Tír na nÓg
Encyclopedia
Tír na nÓg is the most popular of the Otherworld
Otherworld
Otherworld, or the Celtic Otherworld, is a concept in Celtic mythology that refers to the home of the deities or spirits, or a realm of the dead.Otherworld may also refer to:In film and television:...

s in Irish mythology
Irish mythology
The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...

. It is perhaps best known from the story of Oisín
Oisín
Oisín , also spelt in English Ossian or Osheen, was regarded in legend as the greatest poet of Ireland, and is a warrior of the fianna in the Ossianic or Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology...

, one of the few mortals who lived there, who was said to have been brought there by Niamh of the Golden Hair. It was where the Tuatha Dé Danann
Tuatha Dé Danann
The Tuatha Dé Danann are a race of people in Irish mythology. In the invasions tradition which begins with the Lebor Gabála Érenn, they are the fifth group to settle Ireland, conquering the island from the Fir Bolg....

 settled when they left Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

's surface, and was visited by some of Ireland's greatest heroes. Tír na nÓg is similar to other mythical Irish lands such as Mag Mell
Mag Mell
In Irish mythology, Mag Mell was a mythical realm achievable through death and/or glory...

 and Ablach.

Tír na nÓg was considered a place beyond the edges of the map, located on an island far to the west. It could be reached by either an arduous voyage or an invitation from one of its fairy residents. The isle was visited by various Irish heroes and monks in the echtra
Echtra
An Echtra or Echtrae is one of a category of Old Irish literature about a hero's adventures in the Otherworld ; the otherworldly setting is the distinctive trait of these tales...

e
(Adventure) and immram
Immram
An immram is a class of Old Irish tales concerning a hero's sea journey to the Otherworld . Written in the Christian era and essentially Christian in aspect, they preserve elements of Irish mythology....

(Voyage) tales popular during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

. Contrary to popular assumption, Tír na nÓg was not an afterlife for deceased heroes, but rather a sort of an earthly paradise populated by supernatural beings, which a few sailors and adventurers have been fortunate enough to happen upon during their journeys. This otherworld was a place where sickness and death do not exist. It was a place of eternal youth and beauty. Here, music, strength, life, and all pleasurable pursuits came together in a single place. Here happiness lasted forever; no one wanted for food or drink. It is roughly similar to the Greek Elysium
Elysium
Elysium is a conception of the afterlife that evolved over time and was maintained by certain Greek religious and philosophical sects, and cults. Initially separate from Hades, admission was initially reserved for mortals related to the gods and other heroes...

, or the Valhalla
Valhalla
In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those that die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyja's field Fólkvangr...

 of the Norse, though with notable, distinct and important differences.

Tír na nÓg plays a major role in the tale of Oisín
Oisín
Oisín , also spelt in English Ossian or Osheen, was regarded in legend as the greatest poet of Ireland, and is a warrior of the fianna in the Ossianic or Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology...

 and Niamh. To get to Tír na nÓg an adventurer needed a guide; in Oisín's case, Niamh plays the role. They travel together on a magical horse, able to gallop on water, to the Blessed Realm and the hero spends some time there. Eventually homesickness sets in and Oisín wants to return to his native land. He is devastated to learn three hundred years have passed in Ireland since he had been with Niamh, though it seemed to him only one. He goes home on Niamh's magical horse, but she warns him that if he lets his feet touch the ground, he will be barred from Tír na nÓg forever; however, the truth is that the weight of all those years would descend upon him in a moment, and he would wither with age and die. While Oisín is searching for his family, the Fianna
Fianna
Fianna were small, semi-independent warrior bands in Irish mythology and Scottish mythology, most notably in the stories of the Fenian Cycle, where they are led by Fionn mac Cumhaill....

, he helps two men move a stone, and in the process falls from the horse and ages in an instant. It is suggested that Oisín fell from his horse in the area of Elphin, County Roscommon
Elphin, County Roscommon
Elphin, sometimes spelt Elfin , is a village in north County Roscommon, Ireland. It forms the southern tip of a triangle with Boyle and Carrick-on-Shannon to the north west and north east respectively. It is at the junction of the R368 and R369 regional roads...

. This story bears a striking similarity to many other tales, including the Japanese tale of Urashima Tarō
Urashima Taro
is a Japanese legend about a fisherman who rescues a turtle and is rewarded for this with a visit to Ryūgū-jō, the palace of Ryūjin, the Dragon God, under the sea...

, though any actual connection between any of these tales is doubtful.

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