Editing Cessair (section)

==Overview==
According to the ''Lebor Gabála'', Cessair was the daughter of [[Noah]]'s non-Biblical son Bith and his wife Birren.<ref name=DCM/> Cessair's father's name, 'Bith', is derived from the [[proto-Celtic]] ''Bitu''-, which can mean "world", "life", or "age" (cf. [[Bituitus]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol_base_form_dictionary/iriol/17|title = Old Irish Online}}</ref>

In some versions of the tale, Noah tells them to go to the western edge of the world to escape the coming flood. In other versions, after being denied a place on [[Noah's Ark]], Cessair tells her people to create an [[Idolatry|idol]] to advise them. This idol tells them to escape the flood by sailing to Ireland. They set out in three ships and reach Ireland after a long journey. However, when they attempt to land, two of the ships are lost. The only survivors are Cessair,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cessair|url=http://myths.mzzhost.com/greek_cess.html?i=1}}{{dead link|date=February 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> forty-nine other women, and three men: [[Fintan mac Bóchra]], Bith, and Ladra.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cessair, Her Name|url=http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~meehan/donnelly/name.html|website=www-leland.stanford.edu|access-date=2020-06-02}}</ref>

According to the [[Annals of the Four Masters]], they landed in Ireland at {{lang|ga|italic=no|Dún na mBarc}} on [[Bantry Bay]] forty days before the flood, in [[Anno Mundi|Age of the World]] 2242.<ref>[http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005A/index.html Annal 2242] [the Annals do not attempt to ascribe [[Anno Domini|BC dates]] to these events]</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Oosten|first=Jarich G.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vw7wBgAAQBAJ&q=cessair&pg=PT108|title=The War of the Gods (RLE Myth): The Social Code in Indo-European Mythology|date=2015-03-05|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-55583-4|language=en}}</ref> According to [[Seathrún Céitinn]]'s chronology, they arrived in 2361 BC.

The tale continues with the women being shared evenly among the men. Each man had one woman as his primary wife: Fintán with Cessair, Bith with Bairrfhind, Ladra with Alba. Bith and Ladra soon die, and Fintán is left with all of the women. However, he is unable to cope and flees to [[Fintan's Grave|a cave in the mountains]]. Fintán is the only survivor when the Flood eventually comes. He [[shapeshift]]s into a one-eyed salmon, then an eagle, and then finally a hawk. He lives for 5,500 years after the flood, becomes a man again, and recounts Ireland's history to the High King [[Diarmait mac Cerbaill]].<ref>Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopaedia of the Irish folk tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p.&nbsp;224</ref> Fintán is thus similar to the character [[Tuan mac Cairill]].

According to legend, Cessair died at {{lang|ga|Cúil Ceasra(ch)}} in [[Connacht]] and a [[cairn]], {{lang|ga|Carn Ceasra(ch)}}, was raised over her body. It has been speculated that this cairn is near [[Boyle, County Roscommon|Boyle]] in [[County Roscommon]], or that it is [[Cnoc Meadha]] in [[County Galway]].