Oweynagat
Irish and Celtic myths and legends, Irish folklore and Irish fairy tales and Legendary Places in Ireland
One of many paths into the otherworld, Oweynagat
In county Roscommon there's a place of great antiquity called Oweynagat, which some have mistakenly thought to mean the Cave of Cats, although it has nothing to do with cats - “cath” being the Irish word for “battle” and so it should rightfully be called the battle cave. Indeed it has a long association with the Morrigan, Irish spirit of war and power, who is said to emerge from its depths every Samhain, driving dread beasts before her.
The Morrigan used to drive her herds of cattle into the cave each day when the sun went down, and once she stole the herds of a lady named Odras, who tried to follow her after refusing to let her cow breed with the Morrigan's bull, but was turned into a lake by Sidhe-sorcery.
Young men used to descend into the cave in order to prove their manhood by challenging the Morrigan.
The cave has other names too, gathered over its thousands of years of existence, the way of the fairies, the Sidhe-mound, the entrance to the Otherworld, medieval monks even called it the Gates of Hell! Over its lintel is the Ogham inscription, “Fraech son of Medb”, and there's little doubt but it speaks of the very Queen Medb whose fort lies nearby and who strove so mightily with Cú Chulainn.
There are other inscriptions and other lintels in there too, but they are difficult to read, having collapsed. The entryway was made by the hand of man, as well as a door, now gone, but the heart of the cave is a natural void.
Étain and her lover Midir fled to escape their pursuers and took refuge in this cave, led by the furious king Eochaid. Midir wanted to guest with one of his relatives called Sinech, who lived there, and it was said to be a marvellous palace in the fairy world.
One of their maidservants, whose name was Crochan Crogderg, whose name meant the blood red cup, fell in love with the cave and was given ownership of it to dwell in by Etain. She it was in time who gave birth to the famed Queen Medb.
Queen Medb herself was said to have been born here, after Some years later, it was from this cave which Nera emerged to see Rathcrogan, his home and the strong place of the men of Connachta, in flames.
It is surrounded by the misty ruins of many ancient sites and monuments, ring forts and standing stones, dolmens and cairns, places where the Druids learned their craft, and holy wells of old.
Strange tales and odd happenings abound around Oweynagat, such as the story of the Ellen Trechen, a ferocious creature with three heads that came forth from the bowels of the cave and went on a rampage across Ireland, slaying many before being killed itself by the poet and hero Amergin.
Small coppery-red birds burst out of the cave withering every plant they breathed on before being hunted by the Red Branch, as well as herds of pigs with whose touch turned everything to disease and rot. Ailill and Medb themselves desperately hunted them but had a hard time of it, as the creatures could vanish and change in size!
If you do venture into the cave, be careful for a woman once got lost in the depths and emerged at Kesh Corran in county Sligo, many miles away! But for the adventurous the cave can be found on the map below.
We now have an amazing Patreon page as well, where you can listen to the many myths and legends on the Emerald Isle! Exclusive to our Patreon, you can now hear stories of ancient Ireland, folklore and fairy tales and more, all professionally narrated. It's at times like these that it's most important to support artists and creative people whose income might be reduced, so if you'd like to support the work that goes into Emerald Isle, the Patreon can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/emeraldisle
Legendary Places in Ireland
Ireland is a land of many treasures – some are well known while others are known only to a few, like the mysterious stone circles of Beaghmore! In the north of County Tyrone they can be found, at the edge of the Sperrin mountains looking out over the wide countryside below, dating back to the bronze age and earlier, to the time when the Tuath ... [more]
The royal ringfort of Grianán Ailigh was known as the father of every building in Ireland by the Annals of the Four Masters, who also claimed it was first built in the year 1500 BC, in the time of the Tuatha Dé Danann! A mighty place of strength it is and was and may always be, one of the few locations in Ireland correctly marked on a ... [more]
Knockma of the mists is a place wreathed in secrets and myth where they say sleeps the greatest king of the Sidhe, he whose name was Finnbheara! Should you go for a walk around Knockma Hill, pay close attention to that which you cannot see – a warm breeze meant a good fairy was passing by, and a sudden shiver meant an evil one was close! J ... [more]
Nine is a mystical number in Irish folklore, being thrice three, itself known from ancient times as a mysterious symbol, and so should you happen across nine stones, you would do well to be extra careful! For who knows what might lie sleeping just below the surface. And such a place can be found on the saddle between Sliabh Bán, the White ... [more]
Once upon a time there were many kingdoms in Ireland, and many kings, or perhaps they would have been better known as chieftains, but kings they were for all that. As time went by each of these kingdoms fell and were joined one into the other, but yet a single kingdom still remains in the farthest north and farthest west of the country, and this is ... [more]
Ireland's bones are made of stories, you can hardly step over a rock or walk past an old mound but if it could speak, it would tell you tales you could hardly imagine. But of all the legended glens and fields misty with memory in this ancient nation, there are few with as many secrets hidden in their depths as Lough Gur in county Limerick. S ... [more]
There are tens of thousands of round stone forts in Ireland, some say as many as fifty thousand, if you can believe it, and one of the finest examples we have is at Kilcashel in County Mayo, which comes from the Irish Coill an Chaisil, the woods of the stone fort. Almost perfectly circular in construction, with thick walls two broad men could walk ... [more]
Scattered throughout the Irish countryside are hundreds if not thousands of holy wells, almost all of great antiquity, even predating Christianity. They can take almost any form and show up in any place, shimmering in the shadow of engraved stone monuments, in lapping sea caves where the fresh and salt waters mingle twice a day, as natural springs ... [more]
In county Roscommon there's a place of great antiquity called Oweynagat, which some have mistakenly thought to mean the Cave of Cats, although it has nothing to do with cats - “cath” being the Irish word for “battle” and so it should rightfully be called the battle cave. Indeed it has a long association with the Morrigan ... [more]
The Burren is one of the wonders of Ireland. A rolling rocky landscape of limestone hills and plains, it is marked with history stretching back thousands of years. Nestled in between the limestone slabs are herbs and plants you'd be hard pressed to find elsewhere, hailing from places as far afield as the Arctic and the Mediterranean, kept warm ... [more]
Older than Stonehenge and the great pyramids of Giza stands Newgrange, the heart of legends and mysteries stretching back five thousand years. Situated along the river Boyne near to numerous other such places like Knowth and Dowth, that very same river where Fionn Mac Cumhaill was said to have first found and tasted the salmon of knowledge, and the ... [more]
The seat of the High Kings of Ireland of old, Tara or Temair as it was known then, is said to have been the seat of a hundred and forty two kings, kingships won by battle, contest and merit, not passed down father to son as in more primitive cultures. One of the most important monuments in the sacred Boyne valley, its history stretches back four th ... [more]
Dun Aengus means "the Fort of Aenghus", and remains one of the most impressive ancient monuments in Ireland, Europe or the world. Perched on the edge of a high and jagged cliff with the grey-green waters of the Atlantic battering below, it gained its name from its original builders, who were called the Fir Bolg, some of the first to arriv ... [more]
Crannogs, the name meaning "young trees" for reasons which aren't too clear, were dwelling places for people in Ireland from the time of the Tuatha de Dannan right up to the seventeenth century. They were built on shallow lakes or pools on top of tree trunks stuck into the lake bottom, piles of rocks, mud and other debris or on natura ... [more]
Croagh Patrick or Patrick's Stack is an important place of pilgrimage for Christians throughout Ireland and the world today, some even walking the ascent in their bare feet as penance for their sins. However it was considered a holy place long before St Patrick came to visit, even though it is said he banished the snakes from Ireland while stan ... [more]
Rising from the ocean a short distance off the coast of county Kerry in southern Ireland, Skellig Michael and its smaller brother rear up out of the Atlantic ocean like jagged grey teeth. Famous poet George Bernard Shaw who visited the place in 1910, called it an "incredible, impossible, mad place" and "part of our dream world". ... [more]
