In the Ulster Cycle the soul of Cú Roí was confined in an apple that lay in the stomach of a salmon which appeared once every seven years. One gloss of the name for the magical Irish island Emain Ablach is 'Emain of the Apples'. The Brythonic Avalon in Arthurian tradition in certain medieval narratives, attributing Welsh origin, is translated as Insula Pomorum 'The Isle of Apples'. Wands of druids were made from wood either of the yew or of the apple. The pome fruit and tree of the apple is celebrated in numerous functions in Celtic mythology, legend, and folklore it is an emblem of fruitfulness and sometimes a means to immortality. The Proto-Celtic for 'ash' was * * onnos Old Irish, nin Irish, fuinseog Scots Gaelic, fuinnseann Manx, unjin Welsh, onnen Cornish, onnen Breton, onnenn. The French poet who used Breton sources, Marie de France (late 12th century), wrote a lai about an ash tree. Some famous ash trees were the Tree of Uisnech, the Bough of Dathí, and the Tree of Tortu. In Gaelic Scotland children were given the astringent sap of the tree as a medicine and as a protection against witch-craft. Ash seedpods may be used in divination, and the wood has the power to ward off fairies, especially on the Isle of Man. Together with the oak and thorn, the ash is part of a magical trilogy in fairy lore. Under the Old Irish word nin, the ash also gives its name to the letter N in the ogham alphabet. The ash tree itself might be used in May Day ( Beltaine) rites. There are several recorded instances in Irish history in which people refused to cut an ash, even when wood was scarce, for fear of having their own cabins consumed with flame. The mountain ash, rowan, or quicken tree is particularly prominent in Scottish folklore.
The ash tree also features strongly in Irish mythology. In Proto-Celtic the words for "oak" were * * daru and * * derwā Old Irish and Modern Irish, dair Scottish Gaelic, darach Manx, daragh Welsh, derwen, dâr Cornish derowen Breton, dervenn. In British fairy lore, the oak is one of three primary magical woods, along with ash and thorn. When Lleu Llaw Gyffes is about to be killed by Gronw Pebyr, his wife's lover, he escapes in eagle form onto a magic oak tree. In Welsh tradition Gwydion and Math use the flower of oak with broom to fashion the beautiful Blodeuwedd. Derry see also Durrow, darú, from dair magh, 'oak plain'.
Kildare, and St Colum Cille favoured Doire Calgaich 'Calgach's oak grove', i.e.
Sacred associations of oaks survived Christianization, so that St Brigit's monastic foundation was at Cill Dara, 'church of (the) oak', i.e. According to the pseudo-history Lebor Gabála 'Book of Invasions', the sacred oak of early Ireland was that of Mugna, probably located at or near Dunmanogoe, south Co. Britons under Roman occupation worshipped a goddess of the oak tree, Daron, whose name is commemorated in a rivulet in Gwynedd. In an often-cited passage from Historia Naturalis (1st century AD), Pliny the Elder describes a festival on the sixth day of the moon where the druids climbed an oak tree, cut a bough of mistletoe, and sacrificed two white bulls as part of a fertility rite. The ancient geographer Strabo (1st century AD) reported that the important sacred grove and meeting-place of the Galatian Celts of Asia Minor, Drunemeton, was filled with oaks. The oak tree features prominently in many Celtic cultures. "The Druid Grove" (1845) List of trees Oak
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