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Also known as Fodla

In Irish mythology, Fódla or Fótla (modern spelling: Fódhla, Fodhla, Fóla), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, is one of the tutelary goddesses of Ireland. Her husband is Mac Cecht. Her name, pronounced (), is believed to derive from Old Irish ('sod, land'), indicating her nature as a goddess of the land. A fanciful etymology in the Book of Leinster reads it as , "a sod upon Díl," memorialising the death of a daughter of Míl Espáine.

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In Irish mythology, Fódla or Fótla (modern spelling: Fódhla, Fodhla, Fóla), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, is one of the tutelary goddesses of Ireland. Her husband is Mac Cecht. Her name, pronounced (), is believed to derive from Old Irish ('sod, land'), indicating her nature as a goddess of the land. A fanciful etymology in the Book of Leinster reads it as , "a sod upon Díl," memorialising the death of a daughter of Míl Espáine.

With her sisters, Banba and Ériu, she is part of an important triumvirate of goddesses. When the Milesians arrived from Spain, each of the three sisters asked the bard Amergin that her name be given to the country. Ériu (Éire, and in the dative 'Éirinn', giving English 'Erin') seems to have won the argument, but the poets hold that all three were granted their wish, and thus 'Fódhla' is sometimes used as a literary name for Ireland, as is 'Banba'. This is similar in some ways to the use of the poetic name 'Albion' for Great Britain.

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