In one of the greatest battles in Irish myth, the Battle of Mag Tuired Conga or Cath Maighe Tuireadh Theas (“The Battle of Southern Mag Tuired”), the supernatural Tuatha Dé Danann, led by the hero Lugh, confronts the formidable Fomorians, whose leader, the giant Balor, had an “evil eye” that can kill with a single glance. .

Тhe Battle of Mag Tuired Conga is the mythological battle described in The Mythological Cycle in Irish / Celtic Mythology and includes two battles: the first near the village of Cong in Ireland (Cúnga Fheichín), and the second to Loch Arbhach. The first battle is Tuatha Dé Danann against the Fir Bolg people, and the second is against the Fomorians (an unknown people, in some interpretations considered a magical mysterious people, in others demons).

Balor (Balar; Balór na Súile Nimhe – “Balor the Evil Eye”): leader of the Fomorians representing the scorching sun. Described as a giant with a huge sinister eye, and analogies from other mythologies are his Isbadaden from Welsh folklore, and Cyclops from the Greek.

Luu (Lugh, Lug): member of Tuatha Dé Danann, one of the most famous heroes and gods in Irish / Celtic mythology. The hero was very gifted: a master in many disciplines, a warrior, a savior. His legendary skill with a spear formed the name of the harvest festival, which is called Lughnasadh, which means “long arm” (because of his long reach with the weapon).

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Myth of Moytura

Tuatha Dé Danann fought a fierce war with the Fomorians, which began after their King Noah lost his wrist in battle. Dé Danann did not want to be ruled by a one-armed king, and in his place chose a warrior named Bress. His mother was from the Dé Danann clan and his father from the Fomorians, and so he was the link and the truce between the two peoples.

Unfortunately for Dé Danann, Bress proved to be a cruel ruler and treated the Dé Danann clan badly, did not honor them with royal hospitality, did not entertain them. The Fomorians had to pay a heavy tax, and their characters were reduced to simple tasks such as digging trenches and carrying firewood.

Dé Danann expressed their displeasure and threatened Bress that he would be expelled. The king did not want to be ousted and prayed to rule for another seven years. Dé Danann were persuaded, but did not know that Bress did not intend to give his throne after the expiration of the term. One day he went to the Fomorians to assemble a huge army led by the heroes Balor and Indekh and to subdue Dé Danann.

The Hero Lugh

Dé Danann returned Nua to the throne while Bress was absent. Not long after, the hero Lugh stood at the gates of Nuada’s court with the offer to lead the battle against the Fomorians. To enter the court, however, Lugh had to list his skills, which were: blacksmithing, poetry, playing the harp, and other. When the guard listed them, he replied that the king already had many subjects who did all these things, and in turn, Lugh replied if there was anyone who combined all these talents into one. The guard then informed Nuada and Lugh was admitted. And not long after, he impressed everyone with his skills, his strength, his ingenuity, that he was promoted to leader of Dé Danann’s troops.

Preparations for both sides had begun. Dé Danann’s wizards would weaken the enemies and instill fear in their hearts, the cupbearers would thirst them, the druids would blind them with a torrent of fire. The blacksmith Goyvniu said that he would make new weapons to replace any broken ones and would make the spears so that they always hit the target.

Evil Eye of Balor

The day of the clash has come. The two armies faced each other in the fields of Moytura, and Lugh circled the battlefields, encouraging the warriors with fiery words of victory. The Fomorians had Balor, who also encouraged them with his presence. The battle lasted for days, many valiant warriors settled the battlefield with their bodies and colored the waters of the nearby river red. To the surprise of the Fomorians, Dé Danann’s broken weapons returned a whole and defeated all their enemies.

Balor managed to overthrow King Nua. With his evil eye, he was now heading for Lugh to cut him down. His evil eye was special, it only opened during battle, and the lifting of his eyelid could only be done with a lever attached to it, which required the strength of four men. But when it opened, the destructive power emanating from it could kill anyone by draining their strength. Such was Balor’s terrible look.

Lugh and Balor faced each other, and Balor ordered his eye to be opened. But Lugh would not wait, and with all his might he threw a stone at the eye with his slingshot, for which its opening wasted valuable time, and this was fatal. The stone fell right in the middle and killed his eye. Both the stone and the eye fell on the forms and killed dozens of them. That was the end of the battle, and Dé Danann pushed the Fomorians back into the sea.