Anu (AH-noo)

Since the first Irish texts were being translated, there has been a confusion between the figures of Anu and Danu; both have been listed as a "mother of the Irish gods". However, this is not entirely accurate, but a confusion which has existed since at least the eleventh century, with the composition of Lebor Gabála Érenn, which saw the beginning of confusion and conflation with three figures: Anand, Danand, and Morrigan.

It has been argued--very convincingly--that while many people believe that there was a goddess Danu who was mother of the Irish gods--hense the name Tuatha Dé Danann--there is no textual evidence for this. To begin with, *Danu is a hypotheical reconstruction from the possessive "Danann". However, the goddess named Danand who appears in the LGE is not given as the mother of all the gods (impossibly anyway, since the text has been overwhelmingly euhemerized), but as the mother of "Brian, Iuchar, and Iucharba, the three gods of the Tuatha Dé Danann" and the three sons (usually) of Delbaeth/Turill. However, confusion sets in, as in some redactions of the text, their mother is given as Morrigan, in others as Brigit. Morrigan is then given as the title for a goddess named Anand (sometimes Anann), for whom the two mountains in Munster, Da Chich Anann--the Breasts of Anu--are named.

Meanwhile, according to the ninth century text of Sanas Cormaic, Anand is listed as "mother of the Irish gods." Again, in the LGE, Anand is one of the trio of sisters named Badb, Macha, and Anand. In one redaction, Macha is identified with the figure of Morrigan, while in another, Anand is identified as Morrigan. As "Morrigan" is thought to mean either "mare queen" or "great queen," it is difficult to say which she may be. Macha is elsewhere identified with horses (as are the Welsh goddess Rhiannon and the Gallic goddess Epona), while Anand is clearly refered to as the mother of the gods. Of course, the Morrigan is also sometimes thought to refer to all three sisters, and perhaps like the triple goddess Brigit, these are all one and the same goddess. This is likely, as Brigit is also identified as the mother of Brian, Iuchar, and Iuchabar.

So it is possible to assume, then, that Anand, as the Morrigan, was the mother of the Tuatha Dé Danann; however, she is not the same as Danand, which is a later conflation. She is also, of course, the goddess of sovereignty, who the king of the land must marry in order to gain a legitimate claim to power. As such, she is symbolized by the horse, which then equates her to Rhiannon, Macha, and Epona.

We must also pay attention to the later figure of Aine Cli, listed as daughter of Manannán mac Lír and protective goddess of Munster. Like Anu, she is also associated with a mountain in Munster, Cnoc Aine, and a healing well, Tobar-Na-Aine, and like Brigit is associated with poetry. She is likely a later variation on Anand/Anu.

Finally, what is worth noting is that this name appears in Welsh genealogies as Anna or Ana--and here is a varation on the name Don--she is listed as the wife or mother of Beli (and thus is mother of the Welsh gods), but also as the cousin/kinswoman of the Virgin Mary. This can be attributed to several factors: