Donn

For other uses, see Donn (disambiguation).

Bull Rock, off the southwest coast of Ireland, is often identified with Teach Duinn (the House of Donn)

In Irish mythology, Donn ("the dark one", from Proto-Celtic: *Dhuosnos)[1][2] is an ancestor of the Gaels and is believed to have been a god of the dead.[2][3][4] Donn is said to dwell in Tech Duinn (the "house of Donn" or "house of the dark one"),[5] where the souls of the dead gather.[6] He may have originally been an aspect of the Dagda. Folklore about Donn survived into the modern era in parts of Ireland, in which he is said to be a phantom horseman riding a white horse.

  1. ^ Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí (1999). The Sacred Isle: Belief and religion in pre-Christian Ireland. Boydell & Brewer. pp. 27, 58.
  2. ^ a b Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí (1991). Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopaedia of the Irish folk tradition. Prentice Hall Press. pp. 165–166, 154.
  3. ^ Monaghan, Patricia (2004). The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore. Infobase Publishing. p. 135.
  4. ^ Koch, John T. (2006). Celtic Culture: A historical encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 601, 1133.
  5. ^ Müller-Lisowski, Käte (1948). "Contribution to a Study in Irish Folklore: Traditions about Donn". Béaloideas. 18 (1/2): 142–199. JSTOR 20722853.
  6. ^ Freitag, Barbara (2013). Hy Brasil: The metamorphosis of an island. Rodopi. pp. 98–99, 101.