Editing Lugh (section)

{{short description|Irish god of skills and the arts}}
{{About|the Irish deity|other subjects with similar names|Lug (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Irish
| name = Lugh
| image = Lugh spear Millar.jpg
| caption = Illustration of Lugh and his magical spear by [[H. R. Millar]]
| member_of = the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]]
| abodes = {{hlist| [[Hill of Tara|Tara]] }}
| weapons = {{hlist| [[#Lug's Spear|Gae Assail]]| [[Fragarach]]| [[#Sling-stone|Tathlum]] }}
| animals = {{hlist| [[Failinis]]| [[Enbarr]] }}
| festivals = {{hlist|[[Lughnasadh]]| [[Assembly of Talti|Aonach Tailteann]] }}
| parents = {{hlist| [[Cian]]| [[Ethniu]]}}
| siblings = 
| consorts = {{hlist| [[Buí]]| [[Nás]]| [[Deichtine]] (mortal)}}
| children = {{hlist| [[Ibic]]| [[Ebliu]]| [[Cúchulainn]] (mortal)}}
| deity_of = God of Justice, war, kingship, craftsmen, skills, trade and harvests.
| other_names = Lug, Lugus.
| roman_equivalent = [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]]
}}

'''Lugh''' or '''Lug''' ({{IPA|sga|l͈uɣ|lang}}; {{langx|ga|label=[[Irish language|modern Irish]]|Lú}} {{IPA|ga|l̪ˠuː|}}) is a figure in [[Irish mythology]]. A member of the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]], a group of [[supernatural]] beings, Lugh is portrayed as a warrior, a king, a master craftsman and a [[Salvation|saviour]].<ref name=olmsted>Olmsted, Garrett. ''The Gods of the Celts and the Indo-Europeans''. University of Innsbruck, 1994. p.117</ref> He is associated with skill and mastery in multiple disciplines, including the arts.<ref name=monaghan>Monaghan, Patricia. ''The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore''. Infobase Publishing, 2004. pp.296-297</ref> Lugh also has associations with oaths, truth, and the law,<ref name=olmsted/> and therefore with rightful kingship.<ref name=koch1200>Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia''. ABC-CLIO, 2006. p.1200</ref> Lugh is linked with the harvest festival of [[Lughnasadh]], which bears his name. His most common epithets are ''Lámfada'' ({{langx|ga|label=[[Modern Irish]]|Lámhfhada}} {{IPA|ga|ˈl̪ˠaːw ad̪ˠə|}}; "long hand" or "long arm", possibly for his skill with a [[spear]] or his ability as a ruler) and ''Samildánach'' ({{langx|ga|label=Modern Irish|Samhaildánach}} {{IPA|ga|ˈsˠawəlʲ d̪ˠaːnˠəx|}}; "equally skilled in many arts").<ref name="ohogain"/> This has sometimes been anglicised as "Lew of the Long Hand".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brophy |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QrkXAAAAYAAJ |title=Sketches of the Royal Irish Constabulary |date=1886 |publisher=Burns and Oates |pages=146, 158 |language=en |access-date=21 December 2023 |archive-date=16 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916223014/https://books.google.com/books?id=QrkXAAAAYAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=de&nbsp;Burgh |first=Thomas J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6c5YrgEACAAJ |title=Ancient Naas. [Extracted from the Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society. ] - Scholar's Choice Edition |date=2015-02-14 |publisher=Creative Media Partners, LLC |isbn=978-1-296-02343-0 |language=en |access-date=26 December 2023 |archive-date=16 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916223045/https://books.google.com/books?id=6c5YrgEACAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In mythology, Lugh is the son of [[Cian]] and [[Ethniu]] (or Ethliu). He is the maternal grandson of the [[Fomorians|Fomorian]] tyrant [[Balor]], whom Lugh kills in the ''[[Cath Maige Tuired|Battle of Mag Tuired]]''. Lugh's son is the hero [[Cú Chulainn]], who is believed to be an incarnation of Lugh.

Lugh has several magical possessions. He wields an unstoppable fiery spear and a sling stone and owns a hound named ''[[Failinis]]''. He is said to have invented ''[[fidchell]]'', ball games, and horse racing.<ref name=ohogain/>

He is the Irish manifestation of the pan-[[Celt]]ic god [[Lugus]], and his [[Welsh mythology|Welsh]] counterpart is [[Lleu Llaw Gyffes]]. The ''[[interpretatio romana]]'' has Lug correspond to the [[Roman religion|Romans']] god [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]].