In the mediaeval period, the Irish created a famous book of stories called the Invasions of Ireland, which had tales of 6 great takings of Ireland by various mythic peoples like the Firbolg and the Fomorians, before the last bunch, the Milesians, finally arrived. It is a fantastic mix of Christian and Pagan stories, with the penultimate race of Tuatha de Danaan likely being euhemerism of the old pagan Irish gods.
Now the story goes that the Milesians were living in Spain, in Galicia specifically, when they spotted Ireland from a tower. They then proceed to tell tales of its conquest. Earlier it tells them migrating gradually from Maeotis (roughly the Sea of Azov) around the Mediterranean to Spain. In mediaeval and early modern times it was taken as a fanciful account but with some truth to it, before we eventually discarded the whole as spurious.
Interestingly I ran across this the other day:
DNA study reveals Ireland's age of 'god-kings'
Specifically: "Ireland's Neolithic inhabitants traced their origins to an expansion of people out of Anatolia (modern Turkey) around 6,000-7,000 years ago. This migration transformed Europe's way of life from one focused on hunting to one based on agriculture. Genetically, Ireland's first farmers were most closely related to people living at broadly the same time in Iberia (modern Spain and Portugal).
Over generations, the farmers traversed the Mediterranean from Anatolia to Iberia, weaving their way up the French coast before making their way to Ireland by sea."
Generally the Spanish connection in early Irish folktales have been connected to the chance similarity of Galicia with Gael (due to the shared Celtic roots thereof), the similarity of sound between Roman Hibernia for Ireland and Iberia, that Orosius thought Ireland lay between Britain and Spain, and finally Isadore of Seville saying many peoples came from Spain.
Now it seems there is some genetics to back it up, but so far I have not seen much in the way of investigations of this. There are also some that find linguistic Q-Celtic similarities between Gaelic and the Celtiberian of ancient Hispania too, who had theorised the Invasions recorded a memory of a Q-Celtic power replacing local P-Celtic elites.
This myth had interesting after-effects, as it resulted in Irish Catholics usually fleeing to Spain (such as the Flight of the Earls) and Irishmen being readily given the rights of subjects in Spain. Likewise, remnants of the Spanish Armada were welcomed in Ireland. It drew Ireland and Spain together, so that the great fighter for Irish independance was Eamon de Valera, happily sporting his Spanish father's surname, while rejecting his original English name of Edward; and why Leopoldo O'Donnell was prime minster of Spain and a notable participant of the Carlist wars.
Now it seems, there is more to this. My interest is certainly piqued. I love a good fantastic yarn sporting an inkling of truth somewhere, so that you can spend hours rummaging about looking for it.
Now the story goes that the Milesians were living in Spain, in Galicia specifically, when they spotted Ireland from a tower. They then proceed to tell tales of its conquest. Earlier it tells them migrating gradually from Maeotis (roughly the Sea of Azov) around the Mediterranean to Spain. In mediaeval and early modern times it was taken as a fanciful account but with some truth to it, before we eventually discarded the whole as spurious.
Interestingly I ran across this the other day:
DNA study reveals Ireland's age of 'god-kings'
Specifically: "Ireland's Neolithic inhabitants traced their origins to an expansion of people out of Anatolia (modern Turkey) around 6,000-7,000 years ago. This migration transformed Europe's way of life from one focused on hunting to one based on agriculture. Genetically, Ireland's first farmers were most closely related to people living at broadly the same time in Iberia (modern Spain and Portugal).
Over generations, the farmers traversed the Mediterranean from Anatolia to Iberia, weaving their way up the French coast before making their way to Ireland by sea."
Generally the Spanish connection in early Irish folktales have been connected to the chance similarity of Galicia with Gael (due to the shared Celtic roots thereof), the similarity of sound between Roman Hibernia for Ireland and Iberia, that Orosius thought Ireland lay between Britain and Spain, and finally Isadore of Seville saying many peoples came from Spain.
Now it seems there is some genetics to back it up, but so far I have not seen much in the way of investigations of this. There are also some that find linguistic Q-Celtic similarities between Gaelic and the Celtiberian of ancient Hispania too, who had theorised the Invasions recorded a memory of a Q-Celtic power replacing local P-Celtic elites.
This myth had interesting after-effects, as it resulted in Irish Catholics usually fleeing to Spain (such as the Flight of the Earls) and Irishmen being readily given the rights of subjects in Spain. Likewise, remnants of the Spanish Armada were welcomed in Ireland. It drew Ireland and Spain together, so that the great fighter for Irish independance was Eamon de Valera, happily sporting his Spanish father's surname, while rejecting his original English name of Edward; and why Leopoldo O'Donnell was prime minster of Spain and a notable participant of the Carlist wars.
Now it seems, there is more to this. My interest is certainly piqued. I love a good fantastic yarn sporting an inkling of truth somewhere, so that you can spend hours rummaging about looking for it.
