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Boand |
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Name: Eithne / Boand / Boann
Properties: Goddess of the River Boyne / Inspiration
Race: Tuatha Dé Danann
Father: Delbaeth
Sister: Befind
Husband: Nechtán Lord of the Well.
Consorts:
Eochaid
Ollathair (The Dagda), 
Elcmar 'Lord of Horses'
Son: Aongas Óg
Nephew: Fraech who loved Finnabair daughter of Medb
Dog: Dabilla
Associated
Sites: Brugh Na Boinne
(Newgrange)
The Well of Segais
River Boyne
Eithne or Boand as she came to be called by the Celts was a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann and was consort to Elcmar after she left her first husband Nechtán.
They lived at Brugh Na Boinne now called Newgrange. Eithne had an affair with Eochaid Ollathair King of Uisnech, later known as the Dagda (Good God) and because of his magic she conceived and bore Aengus Mac Óg on the same day (which he had magically stretched into nine months).
Aengus was sent to be fostered by Midhir of Brí Léith. Eventually Aengus returned and again through trickery managed to acquire Brugh na Boinne as his home. Elcmar and his retinue had to move to Cleitech nearby. The legend of "The Wooing of Étaín" gives the details of these events.
Boand gets her name from her relationship to the River Boyne, whose waters she set free against the wishes of her husband Nechtán son of Labraid. "How the Boyne was born" tells this story.
She could not withstand the power of the waters she released and was drowned as a result in one version of the tale, in another version she is wounded in her eye, her arm and her foot.
Stories, Myths and Legends associated with Boand:
Dindshenchas - Teamhair (Tara)
The Story of the Tuatha De Danann
Death Tales of the Tuatha De Danann
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