| abstract | - A Tathlum is by one description a sling-stone and by others a "concrete ball" such as the ancient Irish warriors used sometimes to make out of the brains of dead enemies hardened with lime. Regardless of its origin it was always something that was thrown or hurled through the air. A Tathlum is something that more than likely comes to us from Irish Celtic legend. In particular, the Tathlum comes into play during legends about the Fomor king, Balor. Balor had one eye and to look upon that eye would cause instant death. At the battle of Magh Tuiredh, Balor's grandson Lugh led the clan of Tuatha against the Fomorians. It was during this battle that Lugh killed Balor with a Tathlum shot from a sling which drove Balor's eye out the back of his head, where it continued to wreak its deadly power on the Fomorian army.
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