Cailleach
In Gaelic mythology (Irish, Scottish and Manx) the Cailleach (Irish pronunciation: [ˈkalʲəx], Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: [ˈkaʎəx]) is a divine hag, a creator deity and weather deity, and an ancestor deity. She is also commonly known as the Cailleach Bhéara(ch) or Bheur(ach). The word cailleach means "hag" in modern Scottish Gaelic, and has been applied to numerous mythological figures in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.
Name
Cailleach ("old woman" or "hag" in modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic) comes from the Old Gaelic Caillech ("veiled one"), an adjectival form of caille ("veil"), an early loan from Latin pallium (displaying the expected /p/ > /c/ change of early loans).
The Cailleach is often referred to as the Cailleach Bhéara(ch), Cailleach Bheur(ach), or variations thereof. It is suggested that this refers to the Beara Peninsula in southwestern Ireland, with which the Cailleach is strongly associated. However, Professor Gearóid Ó Crualaoich believes that it comes from a word meaning "sharp, shrill, inimical" – bior(ach) or beur(ach) – and refers to the Cailleach's association with winter and wilderness.