Editing Cailleach (section)

{{short description|Gaelic female hag deity}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Celtic
| name = Cailleach
| image = Wonder tales from Scottish myth and legend (1917) (14566397697).jpg
| caption = Illustration by John Duncan in Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth and Legend (1917)
| alt = Print of old woman holding a hammer with a background of  mountains
| other_names = {{Plainlist|
* Cailleach Bhéara (Irish)
* Cailleach Bheurra (Scottish Gaelic)
* Caillagh (Manx)
* [[The Hag of Beara]]
* Beira, Queen of Winter
}}
| god_of = landscape, storms and winter
| abodes = {{Plainlist|
* [[Labbacallee wedge tomb]]
}}
| consorts = {{Plainlist|
* [[Mug Ruith]]
* Bodach
}}
| texts = {{Plainlist|
* ''The Lament of the Old Woman''
* ''The Hunt of Slieve Cuilinn''
* ''[[Glas Gaibhnenn]]''
* ''[[The Hag of Beara]]''
}}
}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
In [[Gaels|Gaelic]] ([[Irish mythology|Irish]], [[Scottish mythology|Scottish]] and [[Culture of the Isle of Man#Myth, legend and folklore|Manx]]) myth, the '''Cailleach''' ({{IPA|ga|ˈkal̠ʲəx, kəˈl̠ʲax|lang}}, {{IPA|gd|ˈkʰaʎəx|lang}}) is a divine [[hag]], associated with the [[Creator deity|creation]] of the landscape and with the [[Weather god|weather]], especially storms and winter. The word literally means 'old woman, hag', and is found with this meaning in modern [[Irish language|Irish]] and [[Scottish Gaelic]],<ref name="dicdef">{{cite book |last1=Robertson |first1=Boyd |last2=McDonald |first2=Ian |title=Gaelic Dictionary |publisher=Hodder Education |series="Teach Yourself" series |isbn=0-07-142667-1 |pages=24–25 |date=2004}}</ref> and has been applied to numerous mythological and [[Folklore|folkloric]] figures in [[Ireland]], [[Scotland]], and the [[Isle of Man]].<ref name="Briggs1">Briggs, Katharine M. (1976) ''An Encyclopedia of Fairies''. New York, Pantheon Books. pp. 57-60.</ref> In modern Irish folklore studies, she is sometimes known as '''[[The Hag of Beara]]''', while in Scotland she is known as '''Beira, Queen of Winter'''.