Crom Dubh

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Crom Dubh or Crum-dubh etc meaning "black and crooked" in Scottish and Irish Gaelic, was a Celtic god, for which see The Voyage of Bran, Book II, p49. It may have been some kind of megalith.

Di-Dòmhnaich crum-dubh – "Crom Dubh Sunday" – is known in Ireland as the first Sunday in August, but in Lochaber is applied to Easter. It appears in the Scottish saying:

Di-Dòmhnaich crum-dubh, plaoisgidh mi an t-ùbh.

"Crooked black Sunday, I’ll shell the egg."

The exact origin of this saying is unknown, but there is some evidence that Crom Dubh was a fertility related god. In later times, he would be considered to be an evil god, and the element "dubh" (black) had sinister sounding connotations.

There may be an etymological connection with cromlech, a term of Breton origin. Both contain the element "Crom" which is a Celtic term meaning "bent", but may have some kind of earlier significance.

[edit] Was Crom Dubh, Crom Cruach?

In The Voyage of Bran, Book II, p49, the dinnseanchas of Magh Slécht is quoted as mentioning the Crom croich/Crom Cruach, or king idol of Ireland. This crom croich is, on pp213, 214, identified with Crom Dubh, but Crom Dubh appears to have had wider currency than Crom croich, and this may be conflation.

This article incorporates text from “Dwelly’s [Scottish] Gaelic Dictionary” (1911)