Were the Shining Ones of ancient Ireland an alien race? Photo: Sanna Hines

The Tuatha Dé Danann or the Shining ones of Ireland were an ancient race of people believed to be the descendants of fairies. Some believe they were extraterrestrial in origin.

Who were the Shining Ones?

The Tuatha Dé Danann were a race of magical beings who possessed extraordinary powers and were often worshipped as divine creatures in Ancient Ireland.

The Shining Ones held a strong belief in Goddess Danu, also known as “the mother,” and were sometimes referred to as “followers of Danu.”

They originated from four major cities: Falias, Gorias, Finias, and Murias. When they arrived in Ireland, they brought with them fascinating skills and wisdom gained from the four wise men residing in each of the four cities.

The Shining Ones are said to have brought four treasures that proved to be beneficial to Ireland.

The small, dark native peoples of Ireland during that time appeared significantly different from the Shining Ones, who were commonly depicted as tall with fair skin, red or blonde hair, and blue or green eyes.

Interestingly, during the same period when the Tuatha De Danann arrived in Ireland, there were discoveries in archaeology that revealed small populations of red-haired individuals around the world.

For example, excavations conducted in Xinjiang Province, China, revealed mummies with blonde or red hair, which dated back to around four thousand years ago.

The well-preserved mummy of nobleman Yoya from ancient Egypt, who lived around 1400 BC, also exhibited Nordic features and blonde hair, much like his wife, Thuya, who was also the great-grandmother of Tutankhamun.

The Gods, in particular, were often depicted with features that symbolized their powers, such as Brigit, the Goddess of light and fire, who was believed to have sparked flames with her bright red hair at birth.

The magical abilities and otherworldly artifacts of the Tuatha de Danaan left an indelible mark on the history of Ireland.

The Shining Ones were known to possess a variety of magical, or perhaps technologically advanced, devices. According to ancient sources, they wielded a Magical Rod that enabled them to transform objects and individuals into different forms.

On the Mound of Tara, they placed the Lia Fail, or the Stone of Destiny, which would roar upon the election of the rightful king.

Lugh possessed an invisible sword that guaranteed victory to anyone who wielded it, and the Cauldron of Dagda was a vessel capable of feeding an army without ever being emptied.

The Tuatha de Danaan also possessed a remarkable boat known as the Ocean-sweeper, which sailed without a traditional sail and could be steered through the power of the sailor’s thoughts. Aonbarr, their steed, was believed to be a flying machine capable of traversing both land and sea.

Where did the Shining Ones come from?

Arriving from the sky on top of Sliev-an-lerin, the Iron Mountain in the County Leitrim, the Shining Ones had to engage in two significant battles before they could establish their authority over Ireland.

Their first battle was against the Firbolgs (also known as the Men of the Bags), which took place at Magh-Tuireadh, where the Tuatha De Danaan used their ability to appear and disappear at will, thanks to their cloaking technique, to confuse the Firbolgs.

In the second battle, the Shining Ones confronted the Fomore, a group of malevolent giants notorious for their raids on Ireland from Tory Island.

Among the leaders of the Fomore was the giant Balor, who possessed the ability to unleash a potent beam of energy, known as the “flux of energy,” to strike his foes across the channel separating Tory Island from Ireland. Accounts of Balor’s appearance suggest that he resembled a machine rather than a living being.

Were the Shining Ones Ancient Aliens?

The History Channel’s Ancient Aliens series covered the possibility that the Shining Ones were an alien race

Many people believe that the Shining Ones were an ancient race of aliens who visited the ancient Irish people.

To someone who doesn’t understand, even the simplest modern technologies can appear to be powerful magic.

An airplane may appear to be a ship sailing through dark clouds, while a television screen can feel like a window to another realm, and a phone can seem like a magical stone that speaks and provides divine guidance.

Those who control such magical tools may seem godlike, with their height, red-golden hair, and sky-blue eyes, wielding powerful and fiery weapons. They may even appear ageless, immortal, wise, beautiful, and terrifying – much like gods themselves.

The ‘magic’ attributed to the Shining Ones could have been misunderstood technology by the local population. Whether this technology was man-made or of extraterrestrial origin is a matter of debate.

It’s possible that these people were migrants from advanced civilizations in our world, possibly displaced by the Great Flood, searching for new homes and bringing with them remnants of their knowledge and technology.

Experts argue that the lack of physical evidence proves that the Shining Ones never existed and are just a myth that helped the ancient Irish people understand their world.

What do you think? Are the Shining Ones an example of an ancient alien civilization visiting earth? Let us know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this article about the Shining Ones you might also be interested in learning about ancient alien sightings or UFO sightings from the early modern era.

A copper man similar to the Copper Man of Portsmouth. Photo: Metamorphisis

The Copper Man was a strange creature sighted over 200 years ago near Portsmouth, UK. It was described as being 4ft tall with glistening copper skin and no facial features.

Description of the Copper Man of Portsmouth

The Copper Man was described as being about 4ft tall, had a muscular build and an unusually large head. The creature had no mouth, eyes or nose. It was copper in color and had a metallic sheen.

The Copper Man wore no clothes and had the ability to fly and walk on water.

Sightings of the Copper Man of Portsmouth

Tipner Lake, Portsmouth, where one of the Copper Man sightings occurred. Photo: Alanth

This paranormal tale may not be as well-known as other spooky stories, but it certainly falls into the category of strange and unexplained phenomena.

Sightings of the Copper Man were first reported in the late 18th century and continued into the start of the 19th century.

A reader of British Paranormal wrote in, telling of some strange information he had found while researching another topic. He found a diary belonging to Henry Albert Brand, a bookbinder who lived and worked in Hampshire in the late 18th century.

The diary chronicled Brand’s various trips in and around the county, as well as personal history and local stories of interest. On September 6th, 1798, an entry in the diary made reference to a tale that left the researcher dumbfounded.

According to the diary, a local vicar had sighted a human with metal skin while walking the country lanes near Farington. The vicar claimed that the man was no more than four feet in height, with a sturdy, muscular body and a large, bulky head.

His eyes were described as being like brightly polished shillings, “glistering” in the midday sun. Strangely, the Copper Man had no mouth, no nose, and no ears, and he wore no clothes.

In the early 19th century, strange sightings of a metallic creature began to cause a stir in the towns surrounding Portsmouth. The first account came from a man named Rand, who documented in great detail the panic that this creature caused in the surrounding areas. Rand noted that the creature had been spotted again near the reclaimed land of Tipner Lake, where a young farmer’s maid had witnessed a man of “metal flesh” emerge from the waters of the bay, walk several meters, and then disappear beneath the surface once again.

Initially, the researcher examining Rand’s diary dismissed the accounts as the ramblings of an insane mind. However, this comfort was short-lived when a second source emerged, a letter written by Dr. Geoffrey Bramwell, that attested to another sighting of a flying metal man causing panic in Portsmouth.

According to Dr. Bramwell’s letter, in 1801, a group of townsfolk gathered to exchange goods and produce in an open-air location near Portsmouth city center when a candle-maker let out a scream of terror. The cause of the scream was a “grim ghoul” with a skin of copper and a terrible countenance that emerged from a nearby copse and launched itself into the sky like a golden bird.

These accounts of the metallic creature caused widespread panic and confusion among the townspeople, leaving them wondering if these sightings were the result of mass hysteria or if there was something truly otherworldly happening in their midst.

What do you think about the Copper Man of Portsmouth? Let us know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this article you might also be interested in the Flatwoods Monster or the Falkville Metal Man.