The Morrígan
Morrígan, or "The Morrígan," is an ancient Irish goddess. She is the goddess of war and battle, of sovereignty, and of the land (Dunlop). She contains three aspects; Badb who is goddess of battle, Macha who is goddess of the land and sovereignty, and a third face about which there is debate. This third aspect of the Morrígan has been identified as Némain, Féa, or Anu throughout various stories. While the name and face may differ, each of these represents another form of war goddess often considered a goddess of battle frenzy.
Morrígan is a highly powerful, and at times terrifying entity. She has the power to start wars, bring victory or defeat, and represents the land of the people. However, this aspect of her is not a traditional fertility goddess associated with the land, but rather she is the land itself. Although Morrígan has been considered at times to be a trinity goddess due to her three embodiments, she does not fulfill the traditional role of a trinity goddess in presenting a maiden, mother, and crone.
Badb
Macha
Némain
Deirdre
Deirdre, also known as "Deirdre of the Sorrows," is a classic Irish heroine (Ardagh 1998, 9). She was the daughter of a chieftain under the rule of King Conchobar. When she was born, it was prophesied that she would grow more and more beautiful as she grew, but eventually she would cause the ruin of Ireland.
Deichtre
Deichtre, sometimes "Dechtire," is an Irish goddess, often referred to as the bird goddess (Dunlop). She was the sister of King Conchobar, and it was rumored that she sometimes drove his chariot into battle for him. She was also the mother of the famous hero Cuchulain. She is considered the goddess of birds due to her ability to turn herself and her maidens into birds and fly across the land. It was told that this flock of birds would strip the land of all vegetation anywhere that they landed.
Emer
Emer is mostly known as the wife of the famous hero Cuchulain (Dunlop). She was the daughter of Forgal the Wily, and she was the only woman Cuchulain deemed qualified enough to be his bride. She possessed six specific qualities which he deemed necessary to be his perfect bride. These were beauty, a good voice, sweet speech, needlework, wisdom, and chastity.
Scáthach
Scáthach was a legendary warrior woman, renowned for training some of the greatest male warriors of Irish mythology (Riley 2019). She lived on an isolated island called the Isle of Skye in a fortress. Warriors would brave the perilous trek to her island to be trained by her in the arts of war and battle.