Tir Na Nog

Tir Na Nog is a location which debuts in Season 4. It is the central kingdom of the Earth Fairies.

Overview
Tir Na Nog is a small island off the coast of Ireland. According to Tecna, it is cannot be found on any map. There, the gate to the Realm of the Terrestrial Fairies can be found. It is also the capital of the Earth Fairies and was as well a sovereign kingdom in ancient times. All the Major Fairies and other Fairy Queens, like Diana - Queen of the Amazon Fairies - and Aurora - Queen of the Arctic Fairies, of Earth take orders from the Fairy High Queen of Tir Na Nog, except, till some extent, Sibylla who, as Fairy of Justice, has to remain neutral and treat friends and enemies, and even Good and Evil people all as being equal and cannot take sides. The fact that even Fairies of Tir Na Nog, under Morgana's direct orders, are not allowed to enter her cave when she has provided shelter to the Wizards of the Black Circle confirms that Tir Na Nog's power has limitations there as it is a sacred place, even if Nebula, due in her hunger for revenge, even proposed to attack and destroy Sibylla's Cave to be able to punish the Wizards, though Morgana was against this.

According to Morgana, Tir Na Nog was, before the arrival of Ogron and his Wizards, a wonderful realm located between the Magic Dimension and the human world (now the non-magical Earth), with magnificent buildings and scenery and the Earth Fairies had contacts with all the other magical realms at this time. Later when the Wizards of the Black Circle started hunting the Earth Fairies, they used the island itself to imprison the fairies. When the Winx freed the Earth Fairies from imprisonment, it was used as headquarters for the short lived revenge campaign against the humans.

The royal palace is where the Fairy Queen lives. In the underground corridors there are the statues of all the previous Fairy Queens who once ruled the Earth Fairies. The palace itself looks halfway between a building and a tree, as it has gigantic roots at its base, and branches with lots of pink leaves.

There is a mountain on three corners of the island, with the inside being covered in vegetation and the other shores being covered with sandy beaches. There are many menhir-like standing stones all over Tir Na Nog.

Pre-Series
In ancient times, Tir Na Nog was a magnificent place located between non-magical Earth and the Magic Dimension and the Fairies protected nature and spread its powers on Earth. Then the Wizards of the Black Circle developed a way of resist to fairy magic and stealing their powers by plucking their wings. They started the Great Fairy Hunt and captured all the Earth Fairies, sealing them into their own kingdom of Tir Na Nog. As, one by one, all fairies of Earth were captured, the Wizards' power grew stronger and wars, intolerance, and all kinds of evil spread on Earth.

It can be seen in flashbacks from the last Season 4 episode that the last fight between Morgana and the Wizards of the Black Circle happened on Tir Na Nog, before Morgana was sealed in her kingdom for good by the Wizards.

Season 4
The Wizards tried to attack Bloom at Alfea, believing she was the last Fairy of Earth as she grew up in Gardenia, while she was in fact from Domino. Faragonda then sent the Winx to Earth, with the mission of restoring magic on Earth and saving the last fairy of Earth, and the Earth Fairies as well. After the Winx gained the Believix powers, they began to make the humans believe in magic, weakening the Wizards and preparing Earth to welcome new Fairies, and they found the White Circle, the opposite of the Wizards' Black Circle.

The island first appeared in a vision when the Winx used their Tracix wings in "A Virtual World", but the Winx did not go there until "The Enchanted Island", to free the Fairies of Earth. The island was not seen again until "The Day of Justice", when the Winx brought the Wizards of the Black Circle there for the trial.

When Morgana put the Black Circle] on her finger during the ceremony, as a sign of the capitulation and the submission of the Wizards to the justice of the Fairies, the Black Circle was destroyed and released dark energy which created a vortex in a large crack in the ground, which led to the Dark Abyss and would suck up all of the Earth Fairies, sealing them away for good and allowing them to take control of Earth. Luckily, the Earth fairies were all saved, and Nabu was able to close the chasm. The dark magic had drained Nabu of all his energy, possibly resulting in him ending in a coma-like state (Morgana said that she would take care of him till he wakes up again).

The Fairies of Tir Na Nog stopped trusting and being loyal to Morgana after this and started plotting against her and Nebula, blinded by her hunger for vengeance, overthrew Morgana, imprisoned her in a magical mirror, and proclaimed herself as the new Queen of the Earth Fairies. She and Aisha, who joined her out of grief for Nabu, led the Warrior Fairies into the Omega Dimension to seek revenge on the Wizards who had fled there. At Tir Na Nog, the Winx and the Specialists had to fight the Warrior Fairies who had joined Nebula and were guarding the palace and finally found Morgana in the mirror.

After revealing that Roxy was the only one who could free her since she was her daughter, Morgana, Roxy, and the other Winx went into the Omega Dimension and managed to convince all the Fairies to give up their revenge, except Nebula and Aisha. After failing to defeat the Wizards, Nebula and Aisha joined forces with the Winx and finally defeated the Wizards. After this Morgana gave up her throne and decided to go live at Gardenia, with her family, for good. Morgana then named Nebula as the new Queen of Tir Na Nog after forgiving her and telling her that since she repented for her actions she was still on the side of good.

Season 6
In "Mythix", the Winx go to Tir Na Nog and meet up with Nebula, who had converted Morgana's castle into a school of Fairies. Nebula shows the Winx the Mythix Wands on display in a vault. According to her, seven fairies from the Legendarium crossed over to the real world and traveled the many worlds of the universe, including Earth. She also mentions that the wands are impossible to hold until a fairy has proven herself worthy before them. Aisha believes they've proven themselves many times from all their battles against the Legendarium monsters. Suddenly, the castle is under attack by the Trix and some witch recruits. The Winx come out and transform. Eldora also transforms to join in on the fight. During the fight, two witch recruits sneak past and enter the castle. Bloom quickly follows them to stop them from getting to the wands and easily dispatches them.

Selina watches from the viewing orb as Acheron is annoyed that the Trix won't share their power with Selina to free him. Selina has another alternative in mind that is Bloom's Dragon's Flame.

Due to the Trix's new amulets, they were holding their own against the Winx, Eldora, and Nebula. Inside the castle, Bloom gets ambushed by Selina, who entangles her with an ethereal snake. The other fairy students try to fight her off but get chased off. She then mocks Bloom at their meeting again and asks if she's happy to see her. Bloom tries to talk sense into Selina that Acheron is too dangerous to be set free and to trust in Eldora. Selina retorts that Eldora is dead to her and that Acheron is the only real friend she has before trying to extract the Dragon's Flame. Bloom gets angry and defiantly blasts Selina back to stop her.

Outside, The powered Trix was overwhelming the others until Bloom comes out. Icy then pursues her into the castle, cornering her into the vault where the wands were at. As Icy was about to launch a powerful spell, Bloom realizes the amulet was giving the witch her power boost. Taking a gamble, Bloom shoots the pendant, destroying it. This also causes Darcy and Stormy's pendants to shatter as well. Realizing their power boost was gone, the Trix and their minions retreat like cowards.

In the vault, Nebula thanks the Winx and Eldora for saving Tir Na Nog, Then to their shock, the Wands phase through the glass display to the Winx and Eldora. Tecna states that this definitely meant they have proven themselves as worthy fairies before the wands. The time has come to enter the Legendarium World.

Pre-Comics
While it is never stated who was exactly responsible for starting up the Great Fairy Hunt in the animated series, Issue 133 of the Winx Club Comic Series reveals that person to have been none other than Yllidith, a wizard who was proficient enough in the dark arts to have mastered illusion magic.

With enough like-minded wizards rallying behind him, Yllidith led this group that would be come to known as the Fairy Hunters to the Island of Tir Na Nog intending to take the castle and wipe out every single Earth Fairy that crossed their path. Many Earth Fairies were lost during this event now known as the "Siege of Tir Na Nog," as the Fairy Hunters proved to be too powerful a force with Yllidith leading them. Nebula was the first of the Major Fairies to encounter Yllidith but, due to still being inexperienced at the time, she was soundly defeated by the Lord of the Fairy Hunters. He remained undefeated during the Siege until Morgana, Aurora, Diana and Sibylla pooled their magic together into a powerful joint-attack against him.

With Yllidith unable to lead the Fairy Hunters, the Siege had come to an end as the remaining Earth Fairies were able to drive them all off of Tir Na Nog, while Morgana had Yllidith imprisoned within the dungeons of the Castle of Tir Na Nog within a cell fortified by her magic with a powerful seal. She then tasked Nebula with monitoring Yllidith to ensure that he would never attempt to break the seal and escape.

Season 4
Tir Na Nog is first made mention of in Roxy the Seventh Fairy and appears through a series of flashbacks as Roxy and the other Winx recount the events of what happened while on Earth to the Fortress of Light Council; including events such as their mission to free the Earth Fairies, as well as the Wizards' trial and their last-ditch effort to eradicate the Earth Fairies during it.

Season 6

 * Issue 133: The First Fairy Hunter

Trivia

 * Tir Na Nog is inspired by the Irish version of the Celtic Otherworld, the island of Tír na nÓg, and its version from the Arthurian legend, the island of Avalon. The Otherworld is the realm where the gods and the spirits of the dead live in Celtic mythology. It is a supernatural realm of everlasting youth, beauty, abundance, health and joy that is elusive but can be visited by heroes or by an invitation by one of its fairy inhabitants. The Otherworld is believed to be located alongside the real world and is located beyond the edge of the world.
 * Tir Na Nog is similarly a parallel realm where the Earth Fairies who once ruled Earth now live and which is accessible only by magic through an island on the west of Ireland.
 * In Irish mythology and folklore, the island of Tír na nÓg, whose name means "The Land of Youth" and is pronounced as "Teer na n-oh-g," is depicted as a supernatural paradise—a realm of everlasting youth, beauty, health, abundance and joy.
 * The inhabitants of the Island of Tír na nÓg are the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Gods of pre-Christian Ireland as well as the land's former inhabitants who left Ireland and settled in Tír na nÓg after humans settled in Ireland. After the Irish converted to Christianity, the Tuatha Dé Danann became fairies in Irish folklore, and Tír na nÓg became associated with fairies.
 * There are similarities between the Tuatha Dé Danann leaving Ireland and moving to their own kingdom after humans arrived and the Earth Fairies being imprisoned in their own kingdom by the Wizards of the Black Circle.
 * Tír na nÓg was also said to be located in the ocean far in the west, beyond the edges of the world, which could only be reached either after a difficult voyage or by being invited by a messenger of the gods.
 * The Island of Tir Na Nog in Winx Club may also draw inspiration from the mythical Island of Avalon of the Arthurian Legend, as it was usually associated with Morgan le Fay, whom more than likely inspired the character of Queen Morgana, and references to the Arthurian Legend had already been made in Winx Club itself when Faragonda first told the Winx the truth behind the Wizards of the Black Circle.
 * Supposedly, Morgan le Fay was said to live on the Island of Avalon with her eight sisters
 * According to legend, the Island of Avalon was an enchanted island that produced good things by itself, meaning that cultivation of the soil was unnecessary, since fruits, cereals and other good things would grow by themselves, and it was here were people could live up to a hundred years. It was also supposed to be the location of where King Arthur's sword, Excalibur, was forged, as well as the location of Arthur's final battle against his evil son, Mordred, which led to his death. It was said that he would rise from the dead to once again lead his people against their enemies.
 * The presence of standing stones all over Tir Na Nog might be another reference to Celtic Mythology since they were probably based on menhirs, which are man-made large stones found all over ancient Europe, and which were once believed to have been used by Celtic priests, known as Druids.
 * Menhirs are found in the largest numbers in the region of France called Brittany, which is associated with the legend of King Arthur, especially through the legendary Broceliande Forest.
 * The Island of Tir Na Nog is also used in another show created by Iginio Straffi and Rainbow S.r.l. called Huntik: Secrets and Seekers, where it appears in its original Irish name, Tír na nÓg.