Based on what little we know about old Irish mythology, we can guess that Dian Cécht, who was the God of Health or God of Power & Health for the Tuatha Dé Danann, an Irish god family, was Dagda’s brother. As the doctor and healer for the Danann tribe, he saved the lives of fighters. He is said to have done many miracles, and in the eighth century, people in Ireland still prayed to him to help them. In addition to being able to see into the future, he is also said to have been able to cast many healing spells.
He had three kids from his first marriage: Mitch, Airmed, and Étan. He used to have a son named Cian with Danu, his second wife. Cian married Ethlinn, the daughter of the evil Fomorian King Balor. Cian’s son Lugh was the sun and storm god who saved the Danaans. Lugh’s son Cu Chulainn was a legendary Irish hero.
In the past, three snakes tried to kill all the living things in Ireland, but Dian Cécht stopped them. Because it looked so bad, Dian Cécht voted to kill the baby of Dagda, the mythical father of the gods, and Morgan, his wife. As soon as Dian did this, she found three snakes inside the hearts of each baby. When they grew up, these snakes could kill all Irish people. He set the snakes on fire and dumped the ashes into the river. This made the water boil, killing all the animals that lived in it. The river was finally named River Barrow. It is now Ireland’s second-longest river, after River Shannon. This river is one of “The Three Sisters,” along with the River Suir and the River Nore.
King Nuada of the Danann was no longer fit to lead his people after he lost an arm in the First Battle at Moytura against the Fir Bolg. When the council chose King Bres, the Danann suffered a lot, and many people wanted Nuada to take back power. In the end, Dian was able to replace Nuada’s arm with a metal one, which put the king back on his seat. On the other hand, Dian felt jealous of his son Miach after Miach had Nuada’s original arm physically and magically replaced. Each son was just as good as his dad because he got his skills from him. Dian grew special herbs on the tomb where he buried his son. Because Dian was so angry, she threw the herbs all over the place, which made it harder for Airmed to identify them. To this day, we still don’t know what health benefits they might have.
Dian also had two other children: the poet Étan and Cian, who was born of Danu and married Ethlinn, daughter of Balor of the Fomorians. After the First Battle at Mag Tried against the Fir Bolg, the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fomorians made peace by getting Cian married to Ethlinn. Things went well with the Fomorians at first, but not for long.
