Dana

Dana, also known as Danu, Anu, or Danaan, a major mother goddess in Celtic mythology. It is difficult to establish Dana's early role and significance, because much of pre-Christian mythology existed purely in oral tradition. Dana is attributed three sons: the gods Brian, Iuchar, and Iucharba. Some sources describe the Celtic goddess Brigit as their mother, however, indicating a possibility that Dana and Brigit were the same goddess. The descendants of Dana and her consort Bilé (Beli) were known as the Tuatha Dé Danaan (Celtic for “Children of Danaan”), a race of gods that in later legend became one of the early peoples of Ireland. According to legend, the Tuatha Dé Danaan were ousted from Ireland in the 2nd century bc after a struggle with the armed Milesians from Spain. It is generally true of the Celtic tradition, however, that goddesses—whether in the role of ancestral mothers, warriors, or queens—were accorded a particularly high status. In Britain, Dana became the god Don.