Cath Maige Tuired (modern spelling: Cath Maighe Tuireadh; ) is the name of two saga texts of the Mythological Cycle of Irish mythology. It refers to two separate battles in Connacht: the first in the territory of Conmhaícne Cúile Tuireadh near Cong, County Mayo, the second near Lough Arrow in County Sligo. The two texts tell of battles fought by the Tuatha Dé Danann, the first against the Fir Bolg, and the second against the Fomorians. Etymology The word cath is an Old Irish word meaning "battle, combat". Mag is an earlier spelling of maigh, meaning "plain". Ellis suggests that tuired (tuireadh in modern spelling) means "pillars" or "towers", but the Royal Irish Academy's Dictionary of the Irish Language translates tuiredh as "a lament". Maigh Tuireadh is typically anglicised as Moytura or Moytirra. The First Battle of Mag Tuired The first text, sometimes called Cét-chath Maige Tuired ("The First Battle of Mag Tuired") or Cath Maighe Tuireadh Cunga ("The Battle of Mag Tuired Conga") or Cath Maighe Tuireadh Theas ("The Battle of Southern Mag Tuired"), relates how the Tuatha Dé Danann took Ireland from the Fir Bolg, who then inhabited the island. It begins with the children of Nemed, an earlier group of inhabitants of Ireland, leaving for Greece to escape their oppression by the Fomorians. A group of Nemed's descendants, the Fir Bolg, return to Ireland and conquer it, occupying it for thirty years until the coming of the Tuatha Dé Danann, another group of Nemed's descendants. The Tuatha Dé Danann, led by their king, Nuada, come to Ireland in three hundred ships from the islands of the north. Their arrival is foreseen in a dream by the Fir Bolg king, Eochaid mac Eirc. When they land, they burn their ships. Negotiations begin between Sreng, the champion of the Fir Bolg, and Bres of the Tuatha Dé Danann, and Bres demands that the Fir Bolg either give battle or cede half of Ireland to them. The Fir Bolg choose battle. After a delay to prepare weapons, they met at the Pass of Balgatan, and the battle rages for four days. Nuada encounters Sreng, and with one swing of his sword Sreng cuts off Nuada's right hand. However, the Tuatha Dé Danann gain the ascendancy. A truce is called, and the Fir Bolg are given three options: leave Ireland, share the land with the Tuatha Dé Danann, or continue the