Nuada

Family Tree

The Taking of Ireland

Nuada led the Tuatha dé Danann to Ireland from the north. He first established a beachhead, then he set up court at the Hill of Tara. He made his home in Brú na Bóinne until he was tricked into giving both his home and his wife to the Dagda. Even though the Children of Danu had arrived on the Emerald Isle, they did not yet control Ireland. At that time, the once-mighty Firbolg and the monstrous Fomorians ruled over most of the island, but the cunning Nuada had a plan to conquer them both.

The First Battle of Moytura

Nuadu's hand was cut off in that battle—Sreng mac Sengainn struck it from him. So with Credne the brazier helping him, Dian Cecht the physician put on him a silver hand that moved as well as any other hand. -Cath Maig Tuired, trans. By Elizabeth A. Gray

Nuada led his people into the First Battle of Moytura at Cong against the Firbolg, the previous dwellers of Ireland, for the right to control the island. Through a series of contests, the Tuatha dé Danann were victorious. Their triumph came at a price, however. In one of the contests, Nuada lost his hand. According to the laws that Nuada himself had written, a king must be wholly intact. The the loss of his hand excluded him from being king. Nuada conceded control of Connacht to Sreng, the champion and now-leader of the Firbolg, for his bravery in battle. His last act as king was to name his successor, Bres.

The Second Battle of Moytura

Nuada's appointment of Bres as the new king proved to be a fatal choice, for Bres was half-Fomorian. A cowardly leader, Bres allowed the monstrous race to enslave the Tuatha dé Danann. Nuada’s brothers, Dian Cécht, god of healing, and Goibniu, god of smiths, worked together to come up with a series of solutions: first, they crafted Nuada a silver prosthetic hand, from whence he received his title, and later, crafted a flesh-and-blood hand through magic.

With the old king once again intact and ready to retake the throne, the brothers then staged a coup, after which Bres was overthrown and Nuada returned to his ruling position. As they celebrated, a young warrior named Lugh presented himself to the court and demonstrated his seemingly endless talent. Impressed with his abilities, Nuada to accepted him into his court. Nuada asked Lugh to create the battle strategy for the final battle against the Fomorians, but this was a ruse. Nuada knew Lugh’s true identity; he was the half-Fomorian, half-Tuatha dé Danann grandson of Balor of the Evil-Eye, who was prophesied to kill his seemingly unkillable grandfather.

That final battle took place in County Sligo. There, Balor of the Evil-Eye decapitated Nuada. He was immediately avenged by Lugh, who killed Balor, his own grandfather. The death of Balor insured the Tuatha dé Danann victory. Lugh was named the new king and his reign was just as prosperous as Nuada had been.

Other Mythology

Nuada’s name was also given to several later characters in Irish mythology, including the grandfather of Fionn mac Cumhaill. The traits and qualities of these figures blended with those of Nuada and, over time, the myths and legend became so mixing up that medieval Irish scholars and writers were confronted with the many Lughs and Brigids in their studies of Irish mythology.

Nuada was the Irish form of the more common Gaelic and British Nodens, a god of the hunt. In Welsh mythology, he was Nudd or Lludd Llaw Eraint, was distinguishable by a silver hand as well. Scholars like J.R.R. Tolkien have pointed to similarities to the Roman Mars and Norse Tyr, mythical characters who also had missing hands.