The sons of Mil are the fifth and last of the mythical tribes that ruled Ireland in Irish mythology. According to the Irish mythological cosmogony, the Sons of Mil are the ancestors of the modern people who inhabit this country.
After long wanderings through Egypt, Crete and Sicily they settled in Spain. “Spain” was called the Land of the Dead by rationalist historians. Mil’s involvement in the Land of the Dead is indicated by the name of his father, Bila, the god of death.
In Spain, one of the Sons, Bergon, built a tower. Once on a clear winter day, It, the son of Bergon and grandfather Mile, looking to the west, saw Ireland in the sea. It was so fascinated by the vision, he wanted so much to get into unknown lands, that he, not listening to the persuasion of his brother, who asserted that it was not the land, but only a cloud, went with an army of one hundred and fifty people to the shores of Ireland.
At that time, the country was ruled by three grandsons of Dagda: Kings Mac Kuyll with his wife Banba, Mac Kecht with his wife Fotla and Mac Grene, married to Eriu. In fact, we are faced here with the Celtic habit of breaking up deities into triads, and in fact the three kings are one being. The name Mac Grena is the Son of the Sun. And the names of divine spouses were used to refer to Ireland itself, although only the third name stuck (see below), which in the genitive case, Erin, is used as the poetic name of Ireland.
Having landed, it discovered that No, the Tribal King of the goddess Danu, had just fallen in the battle with the Fomorians, and his sons are trying to divide the tower. The heirs welcomed Ita and asked him to express his opinion, to which they replied: “Do justice, for the land where you live is beautiful, it is rich in fruits and honey, bread and fish, and the heat and cold here are moderate.” The kings interpreted these words as Ita’s views on Ireland, so they killed the guest. The sons were able to pick up the body of the murdered and deliver it to Spain, where the entire genus Ita swore revenge on the Tribes of the goddess Danu.
The end of the era of the Tribes of the goddess Danu
That very night, when the sons came, who wanted revenge, a new lake, Loch Luigdeh, appeared, named after the name of Ita’s son, Lugayda. Here the first battle took place with the Tuatha Dé Danann at Mount Sliab Mees, which has since been considered unlucky for the Sons of Mile. Then Goydels had to fight with the demons sent by the enchantment of the Tuats.
After that, the invaders moved inland, where they first met the goddesses Banba and Fotlu, who asked the sons to call the country by their names, this was promised to both goddesses. But in the center of Ireland, the invaders met Eriu, who promised prosperity to the country if a new tribe gave her name to these lands. The poet Amorgen promised it to the goddess. Finally, Goidels also met Tuat kings, who asked for a three-day delay in order to decide whether to leave the country or give battle. Goidels agreed, but the Tuats asked the invaders on ships to leave Ireland for the “ninth wave,” so that their arrival in three days would not be a surprise for the Irish. The sons of Mile agreed to this.
However, this was a trick by the Tribes of the goddess Danu. When three days later the sons sailed back to the coast, the Druids of the Tuats diverted their eyes to the Sons of Mile, and they saw only steep cliffs instead of banks. The ships had to go around the island three times before the sons could find a place to land. But then the Tuats raised a storm, and the fog covered the island from the eyes of the Sons of Mile. The ships got lost. Wanting to find out if it was a natural storm or caused by a spell, the youngest son of Mile, Erennan, climbed onto the highest mast, but could not resist falling from it. True, while he fell, he managed to shout “There is no storm above,” which means that the storm was not of natural origin. Then Amorgen sang a magical song to the land of Erin, and the storm subsided.
After all the hardships and obstacles, the Sons of Mile landed on the coast and gave battle to the Tuats of Tailtiu (in Oula ), in which three kings and queens of Ireland died. The remaining Tuat people, under the leadership of Manannan, disappeared under cover of invisibility in the other world, Sid, from invaders, but the tribes of the goddess Danu did not leave Ireland. Interestingly, when the Tuats in the other world lived Fomorians. Now the Tuats themselves have become an analogue of the Fomorians for the Sons of Mile: among them, some Godela take wives for themselves, the Tuats provoke discord and control what the land of Ireland generates.
Sources:
Shirokova N.S. Myths of the Celtic Peoples
McCulloch John Arnott. Religion of the ancient Celts
Rolleston Thomas. Myths, legends and legends of the Celts
Celtic mythology