In some tales, the figure who first appears to be a " banshee " is later revealed to be the Irish battle goddess, the Morrígan.

Davidson further compares to early attestations of the Irish goddesses Badb ( Davidson points to the description of Badb from The Destruction of Da Choca's Hostel where Badb is wearing a dusky mantle, has a large mouth, is dark in color, and has gray hair falling over her shoulders, or, alternatively, " as a red figure on the edge of the ford, washing the chariot of a king doomed to die ") and The Morrígan.

The Morrígan (" phantom queen ") or Mórrígan (" great queen "), also written as Morrígu or in the plural as Morrígna, and spelt Morríghan or Mór-ríoghain in Modern Irish, is a figure from Irish mythology who appears to have been considered a goddess, although she is not explicitly referred to as such in the texts.

The Morrígan is a goddess of battle, strife, and sovereignty.

Accordingly, Morrígan is often translated as " Phantom Queen ".

He regrets blessing her for the three drinks of milk which is apparent in the exchange between the Morrígan and Cúchulainn, " She gave him milk from the third teat, and her leg was healed.

The Morrígan is often considered a triple goddess, but this triple nature is ambiguous and inconsistent.

However, the Morrígan can also appear alone, and her name is sometimes used interchangeably with Badb.

' Anann ' is identified as the personal name of the Morrígan in many MSS of Lebor Gabála Érenn.

The woman reveals herself as the Morrígan, and in revenge for this slight she attacks him in various animal forms while he is engaged in combat against Lóch mac Mofemis.

In Irish mythology, Nemain ( modern spelling: Nemhain ) is the fairy spirit of the frenzied havoc of war, and possibly an aspect of the Morrígan.

* The Mórrígan (" great queen ") or Morrígan (" terror " or " phantom queen ") ( aka Morrígu, Mórríghan, Mhór-Ríoghain ) is a figure from Irish mythology widely considered to be a goddess or former goddess.

Only Urien is brave enough to go near the place and there he discovers Modron, endlessly washing clothes ( a scene common in Celtic legend, see Morrígan ).

With her sisters, Macha and the Morrígan, Badb was part of a trio of war goddesses known as the Morrígna.

Olmsted also toys with the idea that the female figure flanked by two birds on plate f could be Medb with her pets or Morrígan, the Irish war goddess who often changes into a carrion bird.

From the cave, on Samhain, the goddess Morrígan was said to emerge.

In Lebor Gabála Érenn, Badb, Macha and Morrígan make up the Morrígna trinity and are named as daughters of the goddess Ernmas.

However, the Fir Bolg were defeated and their king, Eochaidh, was slain by a goddess, The Morrígan, though the fierce efforts of their champion Sreng saved them from utter loss.

Additional speculation sometimes connects Morgan with the Irish goddess Morrígan, though there are few similarities between the two beyond the spelling of their names.

In Irish mythology, the goddess Morrígan alighted on the hero Cú Chulainn's shoulder in the form of a raven after his death.

With a monochromatic bluish appearance throughout, the video shows Madonna playing The Morrígan, an ethereal Gothic witch-like ( though often hailed as a goddess or personification of nature ), melancholy persona, with long black hair, black gowns designed by Olivier Theyskens ( at that time a young and emerging talent ), and mehndi on her hand showing the Hindu word Om on her palm.

There have also been attempts by modern writers to link the Morrígan with the Welsh literary figure Morgan le Fay from Arthurian romance, in whose name ' mor ' may derive from a Welsh word for ' sea ', but the names are derived from different cultures and branches of the Celtic linguistic tree.

In Táin Bó Regamna ( The Cattle Raid of Regamain ), Cúchulainn encounters the Morrígan, but does not recognize her, as she drives a heifer from his territory.

In the Táin Bó Cuailnge queen Medb of Connacht launches an invasion of Ulster to steal the bull Donn Cuailnge ; the Morrígan, like Alecto of the Greek Furies, appears to the bull in the form of a crow and warns him to flee.

In between combats the Morrígan appears to him as a young woman and offers him her love, and her aid in the battle, but he rejects her offer.

In one version of Cúchulainn's death-tale, as Cúchulainn rides to meet his enemies, he encounters the Morrígan as a hag washing his bloody armour in a ford, an omen of his death.

The Morrígan also appears in texts of the Mythological Cycle.

Next come Ernmas's other three daughters: Badb, Macha, and the Morrígan.

According to Geoffrey Keating's 17th century History of Ireland, Ériu, Banba, and Fódla worshipped Badb, Macha, and the Morrígan respectively.

Odras then follows the Morrígan to the Otherworld, via the cave of Cruachan.

When Odras falls asleep, the Morrígan turns her into a pool of water.

Sometimes she appears as one of three sisters, the daughters of Ernmas: Morrígan, Badb and Macha.

There have been attempts by some modern authors of fiction to link the Arthurian character Morgan le Fay with the Morrígan.

The Morrígan and the Dagda meet and have sex before the battle against the Fomorians ; in this way the Morrígan acts as a sovereignty figure and gives the victory to the Dagda's people, the Tuatha Dé Danann.

Scholars such as Rosalind Clark hold that the names are unrelated, the Welsh " Morgan " ( Wales being the source of Arthurian legend ) being derived from root words associated with the sea, while the Irish " Morrígan " has its roots either in a word for " terror " or a word for " greatness ".

See: Irish mythology in popular culture: The Morrígan

* Rosalind Clark, The Great Queens: Irish Goddesses from the Morrígan to Cathleen Ní Houlihan ( Irish Literary Studies, Book 34 )

* War Goddess: the Morrígan and her Germano-Celtic Counterparts thesis by Angelique Gulermovich Epstein ( ZIP format )

* Epstein, Angelique Gulermovich ( 1998 ) War Goddess: The Morrígan and Her Germano-Celtic Counterparts.

O ' Mulconry's Glossary, a thirteenth century compilation of glosses from medieval manuscripts preserved in the Yellow Book of Lecan, describes Macha as " one of the three morrígna " ( the plural of Morrígan ), and says the term Mesrad Machae, " the mast crop of Macha ", refers to " the heads of men that have been slaughtered.

The Morrígan was said to take on the form of a red-furred wolf, particularly in her battle with the hero Cú Chulainn.