This from Gene Clifford Haley's "Topography of the Táin Bó Cúailnge", (Thesis), Harvard, May 1970:



Because of the huge associations between heaven and earth already explored both here on Mythical Ireland and in Island of the Setting Sun, it comes as no surprise to hear this "land of Níth" means "heavenly, abounding in pebbles Níth". Here we visualise the myriad of stars of the bright bands of the Milky Way (Bealach na Bó Finne) represented as pearly pebbles.

Níth is the name of a river also, the eruption of which echoes the eruption of the Boyne from Nechtain's well. Because the Boyne is obviously named after the heavenly river (Bó Finne), it could be reasonably speculated that the Níth story is a variant. Again, abundant in pearls sounds like a poetic description for all those pinpoints of light.

(My thanks to Alan Hand, Louth Co. Library, for assistance)

The above becomes even more interesting when you consider that we hypothesised, in chapter 8 of Island of the Setting Sun (Newgrange: Womb of the Moon) that the milky quartz stones at the front of Newgrange could represent the Milky Way . . .



P.159, Island of the Setting Sun

To see a translation of the more of this "Níth" section of the Book of Leinster (including references to the moon), look at the following posting:

http://www.mythicalireland.com/forum/vi ... ?p=810#810

Hey, thats an interesting speculation. If the east of Ulster is heaven, what would Medb and her western forces represent?

The only thing to add here is that if Louth is Heaven, Munster may be the underworld. Curoi being the most associated with Munster in the Ultonian cycle, it's interesting to know that he is supposed to be the owner of a rotating castle. In the Welsh Taliesin poetry the palace of the Underworld is likewise depicted as rotating. In the 'Violent Death of Curoi' Ulster's attack on Munster is seen as a negative, hubristic occurance, setting in motion the destruction of the heroes of Ireland (demonstrated by Conor recieving his first wound, his son being killed, their failure to rescue the woman they were after, etc.) in Leinster and Connacht. Perhaps the story relates a Celtic end-times? Heaven falls down into the Earth, waters (Connacht being in the west, a direction generally associated with the watery realm of Manannan) engulfing it... although I have no idea what Leinster is supposed to represent.... never heard abything about fire in the east...

Anyway, great convo, I know the post is old but if you have more to add it would be killer.

take care,
Labra