I would suggest you mine the works of RJ Stewart, John & Caitlin Matthews, AE, WB Yeats, and WY Evans Wentz. I could be more specific of course *if you wish* but sometimes the fun of learning is lost if the information comes too easily. Let me know if you'd like specifics though.

Uilliam

OOps, sorry I repeated myself more or less. Did not see that the first message had gone through is my only excuse.

In your humble opinion . . .

Oh! But there is so much more to them than that, and it's really interesting, cool stuff!

What we know of the Tuatha de Danann is that they are a *legendary* people. That being the case, I would say that it is a rather broad reach to classify them as simply a "group of Celts that followed danu".

Myth most likely has some roots in reality and as such, sure, you might conclude from a literal translation of the name that they were in fact "peoples of the goddess Danu". But is it important, I believe, to discuss them in the context in which they are described.

from wikipedia:

The Tuatha Dé Danann ("peoples of the goddess Danu") were the fifth group of inhabitants of Ireland, according to the Lebor Gabála Érenn (Book of Invasions) tradition. They are thought to represent the gods of the Goidelic Irish; their Christian transcribers' interpretations generally have reduced their stature to historical kings and heroes.

Now that give the discussion an interesting place to go. Were they gods? Were they a real people who became mythologized as gods? what are the roots of the myth? Is there a historical basis for the myths? Any evidence of an invading group of Celts that fit the bill?

Another fork of the discussion might include the roots of the goddess Danu herself:

Based on the evidence of place-names, such as the river Danube (Latin: Danuvius), Dniestr, Dniepr and Don, she may have been worshipped throughout the Celtic world. Indeed, the presence of a goddess named Danu in Hindu mythology, associated with water and mother of a race of Asuras called the Danavas, may indicate a very ancient Proto-Indo-European origin for this figure. The name *dhanu seems to have originally meant "swift".

hmmmm deep roots indeed :)