DAN CCHT [swift power] was the medicine-man of the Fey Tribes.

He could heal any w

ound but decapitation or brain-damage which was thought incurable because the he
ad was apparently regarded as the seat of the soul. He was the son of Esarg and
the brother of the Tr D Dna [three gods of giftedness] Goibniu, Credne and Luchtar.
By an unnamed wife or wives he was the father of Airmed the she-leech, tan the p
oetess, C, Cthe and Can and Mach and Ochtruil. He was the grandfather of Lug Lmfhta. T
he Ccht [power, strength] is from proto-Celtic *kwikwto- which became *pixto- in
Pictish and Gaulish names such as the Pictones of Poitou.
DANGALACH (*Deino-gala-ko-s) [full of swift surges of might]: an enchanter of the
Tatha D Danann about whom Donn son of Midir spoke to Finn. He was buried in a gra
ve on the lawn outside the House of Donn son of Midir on Tory Island. Note that
Dan Cecht is a healer of the Tuatha D Danann in Cath Maige Tuired.
DAN CECHT (Dianccht, Dan Ccht; *Deino-s K?ek?-tei) [swift in boiling, swift in power
]: principal healing god or physician of the ancient Irish and sage of leechcraft
(i.e. medicine) for the Tuatha D Danann. Father of tan and Cian, thus grandfather
of Lug Lmfhota. In Cath Maige Tuired [The (Second) Battle of Mag Tuired] Dian Ccht
's powerful healing spring can restore every mortally wounded man, except for th
e decapitated. More memorably, he makes a wonderful silver arm and hand with mov
ing fingers for the wounded Nuadu, who is afterwards called Nuadu Airgetlm [of th
e Silver Hand/Arm]. The arm is not sufficient, however, to qualify Nuadu for kin
gship. Later Dian Ccht's son Miach makes Nuadu an arm of flesh that allows him to
ascend to power. In jealousy at his son's greater power, Dian Ccht then slays Mi
ach. Dian Ccht is also jealous of his daughter Airmid, who has sought to classify
all magical healing herbs; he disrupts her ordering. The hero Mac Ccht appears t
o be euhemerized from Dian Ccht.
Dian Ccht was known late into Christian times and his charms invoked at least unt
il the 8th century. In modern folklore Dian Ccht's porridge is a cure for colds,
sore throat, phlegm, and worms; it is made of hazel nuts, dandelion, woodsorrel,
chickweed, and oatmeal.
Picture by Phil McDarby