Editing Lugh (section)

===Birth===
Lugh's father is [[Cian]] of the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]], and his mother is [[Ethniu]] (Eithne in [[Modern Irish]]), daughter of [[Balor]] of the [[Fomorians]]. In ''Cath Maige Tuired'' their union is a dynastic marriage following an alliance between the Tuatha Dé and the Fomorians.<ref name=cmt-ss008/> In the ''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]],'' Cian gives the boy to [[Tailtiu]], queen of the [[Fir Bolg]], in [[fosterage]].<ref>''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]'' [http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/lebor4.html#55 §59] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715225248/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/lebor4.html#55 |date=15 July 2010 }}</ref> In the Dindsenchas, Lugh, the foster-son of Tailtiu, is described as the "son of the Dumb Champion".<ref name=rennes-099/> In the poem Baile Suthain Sith Eamhna Lugh is called "descendant of the poet."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Skene |first1=William Forbes |title=Celtic Scotland: Land and people |date=1890 |location=Edinburgh, Scotland |page=413 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tDsUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR15 |access-date=5 March 2021 |archive-date=16 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916220518/https://books.google.com/books?id=tDsUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR15#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>

A [[Folklore|folktale]] told to [[John O'Donovan (scholar)|John O'Donovan]] by Shane O'Dugan of [[Tory Island]] in 1835 recounts the birth of a grandson of Balor who grows up to kill his grandfather. The grandson is unnamed, his father is called Mac Cinnfhaelaidh and the manner of his killing of Balor is different, but it has been taken as a version of the birth of Lugh, and was adapted as such by [[Lady Gregory]]. In this tale, Balor hears a druid's prophecy that he will be killed by his own grandson. To prevent this he imprisons his only daughter in the Tór Mór (great tower) of [[Tory Island]]. She is cared for by twelve women, who are to prevent her from ever meeting or even learning of the existence of men.<ref name="odonovan"/>

On the mainland, Mac Cinnfhaelaidh owns a magic cow who gives such abundant milk that everyone, including Balor, wants to possess her. While the cow is in the care of Mac Cinnfhaelaidh's brother Mac Samthainn, Balor appears in the form of a little red-haired boy and tricks him into giving him the cow. Looking for revenge, Mac Cinnfhaelaidh calls on a ''[[leanan sídhe]]'' (fairy woman) called [[Biróg]], who transports him by magic to the top of Balor's tower, where he seduces Ethniu. In time, she gives birth to triplets, which Balor gathers up in a sheet and sends to drown in a whirlpool. The messenger drowns two of the babies but unwittingly drops one child into the harbour, where he is rescued by Biróg. She takes him to his father, who gives him to his brother, [[Goibniu|Gavida]] the smith, in fosterage.<ref name="odonovan">[[John O'Donovan (scholar)|John O'Donovan]] (ed. & trans.), ''Annala Rioghachta Éireann: Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters'' Vol. 1, 1856, pp. 18–21, footnote ''S''; T. W. Rolleston, ''Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race'', 1911, pp. 109–112; [[Augusta, Lady Gregory]], ''Gods and Fighting Men'', 1094, pp. 27–29</ref>

There may be further triplism associated with his birth. His father in the folktale is one of a triad of brothers, Mac Cinnfhaelaidh, Gavida, and Mac Samthainn, whereas in the ''Lebor Gabála'', his father Cian is mentioned alongside his brothers Cú and Cethen.<ref name=lge-para314/><ref>Cf. {{harvp|O'Curry|1863|pp=170–171}}, n 161, n162</ref>{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|e.g. According to the ''Rennes Dindsenchas'' §14, Cú killed Cethen, and there once was a well-known phrase that "Thou hast acted for me Cú and Cethen".<ref name=rennes-ss14&066/>}} Two characters called [[Lugaid (disambiguation)|Lugaid]], a popular [[medieval]] Irish name thought to derive from Lugh, have three fathers: [[Lugaid Riab nDerg]] (Lugaid of the Red Stripes) was the son of the three ''[[Findemna]]'' or fair triplets,<ref>Vernam Hull (ed. & Trans.), [http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/medb.html "''Aided Meidbe'': The Violent Death of Medb"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131129042653/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/medb.html |date=29 November 2013 }}, ''Speculum'' v.13 issue 1. (Jan. 1938), pp. 52–61</ref> and [[Lugaid mac Con Roí]] was also known as ''mac Trí Con'', "son of three hounds".<ref>James MacKillop, ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology'', Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 273</ref> In Ireland's other great "sequestered maiden" story, the tragedy of [[Deirdre]], the king's intended is carried off by three brothers, who are hunters with hounds.<ref>[http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/usnech.html "Deirdre, or the Exile of the sons of Usnech"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514140750/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/usnech.html |date=14 May 2011 }} (ed. & trans. unknown)</ref> The canine imagery continues with Cian's brother Cú ("hound"), another Lugaid, [[Lugaid Mac Con]] (son of a hound), and Lugh's son [[Cúchulainn]] ("Culann's Hound").<ref>MacKillop 1998, pp. 102–104, 272–273</ref> A fourth Lugaid was [[Lugaid Loígde]], a legendary [[King of Tara]] and ancestor of (or inspiration for) Lugaid Mac Con.