Deeply in love, she chased Cú Chulainn to the end of the earth in County Clare, wielding her great power, and swirling the skies in darkness and thrashing the waves, sending the stones trembling under her feet. Cú Chulainn did not love her, however, and made a great leap between the cliffs to evade her. Mal leapt after him, but slipped, cracking her head against the stones, and petrifying herself eternally into the face of the Cliffs of Moher. The Cliffs of Moher are famous and iconic in Ireland, you've probably heard of them before!
Cailleach women are said to have been turned to stone, but become reborn every November, and bring the winter, aging into the Spring and Summer, and then eventually returning to sleep in stone.One of the other most famous depictions of these women is The Cailleach Beara, in County Cork, who waits to be unfrozen from the stone to once again join her husband, the sea god, Manannán mac Lir (Manannán son of the sea).
The Tuatha de Danánn (Tribe of the Goddess Danu) were an ancient people that came to Ireland wielding magic and defeated the Fir Bolg. The Fir Bolg was the previous group that controlled Ireland, and were defeated. Eventually, the Tuatha de Danánn were defeated by the Milesians (Irish Ancestors) and retreated into the otherworld. They are the race that became known as the fae, also called the Aes Sídhe, thought to reside in the Síd, or burial mounds.These are the Irish fairies that I mentioned earlier. You can see that the English word "fairy" comes originally from fae. You may remember my previous article about Newgrange, where I talk about them.
