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- For the character Eri in the anime and manga series InuYasha, see Yuka, Eri, Ayumi.
In Irish mythology, Ériu, daughter of Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was one of the patron goddesses of Ireland. Her husband was Mac Gréine. She was the mother of Bres by Prince Elatha of the Fomorians.
It is a great claim that Ireland was named after her. The original name for Ireland was "Eriuland."
Etymology of the Name
Entries in the University of Wales' reconstructed Proto-Celtic lexicon (http://www.wales.ac.uk/documents/external/cawcs/pcl-moe.pdf ) suggest that the name is likely to be ultimately derived from the Proto-Celtic * Hīwerjōnīā, a phrase with the Proto-Celtic semantic connotations of ‘Earthy Terrain,’ which aspect of nature she seems to embody. This would make her comparable to the Roman Ceres, Greek Demeter and Egyptian Isis. Apparently, an inherited form of the Proto-Celtic was transcribed in Ancient Greek as Ierne and in Latin as Hibernia.
Role & Mythic Portrayal
With her sisters, Banba and Fodla, she was part of an important triumvirate of goddesses. When the Milesians arrived from Spain each of the three sisters asked that her name be given to the country. Ériu (Éire) won the argument, but Banba and Fodla are still sometimes used as poetic names for Ireland, much as Albion is for Great Britain.
Eriu, along with Banbha and Fodhla, is the goddess of sovereignty.
It is quizzical that in one moment this goddess was portrayed as being a beautiful queen and in the next moment a sharp beaked crow.
According to Seathrún Céitinn she worshipped the Badb, who is also sometimes named as a daughter of Ernmas. The two goddesses may therefore be seen as equivalent.