Dagda
King of the Tuatha de Danann, the immortal fairy people of Ireland.
Human invaders known as Milesians forced the Dananns to hide under “hollow hills” or mounds. However, they still controlled the natural growth of wheat and grass, essential for bread and milk, and so persuaded the Milesians to make a treaty with their king, Dagda.
Dagda had four great palaces underground and he gave two of these to his sons Lug and Ogme, keeping the other two for himself, the greater of these being Brugh na Boinne. A third son, Angus Mac Og, returned from his travels and was angry to find he had been left out. He asked Dagda if he could have the Brugh for a day and a night, and this was agreed. But at the end of that time Angus claimed the Brugh forever, as a day and a night following on from one another represented all time. Although a great warrior, Dagda wasn’t the sharpest knife in the box and could be conquered by cunning, and he allowed Angus his claim.
Dagda then took his fourth son, Aedh, to his last palace, near Tara. There they were visited by Corrgenn of Connacht and his wife. Corrgenn suspected Aedh of adultery with his wife, and promptly killed him. In turn it was expected that Dagda would kill him. However, feeling that he had been to some extent justified in his actions, instead he laid upon him a geasa, or curse: Corrgenn had to carry the body of Aedh with him until he found a stone of the exact size to cover it.
After many miles, eventually Corrgenn found a suitable stone on the shore of Loch Feabhail. He dug a grave on a hill and laid the body in it before carrying the stone up to cover it. All this was too much for him, however: his heart burst and he died. Dagda had a wall built around the tomb and this place has been called the Hill of Aileac, or Hill of Sighs, ever since.
Daji
See Huli Jing.
Dame Hirip
A child-stealing fairy woman of Hungarian folklore, one of the tündér, the Hungarian fairies.
According to an account in The Folk Tales of the Magyars (1889), Dame Hirip lived in a castle on the Varoldal mountain in Gyergyószentmiklós. She had two sons whom she sent down the mountain to rob travelers passing through of their gold and silver, and to kidnap human girls. She herself would stand on the tower of the castle, clutching a wreath in anticipation of her sons’ return.
One day, the sons encountered the sweethearts of two of the girls they had kidnapped. The two heroes, clad in mourning for their brides-to-be, fought the sons and were victorious, whereupon Dame Hirip, stationed at her lookout on the castle tower clutching her wreath, faded away.
Dame Rapson
A fairy woman of the tündér, the Hungarian fairies. The tündér were said to dwell in mountain castles that they inherited from giants or constructed themselves, often with the assistance of magical helpers. The Folk Tales of the Maygars (1889) relates how Dame Rapson enlisted the help of a magical cat and cock to construct her mountain abode.
The cat and cock carried materials to dizzying heights up a sheer-sided mountain face with which to build Dame Rapson’s castle.
To construct the road leading to the castle, the fairy enlisted the help of the Devil, who demanded as payment a valley of silver and a mountain of gold.
After the road had been built, the Devil demanded his wages. The cunning fairy presented him with a gold coin, which she held between her fingertips, and a silver coin, which she placed on her palm, explaining that the gold coin was the mountain and the coin was the valley.
The Devil flew into a rage at being outwitted and destroyed the road. It is said that remnants of it are still visible in the snow-clad Gorgeny mountains near Paraja where it is still known as Dame Rapson’s Road.
Dana
(Pronounced thana. Also Danu.) One of the great mother goddesses in Irish mythology. Particularly associated with the Tuatha de Danann, she was also worshiped in other countries under different names. As mother of the gods, she has similarities with the mother figure Don, who features in the Welsh Mabinogion stories. In Lady Gregory’s account of how the Tuatha de Danann came to Ireland, in Gods and Fighting Men (1904), special mention goes to Dana, whose power goes beyond that of all the other great queens.
Danu
See Dana.
Daoine Mainne
See Daoine Sidh.
Daoine Sidh
(Pronounced theena shee or deeny shee.) (Also Daoine Mainne.) The fairy people of Ireland. They are said to dwell in hollow hills and the name literally means “people of the mounds.” They are often referred to by euphemistic names such as the Little People, the Gentry, the Wee Folk, the Good People, or the People of that Town, so as not to cause offense. They are generally supposed to be the diminished gods of the Tuatha de Danann, the early inhabitants of Ireland. Celtic legends tell of fairy ladies and heroic fairy knights who spent their time hunting, fishing, riding, and dancing.
Daphne
According to Greek myth, she was a beautiful mountain nymph who attracted the attention of the great god Apollo. But she rejected him and so that she could escape his pursuit, her mother, Gaea, the Earth Goddess, transformed her into a laurel tree.
At the Pythian Games, held every four years at Delphi in honor of Apollo, a wreath of laurel gathered from the Vale of Tempe in Thessaly was given as a prize. The laurel wreath is still regarded as a symbol of success.
Nay, Lady, sit. If I but wave this wand,
Your nerves are all chained up in alabaster,
And you a statue, or, as Daphne was,
Root-bound, that fled Apollo.
Milton, Comus (678–681)
Deevs
See Divs.
Dennison, Walter Traill (1826–1894)
Walter Traill Dennison was a farmer, antiquarian, and folklorist. He was a native of the Orkney island of Sanday, where he collected local folk tales. He published these, many in the Orcadian dialect, in 1880, under the title The Orcadian Sketch-Book. His collection of Oracadian tales includes an account of an encounter with the fearsome Nuckelavee.
Derrick