THE CELTS
The origins of the people who became the Celts are lost in the mists of time, but the ancestors of the Celts arose like other Indo-European groups, among the central Eurasian steppes sometime in the Bronze Age. These tribes began to migrate to the west and occupied areas of present-day Europe and eventually also part of what is now Turkey. It is likely that the Celtic culture came to Ireland from Britain & elsewhere as a gradual trickle of newcomers, rather than a large invasion force, with their influence gradually spreading.

The 2nd century BCE saw the beginning of a sophisticated Iron Age culture within Ireland with the Celtic language achieving a dominant position. Along with a new language the Celtic culture also brought many beliefs & traditions however those of the older pre-Celtic people already here, seem to have been assimilated and ritual importance was still accorded to the ancient sites of the land.

We also have within Ireland the legacy of the Celtic goddess & gods which (arguably) includes Danu, Donn, Bóinn, the Daghda, Lugh & Brighid. The prominence of goddesses in Irish tradition is striking with the goddesses of territory / nature/ fertility being supreme, particularly the triadic goddesses Eriu, Banba & Fohdla, The triple Morrighan and the three Machas.  The Goddess in Ireland encompasses fertility, sovereignty, war, sexuality, shape-shifting, maternity and old age.

F

B

Article continues..

EARLY HISTORY continued
                 The practice of burying valuable objects developed
                 in the Bronze Age with hoards of implements and
                 artwork being deposited often in bogs, pools &
                 lakes where retrieval would have been very difficult.
                 It is likely that this custom along with similar
                 customs in Europe was magico-religious in its
                 purpose and that these objects were offerings.
Bog Scabbards

In the later Bronze Age, Ireland saw the appearance of more new settlers who brought with them the refinement of metalwork and two new types of dwellings - the crannóg (lake dwelling) & the elaborate hill-fort. The hill-forts, many of them built enclosing earlier tombs, were constructed on sites dominating the landscape.

The rapid development in metallurgy at this time, most notably the smelting of iron, seems to indicate the growth of more structured and organised societies & the increase in weapons found by archaeologists may also indicate more military power.

It appears that with the coming of the Iron Age there was more strife amongst groups in Ireland, particularly between those in the east and those in the west. The predominant groups around the 5th century BCE seems to have been the proto-Celts.