orm of a goddess of
Gaul, Dirona.[230] Aine, one of the great fairy-queens of Ireland, has
her seat at Knockainy in Limerick, where rites connected with her former
cult are still performed for fertility on Midsummer eve. If they were
neglected she and her troops performed them, according to local
legend.[231] She is thus an old goddess of fertility, whose cult, even
at a festival in which gods were latterly more prominent, is still
remembered. She is also associated with the waters as a water-nymph
captured for a time as a fairy-bride by the Earl of Desmond.[232] But
older legends connect her with the _sid_. She was daughter of Eogabal,
king of the _sid_ of Knockainy, the grass on which was annually
destroyed at Samhain by his people, because it had been taken from them,
its rightful owners. Oilill Olomm and Ferchus resolved to watch the
_sid_ on Samhain-eve. They saw Eogabal and Aine emerge from it. Ferchus
killed Eogabal, and Oilill tried to outrage Aine, who bit the flesh from
his ear. Hence his name of "Bare Ear."[233] In this legend we see how
earlier gods of fertility come to be regarded as hostile to growth.
Another story tells of the love of Aillen, Eogabal's son, for Manannan's
wife and that of Aine for Manannan. Aine offered her favours to the god
if he would give his wife to her brother, and "the complicated bit of
romance," as S. Patrick calls it, was thus arranged.[234]

Although the Irish gods are warriors, and there are special war-gods,
yet war-goddesses are more prominent, usually as a group of
three--Morrigan, Neman, and Macha. A fourth, Badb, sometimes takes the
place of one of these, or is identical with Morrigan, or her name, like
that of Morrigan, may be generic.[235] _Badb_ means "a scald-crow,"
under which form the war-goddesses appeared, probably because these
birds were seen near the slain. She is also called Badbcatha,
"battle-Badb," and is thus the equivalent of _-athubodua,_ or, more
probably, _Cathubodua_, mentioned in an inscription from Haute-Savoie,
while this, as well as personal names like _Boduogenos_, shows that a
goddess Bodua was known to the Gauls.[236] The _badb_ or battle-crow is
associated with the Fomorian Tethra, but Badb herself is consort of a
war-god Net, one of the Tuatha De Danann, who may be the equivalent of
Neton, mentioned in Spanish inscriptions and equated with Mars.
Elsewhere Neman is Net's consort, and she may be the Nemetona of
inscriptions, e.g. at Bath, the co