Gailig Deities

GAILIG DEITIES

1. Luchtaine/Luchta – patron of carpentry
2. Credhne – patron of smiths
3. Goibniu – patron of hospitality and architects
4. Dian Cécht – patron of the healing arts
5. Brigid – patroness of wisdom, philosophy, and poetry
6. Lugh – king of the Tuatha Dé Sinnsear; patron of oaths, truth, and the law
7. An Dagda – patron of fertility and agriculture
8. Ogma – patron of writing, knowledge, and magic
9. Aengus/Óengus – patron of youth and love
10. Badb – patroness of fear, confusion, and war
11. Mhacha – patroness of weapons and war
12. Mórrígan – patroness of bravery, victory, and war
13. Abcán – patron of music
14. Dhuosnos – patron of travellers and merchants, psychopomp
15. Elatha – patron of fire
16. Manannán – patron of fishing
17. Bé Binn – patroness of childbirth
18. Clíodhna – patroness of beauty, singing, and keening
19. Flidais – patroness of animal husbandry
20. Ceithlionn – patroness of prophecy

The Gnomes and Halflings are unique from many of the other cultures of the world in that they don’t worship gods, per se, in the same sense that other peoples do. Rather, they worship a race of godlike beings known as the Tuatha Dé Sinnsear (“Tribe of Ancestor Gods”) from whom they claim descent (this, they say, is why they live so much longer than humans).
The origins of the Tuatha Dé Sinnsear can vary by region, but generally they are believed to have been a tribe of gods who descended to the world to live as mortals after growing bored of the heavens. They conquered the mortal world and ruled over it for a time. They mated with the mortals and their offspring became either gnomes or halflings (with gnomes being born to Tuatha Dé Sinnsear fathers and mortal mothers, and halflings the opposite).
Though they aged much slower as mortals, they did still age and they became more and more mortal the longer they stayed in the material plane. As the years passed, the Tuatha Dé Sinnsear slowly found themselves succumbing to violence, disease, and the ravages of age and time just as any other mortals would and their empire collapsed.
However, having forsaken the heavens, the Tuatha Dé Sinnsear could not return there after death. With the last vestiges of their divine power, they created Tír na nÓg, the underworld; a land of eternal youth and bliss where their souls went after death and where their mortal children follow.
Thus, the Tuatha Dé Sinnsear are worshipped as gods in a sense, but not quite in the same sense as others conceive of gods. The Tuatha Dé Sinnsear are believed to have some power to affect the mortal world, but it is minimal, and they certainly aren’t the physical embodiments of the sun itself, the sky, or of the earth like the deities of other cultures might be. Instead, the Tuatha Dé Sinnsear are worshipped as ancestor gods, patron deities of the gnomes and halflings rather than the gods of the entire world.
Most of them are patrons of crafts or trades such as fishing, music, poetry, or kingship (each one usually, though not always, being the creator of their respective craft). Of course, not every member of the Tuatha Dé Sinnsear is worshipped as a patron. Some are seen as wicked figures, similar to demons, some perhaps were once worshipped but they have since lost their following, others have simply not been remembered for one reason or another. The 20 listed above are those who are deemed worthy or remembrance and worship and do not represent the entirety of the Tuatha Dé Sinnsear.
This has led to a situation in which many gnomes and halflings will incorporate the gods of other nearby belief systems into their own (e.g. worshipping Apollo as the sun god), or seek more rational causes for natural phenomena (e.g. storms) rather than relying on gods, or some combination of the two.