Editing Cessair (section)

== Other versions ==
Archaeologist [[J. P. Mallory]] has a different version of the tale, in which there are 150 women and three men. The first man dies and is buried in Wexford. The second man then has 100 women and soon dies of exhaustion. The 150 women chase the remaining man, who saves himself by jumping into the sea and turning into a salmon.<ref>[[J. P. Mallory|Mallory, J. P.]] ''The Origins of the Irish''. London; New York: Thames & Hudson, 2013. ch.&nbsp;7. {{ISBN|9780500051757}}</ref>

An earlier version of the tale, allegedly found in the ''[[Cín Dromma Snechtai]]'', says that the first woman in Ireland was [[Banba]]. She arrived with her two sisters, [[Fódla]] and [[Ériu]], three men, and fifty women.<ref>[[John T. Koch|Koch, John T.]] ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia''. ABC-CLIO, 2006. p.&nbsp;165</ref> Banba, Fódla, and Ériu were a [[Triple deity|trio]] of Irish land goddesses. Their husbands were [[Mac Cuill]] (son of hazel), [[Mac Cecht]] (son of the plow), and [[Mac Gréine]] (son of the Sun), respectively. It is likely that Cessair, Bairrfhind, and Alba are Christianized replacements for the three goddesses and that Fintán, Bith, and Ladra are replacements for the three gods.<ref>[[John Carey (Celticist)|Carey, John]]. [https://sulis.ucc.ie/cdi/wp-content/uploads/textarchive/Carey_QuigginPamphletsI.pdf ''The Irish National Origin-Legend: Synthetic Pseudohistory''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426123429/https://sulis.ucc.ie/cdi/wp-content/uploads/textarchive/Carey_QuigginPamphletsI.pdf |date=2021-04-26 }}. [[Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, University of Cambridge]], 1994. p.&nbsp;21</ref><ref name=monaghan85>Monaghan, Patricia. ''The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore''. Infobase Publishing, 2004. p.&nbsp;85</ref> Fintán/Mac Cuill may also be linked to the [[Salmon of Knowledge]], which gains all the world's knowledge after eating nine hazelnuts that fell into [[Connla's Well|a well]]. The women who accompany Cessair appear by their names to represent the world's ancestral mothers. They included 'Alba' ([[Celtic Britons|British]]), 'German' ([[Germans]]), 'Espa' ([[Spaniards|Spanish]]), 'Triage' ([[Thracians]]), 'Gothiam' ([[Goths]]), and so forth. Thus "their arrival can be read as creating a microcosm of the whole world's population in Ireland". Several other companions echo the names of ancient Irish goddesses.<ref name=monaghan85/>

Seathrún Céitinn also refers to a legend in which three fishermen from [[Iberia]]—Capa, Lavigne, and Luasad—were driven to Ireland by a storm a year before the flood. They liked Ireland and returned home to collect their wives. They returned shortly before the flood and were drowned.

According to another medieval Irish legend, Cessair is also the name of the King of [[Gaul|Gallia]]'s daughter. She married the [[High King of Ireland]], [[Úgaine Mór]], in either the 5th or 6th century BC.

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