The Book of Conquests (or Invasions) is the telling of the
coming of the Gaeil to Ireland.
It draws from ancient lore and three sources - the coming of
the Gaeil and the Tale of the Brown Bull of Cooley (The Tain Bo Cuailgne) and
the battle between the Northern Ui Neill and the Southern Ui Neill (Oirghialla).
Ireland was until 567 AD a kingdom led by a chieftain who was chosen on the
basis of blood and merit, a system which pertained until 1649 AD when Phelim Ui Neill, the son of the second cousin of Hugh Ui Neill, led the rebellion against
the Plantation.
The story of the battles of Magh Turadh can be located
consequently in Carlow, a beaching point for the Tuatha De Danann (Danae), the Sons of Parthalon (Parthenon) where a
stone, the Turoe Stone marks the site of the battle; on the slopes of Slieve Gullion where Queen Maebh of Connacht’s
forces were halted by Cuchulainn while Conor Mac Neasa and the Ridiri Na
Craoibhe Ruaidhe slept at Emain Macha and at Benbulben (Belgatan} in the Book of
Conquests where the Carrowmore necropolis overlooks the low land round about.
The Danae were located on the east side of the Caspian Sea whereas
ancient Scythia which is accredited as a source of the Celts was located on the
west side of the Caspian Sea and the east side of the Black Sea. Some confusion
therefore exists because the Book of Conquests clearly states that the Celts
originated in Scythia . Perhaps the two cine
(gens, Kuhne, clans) where of the same origin. This was the situation in 550 –
330 BC according to World Religions ( Dr. Ian Barnes, Eagle Editions, 2007,
2008, London, pps 35-36)
The Cretan bireme emerged in the Mediterranean in 2000 BC
and it would seem that the Celts made their way through northern Austria into
Dalmatia where they journeyed to first France and then Spain (The Book of
Conquests) and on to Ireland.
Bronze trians recovered from Nemeretstzvo in the southern
steppes now in the Hermitage match those from a burial horde in Derry (
Broighter) in the Ulster Museum. Craftwork changed little in ancient times and
it has followed time served craft traditions constantly reproducing the same
work over many centuries.
Before they came to Ireland the Scythians had clashed
with the ancient Greeks and Persians. Darius in 512 BC came up against the
Scythians in Southern Russia between the Dniestr and the Danube
(Rostovtzeff, A History of the Ancient World, The Orient and Greece, Oxford, 1926, pp. 252-253). In Alexander’s times the Celts had established states north
of the Balkans and South Russia (Scythians) ( Rostovtzeff, p. 363). In
Anatolian times the Greeks moved into France before it was conquered by
the Celts (p. 207).
Perhaps the most telling account of the Celts comes from
Rostovtzeff’s characterisation of the Celts in 278 BC when they crossed into
Asia Minor from the Balkans. He writes, “They penetrated far into Asia Minor
and established themselves on the plains of Phrygia
where they formed a strong alliance of several clans under the leadership of
clan-kings or princes. From this base they constantly threatened the peace of
the country, bearing plunder, murder and devastation in their train, and
destroying the promising prospects of trade and industry. The Seleucidae were
powerless to cope with the invaders…” (p.358)
It is notable that the author states that the Greeks named the Celts Galatians.
It is also to be noted that the Celts and Scythians were at
odds (p.371) claiming that the Celts attacked Scythia from the west. He also
notes (p.371) “The situation was much the same in the north of the Balkan
Peninsula where predatory tribes of Celts were making themselves at home.”
The term Galatia as in the area of Turkey, Galatia and Catalunya in Spain,
Gaul, Silesia and the various areas lost to modern knowledge occupied by the
Celtic tribes such as the Suebi and Brigantes (Belgium, Kent, Norfolk, Western
Switzerland, Wexford and Waterford Schwaben , Breisgau , Subiaco and Brescia,Transalpine and Cisalpine Gaul), (Strabo’s map) bring to light a picture of
peoples, nations and humanity.
Later historiography such as the tale of the Brown Bull of
Cooley and the Battle of Cul Dreimne (Belgatan) bring to light many other
aspects of national and ethnic origins.
