Érenn

Érenn is an old Irish-language term used in medieval and earlier Irish literature to denote the island of Ireland. In many texts it is used to refer to the land of Ériu and to Ireland as a political and geographical entity, with the name often translated simply as "Ireland."

The term is etymologically linked to Ériu, the goddess-personification of the land from whom the modern Irish names for Ireland are derived. In various sources, Érenn is employed as a poetic or ethnographic designation for the country, highlighting its mythic origins and identity.

In literature, the most famous instance of Érenn appears in Lebor Gabála Érenn, The Book of the Taking of Ireland, a medieval compilation that recounts Ireland’s mythic past and the successive invasions and settlements that formed its population. In such works, Érenn functions as the land and people of Ireland, sometimes appearing as a plural or collective designation for the island.

Today, Irish usage typically favors Éire for the state and Éireann for Ireland in general, with Érenn mostly confined to historical, mythological, or scholarly contexts rather than contemporary geography. See also Lebor Gabála Érenn, Ériu, Éire, Éireann.