What is "donn"

According to Irish mythology, Donn, or the Dark One, is the Lord of the Dead and father of Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, whom he gave to Aengus Óg to be nurtured. Donn is regarded as the father of the Irish race; a position similar to that of Dis Pater and the Gauls, as noted by Julius Caesar.

Originally, Donn was the chief of the Sons of Mil, a mythological race who invaded Ireland, ousting the Tuatha Dé Danann. Donn slighted Ériu, one of the eponymous goddesses of Ireland, and he was drowned off the south-west coast of the island. A place near this spot, on a small rocky island named 'Tech nDuinn' ('the House of Donn'), became Donn's dwelling place as god of the dead. This house was the assembly place for the dead before they began the journey to the Otherworld. He is similar in some regards to the Hindu deity Yama.

Knockfierna, County Limerick was Donn Fírinne's residence. Cnoc Fírinne (meaning 'Hill of Truth') takes its name from Donn, who is said to forewarn the local people of bad weather by gathering up rain clouds around him on the hill.

Donn is also associated with Doonbeg, County Clare, specifically the sand dunes located near the modern-day golf course. In modern Irish, the word for the colour brown is "donn".

Donn is the Lord of the Dead in Irish mythology.

Donn may also refer to:

• Donn (given name), masculine given name and byname in Irish
• Donn (surname)
• Donn-Byrne
• Donn Cuailnge, a magical bull from Irish mythology
• Donn Handicap
• 4689 Donn, a main-belt asteroid
• FK Donn, a Norwegian football club

Donn is a given name in the Irish language. Donn was originally a byname, which had two meanings: one of the meanings was "brown"; the other was "chief" or "noble". Its use as a given name today is represents a short form of any of the various of Gaelic names that begin with the first element donn-. A variant form of the name is Don.

Donn is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Edward W. Donn, Jr. (1868–1953), American architect
• James Donn (1758–1813), English botanist
• Jorge Donn (born 1947), Argentine ballet dancer
• Nigel Donn (born 1962), English former professional association football player