To legitimize a regime or cause, traditions can be built around historical or mythological events, people, or symbols that reinforce the image needed to focus one's conception of the past part of the people. People can be encouraged to invent a cohesive vision of their shared "traditions" from what might be called a collection of story fragments. Ireland's ancient mythology is one of its greatest assets. The glorious and poetic tales of battles, superhumans, demigods, and heroes are among the best in ancient literature. The Book of the Dun Cow, (Lebor na huidre), was written around 1100 and contains stories from the 8th and 9th centuries. The Book of Invasions, (Lebor Gabala), tells how the mythical ancestors of the Irish, the god-like Tuatha Dé Danann, fought against Ireland (or Erin) from the deformed Fir Bolg in fantastic battles. The Fir Bolg were traditionally linked to Gaul and Britain, so the analogy between them and the English invaders was complete. The Ulster Cycle, (an Rúraíocht), concerns the heroic battles of the great Irish warriors. The statue erected in the General Post Office in Sackville Street, Dublin, (now O'Connell Street) to remember the fallen of the 1916 Rising was inspired by these tales. It shows the hero Cuchulainn, the Ulster Hound, who tied himself to a tree to die standing. More importantly, as he died, his sword cut off his killer's hand. Identification with the dead rebels of the Easter Rising is therefore firmly entrenched in the modern Irish consciousness. The tales were rediscovered in the 1880s inspiring the Irish literary revival in the romantic fiction of writers such as Lady Augusta Gregory and the poetry and dramatic works of W. B. Yeats. . These works were...... middle of paper......1.11) Standish O'Grady http://academicapress.com/node/135(Accessed 19.01.11) By Lady Augusta Gregory http://www .sacred -texts.com/neu/celt/cuch/index.htm(Accessed 19.01.11)Irish surnameshttp://www.dochara.com/the-irish/surnames/irish-surnames-of-gaelic-origin/ (Accessed 27.01.11)Celtic Christianity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_Christianity http://www.aislingmagazine.com/aislingmagazine/articles/TAM30/EdSellner.html http://www.ogdoad.force9. co.uk/celticm.htm (Accessed 19.01.11)Cashelhttp://www.heritageireland.ie/en/South-East/RockofCashel/(Accessed 27.01.11)http://www.destination360.com/europe/ ireland/rock-of-cashel(Accessed 30.01.11) Hyberno-Romanesquehttp://www.answers.com/topic/hiberno-romanesque(Accessed 30.01.11)Cromwellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cromwellian_conquest_of_Ireland( Access 30.01.11)