We know from ancient Irish law that women were afforded greater rights and freedoms than others of their gender elsewhere at that time.

Women could inherit property, and enter into the same professions as men. There were female brehons (judges), poets, musicians, and doctors. But were there warrior women in ancient Ireland too? If so, who were they, and what are their stories?

Were there actually female Celtic Warriors?

The Romans give us a few historical records of female Celtic warriors. There is a quote attributed to an unnamed and possibly quite besotted Roman Soldier:

“A Celtic woman is often the equal of any Roman man in hand-to-hand combat. She is as beautiful as she is strong. Her body is comely but fierce. The physiques of our Roman women pale in comparison.”

And though records of female Celtic warriors pale in comparison to their male counterparts, there are several mentions of warrior women and queens in Celtic myths and legends, many of which are thought to reflect elements of ancient life.

Given the fact that many of these old tales were first written by Christian monks, a somewhat biased bunch on the female of the species, one may assume that these records might be a diminished reflection of the original.

It also seems that there are considerably more tales of women warriors in ancient Irish mythology when compared to stories from other contemporaneous cultures. So that all told, many believe that rather than being a rarity, female warriors were real, and possibly even commonplace.

Who were these warrior Women?

Sadly the names of real life warriors are all but lost. But our myths and legends give us quite a few characters to choose from. Their number includes goddesses, masters, leaders, and warriors.

Warrior Goddess: A triple threat

The Morrígan is a shapeshifting, triple goddess that gives you three badass sisters for the price of one: Badb, Macha, and Morrígan. Known collectively as the Mórrigna, the name has been translated to mean "great queen" or more ominously, "phantom queen.” A formidable force on the battlefield, the Morrígan inspired fear or courage in equal measure depending on her wishes.

This fearsome tripartite goddess of war and fate, daughters of Ernmas and the Dagda and members of the Tuatha Dé Danann, crop up in several ancient stories. She is well known from the Ulster Cycle, one of the most celebrated collections of Irish Mythology that can be traced back over 2,500 years.

Badb

She is often depicted as a crow, known as Badb, who flies over the battlefield with the power to shift dynamics from one side to the other. Her battle cry was so powerful, 100 warriors reportedly died of fright just hearing it! Definitely an entity you want on your side!

In "the Táin" she famously worked against Cú Chulainn, one of Ireland’s greatest warriors, in the Cattle Raid of Cooley. And just as she had foretold, the battle ultimately resulted in Cú Chulainn’s death. And it was the crow landing on his shoulder that let the other combatants know that the great warrior would not fight on.

Macha

In another of her forms, Macha, she was said to be able to outrun the fastest horse, even while heavily pregnant, with twins - impressive indeed! She was reportedly near unbeatable in combat and has the gruesome honor of giving her name to the Mesrad Machae, "the mast of Macha", the display of slain enemy combatants heads!

Macha herself was slain defending her fallen husband and Ireland, from the supernatural Fomorian giant and King, Balor of the Evil Eye. But she fought on in another form. The Morrígan is credited with driving the Fomorians out of Ireland and into the sea to their deaths, turning the battle for the Tuatha Dé Danann.

The Masters: Liath Luachra, Bodhmall, and Scáthach

Many of the most respected masters of martial arts in Celtic Mythology are women.

Liath Luachra and Bodhmal

Liath Luachra, who’s name translates as the “Grey one of Luachair,” and her companion Bodhmall the druidess, were the guardians and teachers of another of Ireland’s great warriors, Fionn mac Cumhaill.

Bodhmall was Fionn's aunt, and together with Liath Luachra, they raised Fionn deep in the wilderness of the Slieve Bloom mountains to protect him from would-be assassins after the death of his father. Both women were counted as great warriors and taught the young Fionn the martial arts he would need when he was old enough to leave the forest, to be fleet of foot, and wise, with a deep respect for nature.

When Fionn was wise enough and strong enough and fast enough in the eyes of his teachers, they sent him out into the world to claim his destiny as a great warrior and leader.

Scáthach

Based on the modern day Isle of Skye, our next warrior was a master of the martial arts and another great teacher, who’s school had a suitably forbidding name, Dún Scáith, the “fortress of shadows.”

Scáthach is credited with training Cú Chulainn, one of the most famous warriors of Celtic mythology. She also gave her most promising pupil his most dangerous weapon, a spear called Gáe Bulg, which translated can mean the "belly spear" or more ominously the “spear of mortal pain/death”!

The Warriors: Aife, Nessa, and Ailbhe Gruadbrecc

All of the women we have mentioned so far knew how to handle a sword and shield. But for these three this was their main profession.

Aife

Aife was Scáthach's rival and by most accounts, her sister, or even twin. She was reportedly fierce in battle, shattering Cú Chulainn’s sword with one of her blows when the two went head to head in an epic fight. The mighty Cú Chulainn had to resort to trickery to defeat her.

Nessa

In some versions of her tale, Nessa or Ness was known as Assa as a child. Roughly translated, this means gentle or easy. After her home is attacked and her foster family killed, she raises her own band of 27 warriors, or Fianna, to track down and kill her attackers and becomes known as Ní-assa "not easy, not gentle."

Nessa's story has several twists and turns. Forced into marriage at swordpoint, she had a son, who unusually carries her name in his own, Conchobhar mac Nessa, who went on to become King of Ulster, in part thanks to her cunning and foresight.

Ailbhe Gruadbrecc

The Fianna were a famous band of warrior-hunters in Irish Mythology, led by Fionn Mac Cumhaill. The banféinní were literally the “women warrior-hunters' with ban the Irish word for woman. Unfortunately, many of the names of the banféinní were lost to time or never recorded. But Ailbhe Gruadbrecc, the daughter of High King Cormac mac Art is one of few who was recorded, perhaps because she was the one time flame of the famous Fionn.

With her name translating as Ailbhe (pronounced Al-va) "of the freckled cheeks" she was reportedly a fierce warrior who died just one year after coupling up with Mac Cumhaill. Given her profession, her death may have come while hunting or in battle.

Sadly we will never know Ailbhe’s full story, nor those of countless other fierce women, as they were either not recorded, lost, or deliberately ignored by the historians who followed. But interest in the history of Irish women is growing year to year in Ireland, so who knows what the future holds?

The Warriors among us

We are lucky to have a team filled with impressive women here at My Irish Jeweler. We discovered last year that Jane and Ruth are crack shots in axe throwing.

And our head jeweler Gemma is certainly someone to keep on your side! She’s three years into Krav Maga training, a martial art, and regularly shows up to work a bit bruised and battered, and once with a splinted finger. This only seems to spur her on and we believe her sparring partners are often worse for wear too!

Gemma says she was always drawn to the rough and tumble of sport like rugby, gaelic, or hockey. After spotting a poster advertising Krav Maga classes she went to her first class. Gemma managed to knock her sparring partner to the ground in that first session and with that she was hooked!

She now trains three times per week and her daughter comes with her. She has her green belt, which means she is “able to look after herself with confidence in most personal self-defence scenarios” and is halfway to her ultimate goal of getting her black belt. She loves her “Krav family” as she calls them and her partner Peter is very supportive. He jokes that he likes having his own private body guard!

Warrior Women Worldwide

And of course we are honored to serve fantastic women worldwide who we have had the good fortune to meet through the course of our work. Happy International Women's Day to all the impressive warriors out there!