Ernmas appears in medieval Irish compilations of myth (notably the Lebor Gabála Érenn) and in material associated with the Cath Maige Tuired cycles as a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann generation. Sources list her genealogical position variably: several manuscripts identify her as daughter of Etarlam, while some traditions incorporate Nuada Airgetlam into her pedigree (sources differ on whether Nuada is presented as ancestor or parent). Textual attestations emphasize her role as progenitor—mother or grandmother—of prominent goddess triads and of several sons. One set of summaries and local retellings reports that Ernmas 'was killed during the first battle of Mag Tuired,' placing her death within the mythic sequence of the Tuatha Dé Danann’s wars; manuscript variants preserve small differences in names and relationships across traditions.
The surviving excerpts and listings provide no sustained physical description or iconography for Ernmas. Attestations are primarily genealogical and epithetical: she is named as a mother of several goddesses and is called in one source the 'she-farmer' (a phrase recorded in the Lebor Gabála Érenn). Beyond such epithets and her placement in kin-lists, the sources quoted do not describe her bodily appearance, dress, or symbolic attributes.
Primary attestations credit Ernmas with generative, genealogical significance: she is the mother of Ériu, Banba, Fódla (eponymous goddesses of Ireland) and of Badb, Macha, and Mórrígan (a war-goddess triad), as well as multiple sons (commonly Glonn/Glon, Gaim/Gnim, and Coscar). The corpus does not ascribe to her independent, active feats or magical powers in the excerpts provided; the epithet 'the she-farmer' suggests a possible association with land, fertility, or productive power in at least one source, but the texts do not enumerate specific agricultural or other supernatural abilities. Her reported death in the first battle of Mag Tuired indicates she is present within the martial and dynastic narrative context of the Tuatha Dé Danann.
Banba
Banba (modern spelling Banbha) is a matron goddess of Ireland in Irish mythology, daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann. She forms a triad of matronal personifications of the island with her sisters Ériu and Fódla, is associated with sovereignty and the land, and appears in origin and heroic narratives linked to specific Irish landscapes.
Badb
Badb is an Irish supernatural female figure associated with warfare, death, and prophecy. She commonly appears as a crow or raven and as a wailing omen, acts on battlefields to sow confusion and foretell slaughter, and is often treated as one member of the triadic Morrígna.
Community Record
- [1]Lebor Gabála Érenn (part 4) - genealogies and lists. Lebor Gabála Érenn, genealogical passages listing Ernmas and her children (as presented on Mary Jones' Celtic texts site).literary
- [2]Lebor Gabála Érenn (part 4) - online transcription (ancienttexts.org). Transcription of Lebor Gabála Érenn passages naming Ernmas and listing daughters and sons.literary
- [3]Macha and associated materials (ancienttexts.org / Mary Jones). Contextual material on Macha and related Tuatha Dé Danann figures; includes cross-references to Ernmas as mother of Macha and sisters.literary
- [4]Ernmas (Celtsite summary). Summary entry noting Ernmas' role as mother of goddess triads and reporting she 'was killed during the battle of south Moytura'; includes variant material noted in modern summaries.other
- [5]Ernmas — Wikipedia. Modern encyclopedia summary referencing Lebor Gabála Érenn and Cath Maige Tuired attestations and noting the epithet 'the she-farmer.'wiki