Senboth. [I] Partholon's eldest chieftain and adviser. Sencha Mac Ailella. [I] Chief judge and poet of Ulster in the days of Conchobhar Mac Nessa. He acts as a foil to Bricriu, the creator of discord, and it was he who taught Cuchulainn how to speak.

Sequena. Gaulish goddess of the source of the Seine. In her sanctuary were found many votive offerings.

Sera. [I] Father of Partholon and Starn. In some accounts it was Sera who was husband of Dealgnaidand not Partholon.

Setanta. [I] Cuchulainn's original name. It is interesting to note that, according to Ptolemy, there was a Celtic tribe called the Setantii who inhabited an area in northwest England (Fylde) that was part of the confederation of tribes known as the Brigante (or High Ones).

Seth. [I] In the Christian adaptation of Irish myth, this Biblical character, son of Adam and Eve, and the three daughters of Cain are the first people to see Ireland.

Sgeimh Solais. [I] "Light of Beauty." Daughter of Cairbre, the High King, whose marriage to the son of the chieftain of the Desi started the war between Cairbre and the Fianna that resulted in the eventual destruction of the Fianna.

Sgilti. [W] "Lightfoot." He was the greatest runner in Arthur's entourage and never needed a road to run, for he could run across the treetops.

Shape-changing. A very common motif in Celtic myths and tales. Gods often changed their shapes (as did druids, druidesses, heros, and heroines) and were able to curse those who displeased them.

Sidhe. [I] A mound or hill, the dwelling place of the De Danaan after their defeat by the Milesians. The ancient gods, driven underground below the hills, were relegated in folk memories to fairies, aes sidhe, the people of the hills. Thus the word became the word for "fairies." Most popular is the banshee (bean sidhe), the woman of the fairies. Each of the gods was allotted a sidhe by the Dagda before he gave up leadership of them.

Simon Breac. [I] Son of Starn. After the Nemedians' defeat by the Fomorii, he and his followers fled from Ireland. Upon arriving in Thrace, they were enslaved and became ancestors of the Firbolg. An interesting choice of country, for Thrace was invaded and settled by Celts in the third century B.C., and the kings of Thrace bore Celtic names for several centuries.

Simon Magus. [I] The New Testament character makes a surprising appearance in the myths when his sons are said to have raped the goddess Tlachtga.

Sionan. [I] Daughter of Lir's son Lodan. She went to the Well of Knowledge at the source of the Shannon, even though it was forbidden. The water of the well rose up and chased her westWard and drowned her. The path of the water became the River Shannon, named after her. The story is parallel to that of Boann and the formation of the Boyne.

Sirona. Gaulish goddess whose name means "star." She is usually paired with Grannos.

Sithchenn. [I] A druid, seer, and smith to whom Niall of the Nine Hostages and his four brothers were sent by Mongfhinn to see what their futures were. Sithchenn enticed them into his forge and set fire to it to see what items they would rescue. When Niall emerged with the anvil, Sithchenn prophesied he would be the greatest High King of Ireland.

Slaine. [I] Sometimes Slainge. "Health." He was a son of Partholon and the first physician in Ireland. Another SIaine was the son of Dela the Firbolg who ruled Leinster. He was an enemy of Nemed.

Slemuin. [I] A bull that belonged to the M6rrigin. See Odras.

Sliabh Mos. [I] Anglicised as Sleemish. A mountain situated in Corco Duibhne (Co. Kerry) that was the site of the fabulous fort of Cu Roi. The entrance could never be found after sunset. The fortress was able to revolve like a millstone when Cu Roi urtered the word. It is not to be confused with the mountain in Co. Antrim where St. Patrick passed his youth herding swine.

Slieve. [I] In Irish sliabh, "mountain." Mountains, naturally, feature prominently in the myths, especially in Irish mythology, for they are the dwelling places of the gods. Lir dwelt at Slieve Fuad, near Newtonhamilton, Co. Armagh, where the hero Fuad was slain.

Smirgat. [I] A wife of Fionn Mac Cumhail. She prophesied that if he drank from a horn he would die. He was always careful to drink from a goblet or bowl.

Snedgus. [I] A cleric in the service of Colmcille who enters into the myths in a tale of a fabulous voyage-"The Voyage of. Snedgus and Mac Riagla"-in the fourteenth century Yellow Book of Lecan. Scholars date the tale to the seventeenth century. Snedgus and Mac Riagla visit many marvellous lands, see strange beasts, and come upon a land where they dwell in a form of immortality.

Socht's Sword. [I] It would cut a man in two "so that neither half knew what had befallen the other."

SomhIth. [I] A supernatural without shape.

Sovranty of Ireland. [I] The form of "sovranty" appears in various myths as a female figure. Invariably she starts off as an ugly crone but turns into a beautiful maiden who bestows kingship on the man deemed "rightful."

Spain. [I] In Irish myth "Spain" is frequently mentioned as a synonym for "The Land of the Dead." It was probably introduced by Christian monks who objected to pre-Christian terminology. See Iberia.

Sreng. [I] A Firbolg who was sent as ambassador to the De Danaan when they landed in Ireland. He met with Bres, who suggested that Ireland be divided between them. Sreng was impressed with the weapons of the De Danaans; they were light and sharply pointed compared with the Firbolg's heavier and more blunt weaponry. But the Firbolg rejected the De Danaan's offer and fought the first battle of MaghTuireadh. Sreng and Nuada fought in single combat and he was able to cut Nuada's shield in two and sever his hand. The god Dian Cecht gave Nuada a silver hand in replacement.

Stun. [I] A son of Sera and brother of Partholon. However, the name also occurs for the son of Nemed and father of Tuan, the ancestor of the Firbolg.

Stone Worship. Reverence for stones was common among the ancient Celts. They dwelt in firm communication with nature, believing in the consciousness of all things. Trees, fountains, even weapons and implements were but a fragment of one cosmic whole. Stones particularly, being "old beyond time," were possessed of an indwelling spirit; thus could the Lia Fail (Stone of Destiny) roar with joy when it felt the touch of a righteous ruler's foot. Another stone could tell if a man lied. See Lia Fail.

Strath-Clota. The British kingdom of southwestern Scotland-Strathclyde. The Clyde were named after Clud, a British goddess. The capital of the kingdom was Alcluyd, which became known to the Gaelic-speaking Scots as Dun Breatann (Dumbarton), the fortress of the Britons, while the form Cluaidh replaced Clota or Clud. A province of Alba after the unification of the kingdoms, Strathclyde, separated from Cumbria to the south, eventually moved from being Brythonic Celtic to being Goidelic, or Gaelic, in speech. Part of it became known as the land of the foreign Gaels, Gall-Ghaidheal, or Galloway, where Gaelic remained a spoken language until the mid-eighteenth century.

Sualtam Mac Roth. [I] Also Sualdaim. The brother of Fergus Mac Roth. He was the "mortal father" of Cuchulainn. The night before his wedding to Dechtire, the god Lugh took her off and slept with her. She gave birth to Setanta, who was later known as Cuchulainn. When Ailill and Medb invaded Ulster, Sualtam attempted to raise the warriors of Conchobhar Mac Nessa. Unable to awake the men of Ulster, he turned his horse, the spirited Grey of Macha, so angrily that the sharp rim of his shield sliced off his head. The severed head continued to cry its warning until the curse of Macha was lifted and the warriors were roused to the danger .

Suantrade. [I] One of the harpists of Uaithne who made such sad music that men died listening to it.

Sucellus. Gaulish god. "The good striker" who appears with Nantosvelta. He carries a mallet, appears with a, cask or drinking vessel, and is often accompanied by a dog. Some scholars have claimed he is identical to the Dis Pater.

Sugyn. [W] "The Thirsty." He once drank a whole ocean and left 300 ships stranded on the sand.

Suibhne Geilt. [I] A king cursed by St. Ronan so that, in spite of his human form, he assumed the characteristics of a bird, leaping ftom tree to tree. The Welsh counterpart of Suibhne is Myrddin Wyllt.

Sulevia. (pI. Suleviae) Gaulish goddess/goddesses that Caesar seems to associate with Minerva. Patroness of the art of healing, she was honoured at the thermal springs in Bath (Aquae Sulis). Her counterpart in Ireland would be Brigid, daughter of the Dagda.

Sulis. See Sulevia. Sun. Heliolatry, or sun worship, was a common practice among the Celts, judging by the abundance of solar motifs, although there is little direct evidence of a sun cult in the myths and sagas. There are references to obvious sun deities such as Mac Greine (son of the sun), who was the husband of Eire, who gave her name to Ireland. The god Belenos (Irish Bile) was known as "the shining one," and his feast on Beltaine (May 1) was obviously connected with a sun cult. On Mount Callan (near Ennis) there stands a sun altar where the Beltaine festival was celebrated on midsummer's day down to 1895. Near Macroom is a standing stone called "stone of the sun," while Seathrun Ceitinn claimed that many of the dolmens associated with Grainne were, in fact, originally connected with Greine (the sun). Among the various sun references in Irish, we have Giolla, Greine, whose mother was a sunbeam.

Swans. A favourite form among shape-changers. The children of Lir were turned into swans. Cier, of whom the love god Aonghus Og dreamt and went in search, was a human who lived in the form of a swan.

Syfwlch. [W] With Bwlch and Cyfwlch, they were three of Arthur's warriors who possessed the brightest and sharpest weapons.