Fódla

In the Tochomlad mac Miledh a hEspain i nErind (the Milesian arrival episode preserved in medieval tradition and summarized in later sources), Fódla is presented as a daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann and sister to Ériu and Banba. When the Milesians arrived from Spain each sister requested that the bard Amergin grant her name to the country; the tradition records that poets preserve all three names as poetic names for the island, with Ériu (Éire) becoming the dominant name in later usage. Genealogical and regnal material (as summarized in the sources) also records Fódla as the wife of Mac Cecht and states that she 'reigned as Queen of Ireland in any year in which Mac Cecht ruled as king.' Sources: medieval Milesian narrative (Tochomlad mac Miledh a hEspain i nErind) and later medieval lists and chronicles summarized in modern reference works.

The cited traditions do not provide a detailed anthropomorphic description of Fódla. The Milesian encounter narrative describes her meeting the newcomers 'with her swift fairy hosts around her' on Naini Mountain (also called the mountain of Ebliu), locating her on what later commentary identifies with the Slieve Felim Mountains. Beyond presence with a retinue of otherworldly 'fairy' followers, no specific physical attributes are recorded in the provided sources.

In the surviving narratives Fódla functions as a sovereignty figure and land-personification: she is named among the tutelary goddesses of Ireland whose names are attached to the island in poetic and political contexts. The texts record her participation in the Milesian naming episode (she requested that her name be given to the country) and her role in regnal formulae (as wife of Mac Cecht she is said to 'reign as Queen of Ireland' during his kingship). She is depicted as accompanied by a retinue of supernatural 'fairy hosts.' The sources do not describe active magical powers, coercive enforcement of naming, or specific miraculous deeds; rather, her agency is that of symbolic sovereignty and association with the land and queenship.