú Chulainn saw a group of people on the shore, including a young woman who was to be taken as a tribute by the Fomorians. She explained that every seven years, the Fomorians demanded the firstborn child of a king. Cú Chulainn confronted the Fomorian warriors, Dub, Mell, and Dubros, and defeated them. He struck off their heads, becoming the first to kill after completing his training.
Over time, the term "Fomorian" was used to describe pirates or raiders, and the original meaning of the word was forgotten.
List of Fomorians
The Genealogies from Rawlinson B 502 lists the full family tree of the Fomorians, tracing back to Noah from the Bible, who was the 10th descendant of Adam and Eve.
In Rawlinson B 502, Section 26, page 330, the text includes the following names:
Bress, son of Elathan, son of Delbáeth, son of Deirgthind, son of Ochtaich, son of Sithchind, son of Molaich, son of Lárgluind, son of Ciarraill, son of Fóesaim, son of Meircill, son of Leccduib, son of Iachtaich, son of Libuirnn, son of Lathairn, son of Soairtt, son of Sibuirt, son of Siuccat, son of Stairnn, son of Saltait, son of Cair, son of h-Iphit, son of Philist, son of Fuith, son of Caim, son of Nóe, son of Laméch.