Tradition / Region: Irish Mythology
Alternative names: Flidas, Fliodhais, Fliodhas, Foltchaín
Category: Cow, Deity
The Myth
Flidais is a beautiful-haired female figure associated with cattle, fertility, and the abundance of milk. She possesses a magical herd of cattle, and her connection with cattle and milking appears throughout the stories in which she is mentioned.
Flidais is a central figure in Táin Bó Flidhais, where she is the wife of Ailill Finn and the lover of Fergus mac Róich. Fergus carries Flidais and her cattle away from her husband, taking her with him to Erris.
Her cattle possess extraordinary powers. During the Táin Bó Cúailnge, Flidais stays in the tent of Ailill mac Máta, king of Connacht, and her herd provides enough milk to feed the entire army once every seven days.
In Táin Bó Flidhais, Flidais possesses a particularly remarkable white cow known as the Maol. A single night’s milking from this cow is said to provide enough milk to feed three hundred men.
Flidais is also the mother of Nia Segamain, who inherited a supernatural connection with animals from her. Through the power received from his mother, Nia Segamain was able to milk wild deer as though they were domestic cows.
Flidais is also named as the mother of several daughters, including Dinand and Bé Chuille. Dinand and Bé Chuille are described as female farmers in one tradition and as witches in the story of the Second Battle of Moytura, where they enchant trees, stones, and pieces of earth so that they become an armed host.
Sources
“Flidais.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flidais