The Sixth Century I
Summary.
Describes the political situation of Ireland in the Sixth Century and identifies
the principle ruling
families. The detailed description of the various clans and their warfare
may be skipped.
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Political Situation
Chiefdom of Tara
Over-Chiefs of Tara
Chiefdoms of the North
Chiefdoms in
the South and West.
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Political Situation
Britain
This was the age of Justinian in Constantinople but the remnants
of the Latin Empire were ravaged by wars. Clovis king of the Franks, a Germanic-speaking people, had become a
Christian and adopted the Latin language as spoken in Gaul at the time, and was
beginning to establish the powerful Frankish kingdom. However on his death in
511 the kingdom was divided into four (later three parts) and it was in the
divided Frankish kingdom that Columbanus worked. The Ostrogoths, originally
another Germanic-speaking people, continued to rule Italy
despite the efforts of Justinian to recover it for the Empire. This Gothic
kingdom was by no means barbarian, and the architecture at Raven was equal to
that in Constantinople. In the second half of the century the Ostrogoths were displaced by
the Lombards, yet another Germanic-speaking people.
In Britain,
for most of the century after the battle of Mons Badonicus
the advance of the Anglo-Saxons was checked. After the battle of Deorham in 577
their advance recommenced. It was followed shortly afterwards by the general
conversion of the Anglo-Saxon rulers to Christianity. The Anglo-Saxon rule was
moving towards the west out of the Trent valley and
building up the kingdom of Mercia. No doubt some battles were fought but we can assume that
inter-marriage was common. As we noted earlier we cannot assume that conquest
and extermination were the only or even the principal means of spreading the
use of the English language. The Northumbrians were also exerting pressure on
the British rulers and somewhat later c. 630 Edwin of Northumbria also attempted to conquer Man.
In the north, three British/Welsh chiefdoms
were emerging. The first was Strathclyde around Glasgow that was
its ecclesiastical centre. The church in Glasgow was founded
by St Kentigern (6th cent) but Christianity in the area dated at least from the
time of St Ninian early in the fifth century. This was probably the chiefdom of
Coroticus (Carodoc, or Ceredeg) to whose soldiers St Patrick wrote. The second
was Gododdin, based on Edinburgh. The third, Rheged, was based on Carlisle. These latter two were
to succumb to the Northumbrians in the 7th century.
Further north, in the Highlands and in the north
east, the rival over-chiefdoms of the Picts and Scots had emerged from among
the Caledonian British chiefdoms of Roman times. It would seem that in Scotland
as in Ireland and Wales the fracture between British/Welsh and British/Gaelic had not been
neatly along the seashore. The Pictish language was always distinguished from
British/Welsh. The Picti and Scotti of later Roman times were not
races but the names of clans, usually but not invariably named after the ruling
family. The Picti were also found in Ireland
though there they always in historical times spoke Gaelic. The Scotti too may have spread to Ireland
or even originated in Ireland, but the ruling over-chiefs in historical times came from the Dal Riata of north Antrim. The ruling
family of the Scotti was supposed to be
descended from a chief of the Dal Riata
of Antrim called Fergus Mor
mac Earca. (This Erc/Earca seems to have been the grandmother of the Erc who
married Muiredach and whose son was Muircheartach Mac Earca if the genealogists
can be trusted. But this connection was with the Cenel Eogain. But Erc apparently was married first to Fergus Cenn Fada son of Conall Gulban that would establish a link
between the Cenel Conaill and the
Scottish Dal Riata). The most
important Scottish chief of the Dal Riata
at this period was Aedan Mac Gabrain, and he was 'ordained' king by St
Columcille on Iona in 574. Though Aedan Mac Gabrain drove the Ulaid out of Man he was more preoccupied with
the war against the Northumbrians, and in this he received assistance from the Cenel Eogain. He was defeated and killed
by the Northumbrians in 603. Bede noted that the defeat was so heavy that no
further attacks were made on the Northumbrians up to his own day a hundred
years later. In Scotland as in Ireland there was not centralised government within the provincial
chiefdoms. The over-chief held sway and exacted tribute and assistance in war
from the lesser chiefs when he was able. The Scottish Dal Riata were over-chiefs like the Ui Neill in Ireland
In Wales the
Roman legacy was stronger, and it took longer for the Roman administrative
system to mutate into local chiefdoms. But even there the hereditary principal
of rule by chiefly families was established shortly after the departure of the
Romans. By the end of the sixth centuries the chiefdoms or petty states of
Gwynedd, Dyfed, Powys, Brycheiniog, Morganwg, and Gwent had been formed,
and the Gaelic-speaking chiefs whose influence had extended inland as far as
Brecon, had been brought under control. Wales
enjoyed a period of peace in the post-Roman period and its people clung as far
as possible to Roman things. Most of Wales was
converted at the same time as Ireland.
But Wales had been part of the Empire for several centuries while Ireland
had not. As Evans remarked Wales
enjoyed four centuries of peace after the departure of the Romans during which
Christianity and learning flourished (p.100). About this time Wales was
probably cut off from South West England by the Anglo-Saxon advance though what
difference this made in practice is not clear. Chiefs at this time and for
centuries to come looked only to their own families and made alliances against
the strongest power. For most chiefs the advance of the Mercians or
Northumbrians was no different from the advance of the Eoganacht or Ui Neill and
the practical consequences for himself were the
same. The connection between Wales and
the north British kingdoms probably survived longer until the Northumbrians
reached the sea at Chester. The British kingdoms were under attack from all sides. This did
not inhibit them from attacking their neighbours when they had a chance.
Very little is known
about the British chiefdoms in the southwest. They retained their independence
until the Anglo-Saxon chiefdom of Wessex was
strong enough to conquer them. This did not occur until Wessex was
strong enough to conquer Mercia in the
ninth century.
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Chiefdom of Tara
The list of the over-chiefs or ard ri of Tara is important even though the office was purely symbolic and never
had the significance attributed to it by nationalist historians in the past.
There never was a chiefdom of Tara ruling the whole island. Tara was a religious shrine in the early Iron Age. It is likely that
there was a local tuath in which Tara was situated. At some time
in the Roman period the hill was occupied by a rich person, probably a
merchant. But it could still be important if that was the place where each new
over-chief had to be inaugurated and was the religious centre of the
amphictyony. It would have been a sacred centre for the Laigin before the Ui Neill
captured it. The chieftainship of Tara, which was to have an
ever-increasing symbolic importance, was to be held by various branches of the Ui Neill until Brian Boru seized it in
1002. After that it symbolised the kingship of all Ireland.
The succession of the chieftains of Tara, continuous from about 450 AD, forms a convenient basis for
chronology. It is not obvious what the significance of the chieftainship of Tara actually was. The most
that can be said is that the Ui Neill
regarded it as signifying the overlordship of their group.
The term ard ri (high chief) introduced by the Ui Neill meant only the temporary top
chief of the Ui Neill group. (Similarly ard easbog originally meant high bishop or principal bishop, not
technically an archbishop, though it came to have that meaning.) Ultimately,
towards the end of the first millennium the nominal chieftainship of Tara came in some way to be
regarded as the outward manifestation of the chieftainship of all Ireland.
Kings of Connaught, Munster, and Leinster had to capture and control it. No chief of Tara ever before
controlled the whole of Ireland, but when a chief of Munster like Brian Boru wished to be considered the
legitimate ard ri or high chief of All-Ireland,
he had to get the submission of the nominal chief of Tara. By the same token,
the chiefs of the northern Ui Neill
tried to get control of Armagh when it became recognised as the chief religious centre in Ireland.
Partly for this reason, partly because most of the early records
come from this region, and partly because there is a complete list of
over-chiefs of Tara giving a firm chronology, the chieftainship of Tara is given a central role in
Irish history. It is not clear what the privileges of the ard ri or over-chief were. Like any other ruiri he had the right to receive the
tributes from lesser chiefs of the adore
tuatha, not of the Ui Neill, and
to have had a right to the gifts given to a judge in disputes between members
of the Ui Neill, the soar tuatha. He would also have a
greater honour price, which marked everyone’s status.
Each branch had to sustain the chieftainship with its own resources
and those of the lesser chiefs it had subordinated in its own area. An ard ri from the
northern Ui Neill did not command the
troops of the southern Ui Neill and
vice versa. But by the same token they did not oppose him, and could co-operate
with him and probably often did. There seems to have been for a time among the Ui Neill a family compact that each main
family would be ard ri in turn. Had
this compact not existed, and one branch of the family had succeeded in
dominating the other, it is conceivable that Ireland,
like England and Scotland, could have been united under one king. But as in Wales, no
single chiefly family was able to dominate. From the point of view of uniting Ireland
under a single king, it was unfortunate that two widely separated centres of
power developed a hundred and twenty miles apart across largely impassable
country. How they got from one centre to the other is not obvious, but no doubt
depended largely on intimidating small tuatha
on the way. We can only speculate on the military possibilities of the time.
The chief of a small tuath, hearing
of the approach of a hosting of the Ui
Neill would doubtless have ordered his people to disperse with their cattle
into the woods, while he himself greeted the passing army with a gift of a
number of cattle to hurry them on their way. Among the Eoganacht no such compact existed, so the various branches in each
generation wasted their strength fighting each other.
Irish genealogists distinguished chiefs of the same given name by
adding a memorable nickname. Naoi
Giallach means the one who took the nine hostages; Glundubh means black knee. Brian Boromha (Boru) means Brian who exacted the tribute. The English had
a similar custom for example Edward Longshanks and John Lackland. The Gaelic
scribes never adopted the custom of numbering the chiefs. At times the name of
a man’s father was the only distinction used. Sometimes his grandfather’s name
is added as in ‘son of---the son of’. Even today these added names are very
useful. Mac means son of. Ua,
pronounced O, means grandson of. Ui is the plural of Ua but is normally used generically to denote the entire
four-generation family or clan. (In the twelfth century when fixed surnames
were being adopted, the Ua form was
preferred presumably because it referred to a particular head of a derb fine, and then all members of the derb fine adopted the same name.) Clan
means family, specifically the extended family or derb fine. It was
principally used in Scotland. Later, from the twelfth century onwards O and Mac were used as
surnames of both men and women especially where English was spoken. The names
by which they are known are not those of tribes but of powerful families, like
the Medici and Sforza families in Italy.
In spelling, though not entirely consistently, I
have followed O’Corrain, but preferred spellings with ‘o’ to those with ‘a’ as
being closer to Anglicised spelling. My main aim
is to be comprehensible to those with no knowledge of Irish. There is no easy
way to combine the true Gaelic form of names with English other than in the
nominative singular. When I give pronunciations it is with the aim of providing
a recognisable sounds rather than an accurate one. Pronunciations in any case
varied widely in different parts of Ireland
and at different times. There was and is also the peculiarity that words in the
northern parts of Ireland were strongly accented on the first syllable, and in southern parts
on the second or third syllables. I have not felt it necessary to mark this
stress. Only those who are confident of their use of Irish should use the
accurate forms given in Moody, Martin and Byrne. Readers will notice that mac (son of) and other words are
followed by a name in the genitive. These are however easily recognised. The
nominative singular and genitive plural of tuath
is the same. The genitive singular is tuaithe,
and the nominative plural is tuatha.
This term is not translated, partially because it was a particular social and
economic entity, and partially because there is no equivalent for the word in
English. It was roughly equal in size to a barony, but the connotations of the
words were entirely different.
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Over-Chiefs of Tara
Lugaid mac Loeguiri 485? -507 (Southern Ui Neill).
Muircheartach mac Earca
507-534/6 of Cenel Eogain grandson of
Eogan mac Neill.
Tuathal Maelgarb 534/6-544 son or grandson of Coirpre mac Neill (Southern Ui Neill)
Diarmait mac Cerbaill
544-564/5 grandson of Conall Cremthaine (Southern Ui Neill)
Forgus and Domnal Ilcalgach mac Muircheartaigh
564/5-566 of Cenel Eogain.
Ainmire mac Setnai 566-569 great grandson of Conall mac Neill of Cenel Conaill.
Baetan mac Muircheartaigh and Eochaid
mac Domnail Ilcalgaigh 569-72 of Cenel Eogain.
Baetan mac Ninendo 572-86, distant cousin of Ainmire of Cenel Conaill.
Aed mac Ainmerech 586-98 of Cenel
Conaill.
Colman Rimidh mac
Baetain of Cenel Eogain and Aed Slaine
mac Diarmato 598-604 from whom Sil nAedo
Slaine.
This list is not absolutely certain,
being in places only a best guess (Moody, Martin and Byrne). It was not until
566 that the Cenel Conaill succeeded
in establishing their claim. It will be noted that between 564 and 598 that the
northern Ui Neill held the
chieftainship and that it was not until 598 that the southern Ui Neill regained a hold. From then
until 743 when Clan Colmain succeeded
in establishing its claim and excluding Sil
nAedo Slaine, there was a
three-way contest between Cenel Eogain,
Cenel Conaill, and Sil nAedo Slaine. About the same time Cenel Eogain succeeded in excluding Cenel Conaill. Between 743 and 1002
there was an almost unbroken alternation between Cenel Eogain and Clan
Colmain. Sil nAedo Slaine
virtually excluded themselves by splitting into two
chiefdoms, a fact that was to have other unfortunate consequences during the
Viking raids.
The territories or tuatha ruled
over by the Ui Neill about the
beginning of the sixth century have been described in chapter eight. In the
sixth century the overchiefs of Tara, and consequently overchiefs of the Ui Neill, were as in the list above. The list is not absolutely
certain. (Byrne, in Moody, Martin and Byrne gives the alternatives.) Facts are
more certain in this century, and we are able to piece together snippets of
information particularly with regard to the Ui
Neill which allow us to describe the main events in the century in the
northern half of Ireland. With the exception of Baetan mac Ninendo succession was normally
from father to one of his sons within each branch. It must always be remembered
that the various branches or derb fines
of the Ui Neill always selected the
overchief of their branch on the death of his predecessor even, as was mostly
the case, he was not elected overchief of Tara. Byrne, in the valuable work
cited above, gives partial lists of the chiefs of Cenel Eogan and Clan Colmain.
(Cenel and Clan can be regarded as synonymous.) The genealogy of Baron O’Neill
in Burke’s Peerage, makes a valiant
attempt to list most of the chiefs of the northern Ui Neill. The genealogy of the O’Neills is traced in detail from
Niall Naoigiallach to the present
day, a remarkable record. O’Corrain gives several simplified genealogies.
In the lands of the Ui Neill
the chieftainship of Tara after the death of Lugaid was confined to the
families of three sons of Niall Naoigiallach,
Conall Cremthaine in Meath, and Eogan
and Conall Gulban in Donegal. The family of the first later split into two, Clan Colmain, and Sil nAedo
Slaine the family of Aed Slaine.
These two, with Cenel Eogain and Cenel Conaill, thus formed the four main
branches of the Ui Neill. Later, Cenel Conaill in Donegal was excluded by
their northern rivals the Cenel Eogain,
and Sil nAedo Slaine became too weak
to support the overlordship leaving a simple alternation between the Cenel Eogain and Clan Colmain. Later still, the Cenel
Eogain split up and the main branch the Cenel
Mhic Earca finally divided into the O’Neills and MacLoughlins. When the
latter in turn were excluded at the beginning of the Middle
Ages, various branches of the O’Neills strove for the kingship of Ulster
but were never strong enough again to challenge for the overlordship of Tara by then firmly under the
control of Dublin. (The medieval O’Neills were also called in Irish Ui Neill because they were the direct
descendants of Niall Glundubh, a
later king But Ui Neill in the
earlier centuries refers to families claiming descent from Niall Naoigiallach.)
To simplify, Niall Naoigiallach had sons three of whose
families later became dominant, Eogan, Conall Gulban, and Conall Cremthaine
and other sons among whom were Loeguire and Coirpre
whose descendants could not establish themselves. From Eogan came the chief
northern branch of his descendants, the Cenel
Eogain, through Muirchertach mac Earca (507-534/6). From Conall Cremthaine came the two main branches of
the southern Ui Neill through
Diarmait mac Cerbaill (544-564/5) namely Clan
Colmain and Sil nAedo Slaine. The
difference between clan and sil (sheel), seed of, was probably just
popular usage. From Conall Gulban
came early challengers through Ainmire mac Setnae (566-569), the Cenel Conaill. After 544, the death of
Tuathal Maelgarb son of Coirpre, the overchiefs
were all from these main branches. (If one disbelieves that Niall had two sons
called Conall, he must remember that these tables were constructed by genealogists,
and also that he probably had numerous wives.) It must be kept in mind that at
this period the Ui Neill probably did
not control more than half a dozen tuatha,
three in Donegal and three in Meath.
Lugaid
mac Loeguiri had succeeded Ailill Molt
who was killed in 482, and the Ui Fiachrach of Connaught were excluded from the succession by the battle of Ocha. Most of
the battles of the Southern Ui Neill were against the Leinstermen, as they probably had been for
centuries. The more densely occupied parts of Meath were along its southern
border, while the densely inhabited parts of Leinster were along its
northern side. In places the boundary between them scarcely moved in a thousand
years. Though recorded as fighting the Laigin
probably only a few of the northern tuatha
of Leinster were involved. Also, the battles were probably only with regard to
small pieces of ground along the border. Lugaid was killed in battle with them
in 507. (Dates become decidedly firmer in the sixth century.) He was succeeded
by Muirchertach Mac Earca of Cenel Eogain, the first of the northern Ui Neill to succeed to the chieftainship
and overlordship of Tara. He succeeded to the chieftainship in the time-honoured way by
slaying his rival, Ardgal, son of Conall Cremthaine
(MacNiocall 18f). The northern Ui
Neill began their attacks on the edges of the lands of the Cianacht of Derry and the clans of the Oirgialla, and they were to spend the
next thousand years grabbing land for their ever-growing number of followers.
These small gains were apparently around about the present Derry city, and may have
involved no more than seizing marginal lands useful for founding a monastery.
(The monastery of Derry was founded by St Columcille of Cenel
Conaill in 546.) Besides attacking the
Oirgialla in the north Muirchertach Mac Earca had also to defend Meath
against the Leinstermen, without doubt assisted in this enterprise by the
southern Ui Neill. The southern Ui Neill made some gains in Westmeath.
When Muirchertach mac Earca was
murdered about 534 AD he was succeeded by Tuathal
Maelgarb, grandson of Coirpre,
son of Niall Naoigiallach. Under him a joint attack was made by the
northern and southern Ui Neill on the
Ui Fiachrach Muaide, the branch of
that family around Killala in north Connaught. The point in this joint attack is not obvious but it may be that
the Ui Fiachrach had renewed a claim,
backed by an armed force, to the chieftainship of Tara. The principal chief of Connaught at the time was
called Eogan Bel, and he was killed
by the northern Ui Neill in Tuathal’s
reign.
In 544 Tuathal Maelgarb was assassinated and he was succeeded by Diarmait mac Cerbaill, a grandson of
Conall Cremthaine son of Niall Naoigiallach. A great plague had broken
out in the Eastern Empire in 542 which is said to have killed a third of the total
population. In 545 it reached Ireland.
There it was called the 'First Plague' to distinguish it from the other great
plague a hundred years later, or 'Blefed'
or the 'Yellow Plague' or the Buide
Conaill. It must be remembered that our present system of dating years from
the birth of Christ was devised by the Christian monk Dionysius Exiguus in 525
AD and used by Bede at the beginning of the eighth century. Before that it was
customary to link dates to notable events or great battles. The two plagues
were such events to which lesser events could be related, but the precise
dating of this first plague is doubtful.
Diarmait is said to have been the last chief
to celebrate the pagan rites at Tara. Thereafter we can assume that all the chiefs of Tara were nominally Christian
at least. The pagan rites of inauguration were apparently maintained by the Cenel Conaill until at least the twelfth
century according to Giraldus Cambrensis. Aed Oirnidhe (the anointed) in 797 is considered to be the first
overchief of Tara to be inaugurated with a Christian rite, namely anointing. Diarmait
was involved in the great battle at Cuildreimhne (Culdrevne) in 561 against the
northern Ui Neill. This battle is
chiefly famous for the fact that St Columcille supported his relatives, the
northern Ui Neill, during the battle,
and then allegedly went into self-imposed exile on the island of Iona. Diarmait
was no doubt assisted in the northern battles by Forgus and Domnall Ilcalgach of the northern Ui Neill, but was killed by the Ulaid in 565. To get to the river Bann
they had to bypass the still powerful northern Cianacht, and attempted only to seize lands from tuatha of the Oirgialla, subject to the Ulaid.
The targeted tuatha seem to have been
the Fir na
Croebe and the Fir Li along the
western bank of the Bann. As these survived after the seizure of land by the Cenel Binnig we can assume that the
attacks were only partially successful. The various branches of the Ui Neill at this period seem to have
been only nibbling at disputed border territories. For all we know, the Ui Neill may have been just trying to
gain control over various tuatha
formerly controlled by an earlier ruiri.
But we have absolutely no information on the subject. There was no direct attack on the lands of the Ulaid themselves, nor does it seem that
this was part of Ui Neill policy.
After the death of Diarmait
there followed a disturbed period. He was succeeded as overchief jointly
by two brothers, probably twins, sons of Muirchertach
mac Earca, Forgus and Domnall Ilcalgach of Cenel Eogain who lasted about a year until 566 and died of the
plague. Though Domnall Ilcalgach was
joint over-chief only briefly he was one of the most successful warchiefs of
the period. With his brother, before they became overchiefs, he led armies into
Connaught where they defeated and slew two successive chiefs of the Ui Fiachrach. It was probably with these
two brothers that the awesome reputation of the northern Ui Neill for fierceness in battle began. Then they beat the
southern Ui Neill overchief Diarmait
mac Cerbaill at the battle of Cuildreimhne in 561, defeated the Ulaid in 562/3 at Moin Dairi Lothair and
took some territory probably from their subject tribes west of the Bann, and
defeated the Laigin in 563. This
seizure of land west of the Bann coincides with the expansion of Clan Eochaid Binnig into that territory, but
the connection of the events is obscure. The chiefs are unlikely to have
grabbed land solely for the benefit of their cousins. The battle in 562 was
apparently the first clash between the Ui
Neill and the Ulaid. As noted
above, Diarmait was killed in battle against the Ulaid in 565.
After them,
in 566, followed Ainmire mac Setnai
of Cenel Conaill who lasted three
years, 566-569, before he was slain by Fergus Mac Nelline in a domestic
dispute. He was the first of the Cenel
Conaill to become overchief. His father Setna, chief of the Cenel Conaill had at least two sons,
Ainmire from who were descended the O’Gallaghers, and Lugaid from whom were descended the O’Donnells. St Columcille was also
of this family. He was succeeded by Baithen
mac Muirchertaig and Eochaid of Cenel
Eogain, a son and a grandson of Muircheartach Mac Earca. As these were said
to have been slain by the Cianacht of
Glengiven (Dungiven) in 572 it is clear that the Cenel Eogain had not yet advanced very far out of Inishowen in the
future county Donegal. The overlordship of the Northern Ui Neill over deserted Tara at this period was probably nominal only, or at least that it meant
no more than collecting the tributes. They would not have resided there nor got
possession of the lands about it. They were succeeded, according to some
authorities, by Baetan mac Ninnedo
(son of Ninid) of the Cenel Conaill.
Though Baetan Mac Ninnedo remained the Ui Neill overlord, the most powerful man in Ulster
was in fact Aed mac Ainmire of Cenel Conaill, son of the murdered
overlord Ainmire mac Setnai. He began making a name for himself in 580 by
attacking and killing the Cenel Eogain
chief, Colgu mac Domnaill (Ilcalgaich).
He succeeded Baetan mac Ninnedo as overlord in 586 when the latter was killed
in battle. The regular alternating succession had not yet been established, or
else the Cenel Eogain were unable to put forward a plausible successor. He became
involved in the dispute between the Dal
Riata and their alleged overlords the Ulaid.
At the so-called 'Convention of Druim Cett''
Aidan Mac Gabrain, the powerful chief of the Scottish Dal Riata, sought the assistance of Aed
Mac Ainmire against Baetan mac Cairill,
chief of the Ulaid. He secured an
agreement from Aed regarding the exemption of the Scottish lands from war
service and tribute to the Ulaid, and
agreed to assist Aed with his war fleet when required. It is clear that the
Irish chiefs on the coasts had retained and developed their war fleets, and
were continuing to use them aggressively. MacNiocall in fact considers control
of the fleet was the important point in the dispute (77f). (A conclusion would
seem to be that piracy was always an important factor on the Irish coasts and
did not begin in the fifteenth or sixteenth century. It would also explain the
earlier interest of the Cenel Eogain
and Clan Binnig in the area.) It was
agreed that those of the Dal Riata in
Ireland owed their military service to the 'men of Ireland'
without stating who these were. No allegiance was pledged to the Ui Neill at this stage, though it might
be demanded in the future. Aed had however secured a fleet if he ever needed to
attack the Ulaid. The Ui Neill were clearly not yet powerful
enough, or could not muster enough support from dependent chiefs, to conquer
either the Ulaid or the Irish Dal Riata. The improvement in shipping
and navigation skills which enabled Irish and Scottish tribes to by-pass the
Roman defences had obviously continued. The Irish
Sea joined rather than divided. Control of
the Irish Sea had passed from Roman hands. (Some ancient sources list Baetan mac
Cairill of the Ulaid as overchief of Tara at this time. Whatever
about that, there seems little doubt that the Ulaid were still the most powerful group in the northern half of
Ireland at this time, and that the Ui
Neill were not strong enough to attack them directly. Neither side gave a
priority to attacking the other.)
Aed Mac Ainmire then turned his
attention to collecting the alleged tribute due from the Laigin, being spurred to do so by the murder of his son. Conquering
Leinster
and exacting its tribute seems to have been the major pre-occupation of all the
branches of the Ui Neill at this time
and not the conquest of either Ulster or
Connaught. Kings and chiefs in every age found more enthusiasm for attacks on
rich provinces than on poor and barren ones. Success however came easier in the
poorer regions. The border between Meath and Leinster remained virtually
unbroken until the Leinstermen allied themselves with the Normans at a time
when the southern Ui Neill had
virtually disintegrated. He was resisted by Bran Dubh, chief of the Ui
Chennselaig and Laigin, and was
killed in 598. But his family provided the overlord of the Ui Neill on seven occasions up to 734 when
the Cenel Conaill were
excluded by the Cenel Eogain. Aed mac
Ainmire's son Conall was defeated by Colman
Rimidh of Cenel Eogain in 594(?). Colman Rimidh however shared the
overlordship with Aed Slaine son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill
of the southern Ui Neill from 598 to
604. There is little doubt that the Ui
Neill had devised a system of rotating the overlordship, and if necessary
dividing it between two claimants. Doubtless then each joint overlord retained
the tributes and summoned the hostings from his own zone. The great
preoccupations of an overchief of a province were to collect the tribute from
that province and to secure sufficient warriors for his own hostings. Warfare
was by no means confined to battles between provincial chiefs. It was endemic
everywhere.
[Top]
Chiefdoms of the North
There are abundant references in the old manuscripts to the various
clans or septs in Ireland between 400 AD and 800 AD and we can determine which were the major
or dominant families, and which the subordinate. But those writing the
manuscripts took for granted that their readers were acquainted with the Irish
political and social schemes, and so did not describe them. We know too the
basic structure of the farm, and of the tuath
and of the election of chiefs, and the hierarchy of lords within a tuath, and the hierarchy of chiefs of
the various tuatha. But it is very
difficult to see how they fit together. It is also very difficult to fit them
into the scheme of the political and social structure, with their different
grades of chiefs. As the scheme was changing all the time it is very difficult
to determine conditions in the fifth century, and how they had changed by the
ninth century. Though by the ninth century we are getting closer to the
recognisable conditions of just before the coming of the Normans, where
there was one recognised provincial chief in each province, and a recognised
kingship of all Ireland.
Some larger groups like the Laigin
and the Ulaid were geographically
compact and formed united fronts which made them almost impossible to conquer.
Yet the structure within these groups was the same as everywhere else. In other
places there were numerous small families or tribes, which could be picked off
one by one. Other family groupings like those of the Ui Neill and the Eoganacht
appear to have been very loose. The formation of larger groupings from the
original 150 tuatha seems to have
been progressing steadily. But it is hard to find out if a small group like the
Luigne or Gailenga controlled only a single tuath or a group of contiguous tuatha.
Was there a strong esprit de corps
in a group of tuatha or was obedience
rendered to an over-chief only sulkily and unwillingly. What was the size of
the forces employed and so on? We do know that by the year 1000, there was a
single family in a province which controlled the whole province, paid tribute,
and joined the chief’s hosting either cheerfully or reluctantly. We know too
that the number of relatively independent chiefdoms had been reduced to around
thirty, which formed the basis of the twelfth century dioceses. We know too,
especially among the Ui Neill that
some of the septs cheerfully followed the provincial chief and demanded their
position in the armed host. We know that other septs were almost invariably
hostile to the provincial chief and opposed them whenever they could. The
antagonism between the Cenel Eogain
and the Cenel Conaill was maintained
between the O’Neills and the O’Donnells until the seventeenth century, with the
O’Donnells usually supporting the king in Dublin against
their overlords. But in the fifth century, apart from the names of the greater
and lesser chiefs and where their territories were, we know little.
In Ireland the history of the various provinces proceeded separately, as it was
to do until at least the seventeenth century. There was only a handful of
leading families in each province. Minor chiefs ur-ri (subordinate chief or urragh) were either junior branches of
the leading family, or were survivors from before the time of the conquest of
the leading families. Struggles, in the first centuries, before the Viking
invasions were within the provinces, and thereafter between the leading
families in different provinces. But until the end of the Middle
Ages, each provincial chief had to secure his position first within his
province before striving for mastery outside it.
There was great continuity.
Families identified as important in the sixth century were often still
important in the sixteenth century, but not necessarily occupying the same
places. For example, the Cenel Eogain
of Donegal were represented by the O’Neills of Tyrone
in mid-Ulster in the sixteenth century. The MacCarthys
of Cork represented the Eoganacht of north
Munster in the sixteenth century. The Deisi
of county Waterford had become the O’Briens of county
Clare. Some
once great families like Clan Colmain
might be confined to a single parish by the sixteenth century. So it is worth
while taking time to identify the great families in each of the provinces in
the sixth century. (By the same token, the leading families in the sixth
century AD may have been the leading families in the sixth century BC though
there is no evidence to prove or disprove such a theory.) Though only a handful
of the families or dynasties listed below had any historical importance it is
useful to list them to provide a context for the actions of the important
players. It is impossible for example to understand the course of the Viking
raids without some idea of the fragmented nature of Irish society.
The North or in Gaelic Leath Cuinn Conn’s half) can here be
defined as being north of a line running roughly from Dublin to the Shannon,
and following the Shannon south to the sea. It must be remembered that the
struggles of the over-chiefs of Tara to extend their power was less important militarily than the
struggles of the individual branches of the family to get more land and power
for themselves. Most of the effort of the Ui
Neill septs was put into this ceaseless search for more land
In the fertile area, the Southern Ui Neill continued to conquer territory and extend their overlordship. . We
have seen in chapter eight how in the fifth century they held small and
relatively contiguous tuatha or
groups of tuatha across central Meath
and extending into Westmeath. As among the northern Ui Neill, only two families rose to major importance. The first, Sil nAedo Slaine in the eastern part was
the more powerful until 743 AD and after that date Clan Colmain. The other branches of the southern Ui Neill descended from Niall dwindled
into insignificance. Despite the power and rapacity of the various branches of
the Ui Neill most of Meath was not in
their hands. They owned the richest lands in Meath, but in wilder, more
forested, or more boggy places the older clans held on for a very considerable
time. Also in Meath, there was a
struggle between Fiacha, supposedly another son of Niall Naoigiallach and a chief of the Ui
Failge (Laigin) for the
possession of Westmeath that Fiacha won. Westmeath was thereafter firmly held
by the Ui Neill. But the Ui Failge (Offaly) never gave up the
claim and several hundred years later were still trying to regain their lands
Around them, in the directions of the woods and bogs were the lesser
families. The woodland and bogs, were mostly cultivated in parts, with the population
thinning out towards the great barriers of woods and bogs, that cut Meath off
from the other provinces. Among the other families the Gailenga and their associates the Luigne and Saithne were
widespread. There were also Delbna, Cairpre, and Cuircne and also remnants of the Deisi. The form of these
names is quite different from those of the branches of the Ui Neill or of the clans of Connaught, or the group with -rige in
Munster. They were ruling Leinster families before the advent of the Ui Neill. (See also Loigse
in the northern part of south Leinster, and the Mugdorna,
Conaille, Cuailgne, and Boirche in south Ulster.
The same families are found in Connaught along with the Conmaicne.
The Cianacht of Brega around Duleek
in Meath held on for a long time
though specially targeted by Sil nAedo Slaine who coveted their land, and
who gradually dispossessed them. A remnant of the Cianacht took refuge in county
Louth, and
became known as the Fir Arda Cianacht.
These later, it was said, marched with the Oirgialla.
The form of their name is the same as the Connacht and Eoganacht, and all
three may have been originally religious amphictyonies with names derived from
deities not ancestors. The chiefs of the lesser tuatha were gradually reduced to the state of subordinate chief (ur-ri) and paid tribute. But the
southern Ui Neill do
not seem to have been a greedy or ruthless as the Northern Ui Neill who advanced like a plague of locusts across the province.
While the northern Ui Neill
were largely confined to county Donegal the Oirgialla occupied much
of counties Derry, Tyrone, Fermanagh, Armagh, and Monaghan, and Louth, while
the remaining two counties in Ulster were under the Ulaid. Who exactly these were is difficult
to say, for the name collectively is interpreted as ‘hostage-givers’. It would
seem that these comprised the tuatha
in mid-Ulster to the west of the Ulaid.
Mid-Ulster was largely sparsely populated mountain, forest and bog, but there
were cultivated lands in the valley of the Bann, along the shores of Lough
Neagh, at Ardstraw near Strabane, in the Clogher valley in south Ulster around
Clogher, and in the border area in south Ulster and north Leinster. It is
doubtful if any of these were powerful or extended over more than a few tuatha. This does not mean that they
were particularly backward, and Christianity in Ulster
first spread among them. The dioceses and monasteries of Armagh, Ardstraw and Clogher
were in their lands. It may be that these tuatha
originally paid tribute to the Ulaid,
and then to the over-chiefs of Tara, and finally after 827 to the Northern Ui Neill. The history of Ulster
for the next thousand years was largely an account of the struggles between the
Ui Neill, the Oirgialla, and the Ulaid,
with the Normans butting in from the 12th century onwards, largely eliminating the Ulaid. It was the misfortune of the Oirgialla that they stood in the path of
the greediest, cruellest, and most ambitious families in Ireland.
The Ui Meic Cairthinn were
to the east of Derry city, Ui Fiachrach were
north of the Cianacht of Ardstraw
(near Newtown Stewart, in Co. Tyrone), the Fir
Luirg on Lower Lough Erne, the Ui Cremthainn around Clogher, the Ind Airthir or Ind Oirthir (Orior) in Armagh, the Ui Meith (Omeath) in Co. Monaghan, the Mugdorna (Mourne) in Monaghan and south Armagh.
Fragments of these latter were to survive in the Mourne mountains,
and in the Carlingford mountains. The Dartraige
(Dartry) and Fernmag (Farney) in
south Ulster left their names recorded permanently as place-names, along with
Cremorne of the Mugdorna. The Fir Rois were around Carrickmacross in
Co. Louth. The small clans in the Bann valley, the Fir Li, the Fir Craibe,
and the Ui Tuirtre were victims of an
early Cenel Eogain expansion by Clan Binnig (Binny).
The Oirgialla did not
include all the clans in mid-Ulster One great exception was the northern Cianacht around Dungiven in county Derry
who long resisted absorption by the Ui
Neill. The Cianacht seem not to
have been of the Oirgialla, but to
have been displaced from Meath, probably by the southern Ui Neill, but also possibly by the Laigin. They were around Dungiven and also in the barony of Ferrard
in county Louth (Fir Arda Cianachta). In
general, where family or tribal names are scattered it is impossible to say if
this was the result of earlier conquests, or dispersion after defeat.
Much of St Patrick's missionary work had been among the Oirgialla. After his death the Ulaid and the Ind Oirthir disputed the possession of his church. It is possible
that there were early bishoprics, or at least parishes, among the Ui Neill at Raphoe in Donegal, among
the Cianacht at Ardstraw, and among
the Ui Cremthainn near Clogher, among
the Ind Oirthir at Armagh, and the Ulaid near Downpatrick. These are by no
means certain but the land of the Oirgialla
was one of the places where Christianity was first widely established.
It is difficult to determine who or what the Ulaid were. They occupied
counties Antrim and Down, the two counties later
seized by John de Courci when he was invited to assist one of the warring
factions there, and which later formed the Earldom of Ulster. It may be that
they are connected with the Voluntii
mentioned by Ptolemy. It may be that they and other closely-knit groups like
the Laigin,
were powerful confederacies of tuatha
electing a common chief from time to time.
It was once believed that they controlled the whole of Ulster
from a citadel at Eamhain Macha
(Navan fort near Armagh) but it is now clear that that was a religious shrine not a
fortress. They however have a central role in the Tain, where they are represented as occupying a royal fortress at Eamhain Macha. (The Tain probably either
originated or was adopted in the territory of the Ulaid in the seventh century, but may contain earlier oral material
such as descriptions of chariot fighting.) The earliest reliable date of a
chief of the Ulaid is 537, but there
were clearly chiefs before that going back to the Voluntii. The principal ruling families were not given a common ancestor,
and appear to have been quite separate. The Dal
nAraide (Dal naree) and the Ui
Eachach Cobo (Evach cobo later Iveagh) were counted as Cruithin a word also
used to describe the Picts in Scotland,
though it seems they spoke Gaelic in the fifth century. We no longer know what
the genealogists meant by the term. The Dal
Fiatach supplied most of the chiefs. The
Dal Riata (Dalriada) were a related group in north
Antrim.
The Ulaid in east Ulster
were still powerful at this period, and some Ulster
genealogies claim the kingship of Tara for their king, Baetan Mac Cairill 572-81. Like the Laigin in Leinster they controlled a
definite geographical area, and were united against external aggressors. Though
their organisation into tuatha, and derb fine was the same as in other parts
of Ireland, the fact that they could show a united front to outsiders made
them militarily quite strong. They were also an expansive group. At this time
their objective was across the sea towards the Isle of Man, and the Dal Riata in Ireland
and Scotland had ambitions in that direction also. If the Oirgialla were ‘hostage givers’ rather
than ‘tribute payers’ we can conclude that the Ulaid demanded hostages from them to protect their backs when they
went overseas.
Attempts to exact tribute from the Laigin and the Ulaid seem
rarely to have been successful. In fact the pattern of conquest at this stage
in Irish history closely resembled that of the Normans seven
centuries later. They may have at one time established an overlordship over the
tribes in mid-Ulster, known collectively as the Oirgialla. Though their power
was in county Down (dioceses of Down and Dromore), they may have in the sixth century
controlled and protected, much of Antrim (diocese of Connor), and also much of
Louth, though the people of Louth were normally counted with the Oirgialla (Oriel). It would seem they
were overlords of the minor clans like the
Fir Li and the Ui Tuirtre in that
region. It would also seem that they were the overlords of the Dal Riata (or
at least claimed to be) at the time, and like the Normans much later
they, or their subjects the Dal Riata
may have controlled the northern coast as far as Derry. If this latter is
assumed it would explain an early conquest of land around Derry by Muirchertach mac Earca.
After the battle of Moin Dairi Lothair (562/3) where a confederacy of seven tuatha of the Ulaid was defeated, the Ui
Neill claimed the overlordship of some lands west of the Bann, probably the
parts conquered by Clan Binnig. At
this time the Ulaid were trying to
conquer the Isle of Man which up to that date had been probably been ruled by the British
kings of Rheged. In this ambition they had rivals in the Dal Riata (Riata) of
county
Antrim. The
connection between the Dal Riata and Cenel Conaill is obscure, and also their
mutual ambitions in Scotland. St Columcille belonged to the Cenel
Conaill who apparently also claimed ownership of Iona and the right to the appointment
of abbots from that clan exclusively. The Dal
Riata on the north Antrim coast were largely engaged in fighting on the opposite
coast of Scotland, scarcely more than a dozen miles distant, but also became quite a
considerable power in Ulster. Their Ulster possessions were later to become very important for they came into
the possession of a Scotsman, and led to a large-scale migration of Scots into Ulster.
They also provided the chiefs in the parts of Scotland
they had conquered. As in Wales it
is impossible to say if the Gaelic language was spoken there before their
arrival. The Dal Riata in Ireland were nominally subject to the overlordship of the Ulaid who also claimed tribute from
their lands in Scotland.
In North West Ireland, where the Northern Ui Neill had
established themselves, power was fairly equally balanced between the Cenel Conaill and the Cenel Eogain. The great expansion of the
sub-tribes of Cenel Eogain began
which over the next thousand years was to bring them ownership of nearly all of
mid Ulster. It is dated by the annalists to the battle of Moin Dairi Lothair
in 562/3 after the Ui Neill crossed
Lough Foyle from Inishowen to Magilligan Point (Doherty 40). The Cenel Eogain had by this time
established their principal fortress or palace at Grianan Oiligh (Greenan Elly) commonly known as Aileach. The chiefs
of Cenel Eogain were also called
chiefs of Aileach. It is surrounded by a thick drystone wall which survives to
this day, the wall apparently being built in the sixth century AD which is very
late for this kind of structure. According to the genealogists Eogain had three
sons, Muiredach, Fergus, and Eochaid Binnig
(Ochy Binny). Clan Binnig set out
along the north coast to seize new lands in the sixth century. From Fergus
descended Cenel Fergus who also conquered
lands for
themselves in the Bann valley and in East Tyrone. These families seem to have
been the chief beneficiaries of the victory of Forgus and Domnall Ilcalgach of the Cenel Eogain at Moin Dairi Lothair. The story of the expansion of Clan Binnig is a curious one. They were
perhaps the first of the Northern Ui Neill to break out of Donegal and establish themselves
in mid-Ulster. The fact that the overchiefs of Tara were involved in this
enterprise would lead us to assume that their primary object was to control as
much of the coast as they could, so ensuring that all merchants had to pay them
customs dues. (The Ui Neill later
successfully excluded the Vikings from this part of the coast thus ensuring
that no town was ever built on it. Even to the end of the Middle
Ages, when the chiefs of the O’Neills wished to go shopping, they had to go to
Carrickfergus or Dundalk on the east coast. Derry and Coleraine date from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.)
The distance from Lough Foyle to the next secure port at the mouth
of the Bann is not great. It is also possible to assume that the Dal Riata invited their assistance to
relieve them of the imposts of their overlords the Ulaid. The inducement would have been assistance against minor tuatha on the Derry side of the Bann. By this
time the Cenel Eogain would have controlled the war boats on their own part of the
coast, but welcomed the assistance of the stronger Dal Riata fleet. The Ui Neill
never set themselves up as merchants or traders, preferring to conquer land.
The volume of trading was never great, but there were always luxury items like
wine in demand.
They seem to have started at the mouth of the Lower Bann, having avoided the
strongly held lands of the Cianacht,
and advanced upstream conquering minor clans in a thinly populated area. Their
most successful branch was the O’Hamills who established themselves
precariously on the borders of Tyrone and Armagh. Their lands seem to have been all conquered later by their more
powerful cousins of Cenel Mhic Earca,
and the O’Hamills sought refuge as poets and learned men to the O’Hanlons of
Orior (Ind Oirthir) (Mullin and
Mullan, Brady, Doherty in O’Dowd, Walker and Bell). Other later septs claiming
descent from Clan Binnig were the
O’Toners and the O’Brollys. This was in accordance with the rule that with
every succession the oldest generation dropped out, was excluded from the major
chieftainship, took a new name, and established a new minor chieftainship, or
sept as it came to be called.
Alongside Clan Binnig came Clan Fergus
from whom the O’Hagans, O’Mellans, and O’Quinns who settled west of Lough Neagh
around Tullaghogue west of Lough Neagh They were to form an essential part of
the army of Cenel Eogain. Later the
main branch of the O’Neills, descendants of Muircheartach mac Earca and chiefs
of Cenel Eogain, had their principal
headquarters in the same area before settling in Dungannon. Tullaghogue was centuries later to be the
place where the chiefs of Cenel Eogain
were installed, but obviously was not the original place for installation. The later septs presumably were
dispersed to more marginal lands as the senior branch of the O’Neills took the
best lands. As usual it was a case of dog eat dog.
The main branch of the northern Ui Neill that provided the chiefs was
derived from Muiredach son of Eogan son of Niall Naoigiallach. Muiredach had three sons, Muircheartach mac Earca,
Moen, and Feredach who established sub-clans of their own. They probably at
first took the lands of the Cenel Enda who
never amounted to much. (According to
the genealogists, as noted in an earlier chapter, the northern Ui Neill originated from three sons of
Niall Naoigiallach, Conall Gulban, Eogan, and Enda.) From Moen came
Cenel Moen who struck southwards from
Lough Foyle in the direction of Strabane, and later were known as the powerful
sub-tribe or sept of the O’Gormleys. (Some centuries later the O’Gormleys were in a position briefly to mount a challenge for the
overchieftainship.) From Feradach came the Cenel
Feradaig, who also struck southwards, from whom the McCawells who settled
around Clogher. As some branches of the Ui Neill struck eastward along the
coast, and others struck southward, we can assume that the
Sperrin
Mountains that
lay between them were virtually uninhabited.
From Muircheartach mac Earca came Cenel Mhic Earca, which was to become
the principal line of the northern Ui
Neill. This line was in turn to divide into three. Fergal, the Ui Neill over-chief from 710 to 722 had
three sons, Aed Allan from whom the
O’Lavertys, Niall Frossach from whom
the O’Neills, and Connor from whom Clan
Connor of Magh Ithe (the
Laggan) and later the O’Cahans. (It should be noted that Fergal married as his
second wife a daughter of a chief of the Cianacht,
and her sons were Niall and Connor. It is likely that it was from her that Clan Connor derived a claim to the Cianacht lands which they later
conquered.) Down to 700 AD the
chieftainship of Cenel Eogain
alternated between Cenel Feradaig and
Cenel Mhic Earca, after which the
latter monopolised it. The only overchief of Tara from the Cenel Feradaig was Suibhne Menn (615-28). The Cenel Mhic Earca also managed later to exclude the Cenel Conaill from their turn as
overlord of Tara (Mullin and Mullan 20). (This is only one example. The pattern
was repeated among all the major families in Ireland who
ruthlessly and systematically murdered and robbed their lesser neighbours.)
Muircheartach mac Earca was always called by his mother's name. She was Eirc a
daughter of a chief of the Scots of Argyle (Dal Riata), and was married at first to
a British chief. She, by her third husband Fergus Cennfada mac Conaill mac Neill, was reputed to have had two sons,
one of whom was the father of St Columcille. Divorce and wife-swapping were not
unknown, to say the least.
Cenel
Conaill ultimately was not so successful as Cenel Eogain but at one point seemed to
be the dominant partner. The latter had the geographical advantage of
controlling one of the two easy routes into Ulster.
The Cenel Moen (O’Gormley) branch of Cenel Eogain could fairly easily reach
Lough Erne by advancing up the valley of the Foyle. It took the Cenel Conaill several centuries to gain even
a foothold on Lough Erne through the mountains of Donegal. A large-scale map of
Lower Lough Erne shows that county Donegal just manages to touch the lough. Cenel Conaill were forced to look back in
the direction from whence they came, and they became perpetually, and with
uneven success, embroiled in the affairs of North
Connaught. It is difficult to estimate the
precise amount of hostility between the various branches of the Ui Neill, but St Columcille, of the
ruling family of Cenel Conaill, seems
to have been widely accepted among all the branches of the Ui Neill before the disputes which led to Cuil Dreimhne broke out.
The Oirgialla seem to have come under
the domination of the over-chief of Tara, and it was not for some centuries that they were placed under the
northern Ui Neill. The Ui Neill also seem
to have claimed overlordship of the Dal
Riata. But the history of the fifth century is too obscure to provide
explanation.
It does not seem that the Ui Neill had made much progress in their
conquest by the end of the century apart from the settlements and conquests of Clan Binnig in the valley of the lower
Bann. Nevertheless, as a military power, they were at least the equal of the
old-established Ulaid.
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Chiefdoms in the South and
West.
The annalists have provided us with
quite detailed information about the northern half of Ireland.
Reliable information about the rest of Ireland is
scarce. These were the chiefdoms in Leath
Mogha, the southern half of Ireland,
as well as west of the Shannon.
The whole of the present province of
Leinster seems
to have been under the dominance of the Laigin
or Lagenians at the beginning of the fifth century, but the north-eastern part,
including the sacred site at Tara was seized from them by the Southern
Ui Neill at some point. As noted earlier, the Laigin were probably a confederation of tuatha. Legends about St. Patrick place the Ui Neill in occupancy of Tara, but there is great doubt about the dates of his mission. At some
stage too the Ui Neill tried to
impose and enforce a tribute from the Laigin
which was always resisted.
The Lagenian chiefs of the reduced Leinster were a match for the Ui Neill. Their northern frontier was
well-protected by wide-spreading bogs. Surprise attacks from
either side was out of the question. An advancing army would have to
take a circuitous route to the east or west of the bogs through tuatha held by tribes which were at
least neutral and which would take care to notify the defending chief in good
time to prepare his host. Their southern frontier was similarly well protected
by mountains, bogs, and woods. It was to become even better defended when the Osraige (Ossory) established themselves
in rough country between the Nore and the Suir, and formed a doubly effective
barrier against the Eoganacht. Leinster, thus guarded, was like a separate island.
The leaders of the Laigin
in the fifth century were the Dal Mesin
Corb but they were later displaced, and dispersed. St Kevin was from this
family being the eighth in descent from Mesin Corb. The family would have still been powerful in the sixth
century. There was another family called the Ui Dega that was also reduced to underchiefs. Other tribes like the
Loigse and the Ui Failge who seem to
have established themselves at least as mesne chiefs or ruiri by the fifth century and remained powerful local
cattle-raiders until the end of the Middle Ages. Their
names survive in the counties Laoighis or Leix and Offaly where they were respectively dominant. The Ui Failge seem to have belonged to the
confederacy of the Laigin and to have
claimed kinship with the later dominant Ui
Dunlainge, from whom they had to defend their territories as well as from
the Ui Neill. For only two brief
periods in the next thousand years did Leinster chiefs aim at the domination outside their province.
Once was in the twelfth century under Diarmait MacMurrough, and the other was
in the late Middle Ages under Gerald Fitzgerald, the Great Earl of Kildare.
The ri
ruirech or provincial chief, when such developed, was normally from the
northern part of the province, namely Kildare, where the Fitzgeralds were later
to establish their great stronghold. The list of the Leinster over-chiefs goes back
to the fifth century. The first on which modern historians rely was Cathair Mor, who was
followed by his son Fiachu mac Cathair and grandson, Bressal Belach mac Fiachach who died about 435.
A complete list of dates of regnal years is not found before 597. The six chief
ruling families from whom the over-chief was elected, the Ui Mail, the Ui Bairche,
the Ui Enechglaiss, and the Ui Garrchon, and the two families
descended from Bressal Belach,
grandson of Cathair Mor, the Ui Dunlainge and the Ui Chennselaig (O’Kinsella), were given
a common ancestor called Cu Corb.
Bressal Belach is given a date for
his death in 435/6 AD. Until the eleventh century the chieftainship was
virtually monopolised by the Ui Dunlainge
who were from the north of the province, around Kildare. But the first of them
does not appear until 527. It is impossible to determine how many tuatha, if more than one,
that these families controlled in the fifth or sixth centuries.
The Ui Failge were to
continue until the reign of Mary Tudor (1553-58) when their lands were
confiscated, though the Ui Neill and Ui Dunlainge had been replaced to the
east and north of them by Norman and English lords. The Ui Chennselaig as the MacMurrough Cavanaghs, though deprived of the overlordship of Leinster, survived until the
reign of Elizabeth as chiefs in south Leinster. They were driven out of the fertile lands into the more forested
and boggy lands. Then, like most of the other Gaelic chiefs, they made their
peace with the crown, became Protestants, and occupied places of importance
under the crown until 1921. Not all of the clans identified in the sixth
century survived in power until the twentieth century, but a surprising number
did.
Munster is not easy to describe. It seems to have been thinly populated.
Like the other provinces it was protected by a thick barrier of woods, bogs,
and mountains. But for no obvious reason, much of it seems to have been
unoccupied.
Almost nothing is known of Munster after
Oengus mac Nad Froich
of Emly. Emly, later overshadowed by the richer diocese of Cashel, was perhaps
the first diocese in Munster. In an account of St Colman of Cloyne, it is stated that Aed Caomh was baptised and became the first
Christian king of Cashel in 570, and there may be some truth in this. But it is
clear from the Life of St Brendan of
Clonfert for example that Christianity had been firmly established in Kerry and
Limerick
long before that. Feidlimid mac Tigernaig of the Eoganacht Raithlind who died in 590 is the first king of whom there
are reliable annalistic accounts. The common ancestor assigned in the
genealogies to the various branches of the
Eoganacht was Conall Corc father
of Nio or Nad Froich.
The only Munster chief in the fifth century assigned a somewhat reliable date is
Oengus mac Nad Froich
(d. 49/492). So it is likely that the expansion of the Eoganacht, like that of the Ui
Neill occurred in the fifth century. This may just have been a coincidence
and not connected with any wider disturbances. On the other hand, a period of
intense slave-raiding was liable to produce rich and powerful leaders of
warbands who were then able and willing to conquer their weaker neighbours at
home.
But like the Ui Neill in
the North the various branches of the Eoganacht
(Owenacht) and the Deisi continued to
establish themselves at the expense of the other chiefly families. There were
several branches of the so-called family that may have been in origin separate
warbands connected only by the name of their deity.
Like the Ui Neill they
were divided into two major groups a northern one and a southern one. The
southern one comprised the Eoganacht Loca
Lein around Killarney in western Kerry, and the Eoganacht Rathlind in south Cork. In more than
one instance in this part of Ireland
one gets the impression that communication was by sea. The mariners who
supplied information to Ptolemy knew where the mouth of the Shannon was. So we could look
on these coastal communities as nest of pirates, a tradition that was
maintained until the seventeenth century when the West Indies proved more
lucrative and less risky. The northern or eastern group included the Eoganacht Caisil (Cashel), Eoganacht Aithir Cliath, Eoganacht Aine, and
the Eoganacht Glenamain. Their
territories stretched along the Suir and its tributaries. This was a compact
group though they never succeeded in occupying all the land within their
territory. There were also several smaller dispersed families of the Eoganacht who never amounted to much.
The Eoganacht never seem to have had
the same ruthless desire to expropriate the property of others clans such as
was shown by the Cenel Eogain in the
North, and later by the Deisi, but
contented themselves with tribute and assistance in warfare.
The Eoganacht seem to have
had closer links with Britain than the chiefs further north. The Eoganacht league, with their subordinate warrior bands known as the
Deisi seem to have established an
overlordship over earlier families like the Corcu
Loegde, the Altraige (Altree), the Muscraige (Muskerry) and the Ciaraige
(Kerry). Some place the place of origin of the Eoganacht around Killarney. Others give them a British origin. As
the Deisi were found around
Waterford it is
possible that they had close connections with south Wales.
Service in the Roman army would have given them and their masters the Eoganacht an edge in battle. Cashel,
the stronghold of the Eoganacht, and
not a sacred site, is said to be derived from the Latin castellum. It is in the parts of Munster controlled
by the Deisi that the majority of
'ogham' inscriptions are found. These inscriptions are based on the Latin
alphabet. There are also common in south Wales.
They are dated between 350 and 600 AD and record the oldest form of Irish.
Little is known about Munster before the second half of the sixth century.
The expansion of the Eoganacht
and Deisi need not ante-date the
fifth century, i.e. after the withdrawal of the Roman armies from Britain
in 410 AD. The history of Munster for the next thousand years was that of the expansion of these two groups of tribes, and then their contest
for supremacy, with the Normans intervening from the 12th century onwards. But in the early part of
the period the domination of these two groups, which seemed to have lacked the
internal cohesion of their northern counterparts, was far from complete. From
the Eoganacht came the O’Kirbys, the
O’Moriartys, the O’Cahills, the O’Carrolls, the O’Flynns, the O’Donoughues, the
O’Mahoneys, the various MacCarthys, the O’Sullivans, the O’Callaghans, and the
O’Keefes, who in the Middle Ages were to occupy most
of Munster. From the Deisi came the
O’Briens, O’Kennedys, the O’Ryans, the MacMahons and MacNamaras. The Deisi were
subordinate to the Eoganacht. Their original home in Munster was in
Waterford, in an
area called the Decies. Some think they were originally from Meath where there
was a small tribe with a similar name. They conquered lands on the north bank
of the Shannon, forcing the original occupants further west and north. Gradually
they became more powerful than the Eoganacht and forced them out of north
Munster into south
Munster. Their most famous chief was to be Brian Boru who achieved kingship of all Ireland
in 1002. From him came the O’Briens, chiefs and earls of Thomond.
By the end of the sixth century the Osraige seem to have established their independence of their Corcu Loegde overlords and begun
establishing the middle-ranking border chiefdom of Ossory. Just south of the Shannon estuary lay the lands
of the Ui Fidgente. They became mesne chiefs in the area, and were powerful
for several centuries. Then the chiefdom broke up into warring factions, and
their lands, after being disputed over by the O’Briens and McCarthys, were
finally distributed to Norman adventurers. There seem to have been other groups
competing with the Eoganacht for dominance, but ultimately unsuccessfully.
Among these were the Muscraige
(Muskerry) and the Ciaraige (Kerry),
and the Corcu Loegde, who established
themselves outside their home tuatha
in various places. They too may have originated in confederations of warbands
raiding Britain. The Muscraige were along
the river Lee. In the very north of the province, almost in the centre of Ireland
were small peoples, many probably no larger than a tuath, who never succeed in
growing. Some of them may have taken refuge in uninhabited areas when their
lands were taken by the more successful groups. The most important of these was
the Eli.
Finally, there was the province of
Connaught The history of Connaught was linked with that of the Ui
Neill, and so we have considerable knowledge of it. The leading families
were the Ui Fiachrach, and the Ui Briuin. The Ui Briuin did not establish their dominance over the Ui Fiachrach, until at least the middle
of the eighth century. These, along with the Ui Neill, were assigned a common ancestor called Echu Mugmedon. Another leading family was the
Ui Maine, who ruled parts of the
province as mesne kings. Tradition had it that by the battle of Ocha, forty
three years after the coming of Patrick, the Connaught families were
excluded from the group from which the chief of Tara was selected. Whatever was
the nature of the chieftainship of Tara the Ui
Fiachrach claimed a right to it, and one, or perhaps two members of the Ui Fiachrach, Nath I and Aillil Molt attained
that honour in the 5th century before the battle of Ocha. Succession lists and
genealogies are as complete as those of the Ui
Neill and are without the gaps or omissions common in the other provinces.
The first provincial chief of Connaught of whom we can be reasonably certain is given as Amalgaid mac
Fiachrach. (From him is derived the name Tir
Amalgaid (Tyrawley.) Though no dates are given for him he preceded Nath I mac Fiachrach (d.445) and Aillil Molt mac Nath I (d. 482). Aillil Molt
succeeded Amalgaid as provincial over-chief. The third over-chief in the fifth
century is given as Daui Tengae Umai
mac Briuin of the Ui Briuin.
Domnall Ilcalgach of the Northern Ui Neill killed Eogan Bel, the
fourth provincial chief of Connaught in 538 (or 543 or 547), during a joint attack by the Ui Neill but this we know from the
northern annals. Domnall Ilcalgach
slew the next king of Connaught Aillil Inbanda
the son of Eogan Bel in 549 or 550,
and with his death the line of Aillil Molt
came to an end. The Ui Briuin Ai provided the over-chiefs
for the rest of the sixth century.
From other sons of Nath I came the Ui Fiachrach
Muaide and the Ui Fiachrach Aidne who
provided overchiefs in the seventh and eighth centuries. After Daui Tengae Umai (d. 502) the Ui Briuin split into the Ui Briuin Breifne, the Ui Briuin Ai, and the Ui Briuin Seola. The Ui Briuin Ai were in Roscommon, (seen by
some as the common original place of the ruling families of Connaught and of
the Ui Neill), the Ui Briuin Breifne across the Shannon in
north west Leitrim, and the Ui Briuin
Seola east of Lough Corrib. The first two were in the eastern strip of
dioceses, while the latter lay between the two branches of the Ui Fiachrach in the western strip. The Ui Fiachrach Muaide were around Killala,
the Ui Fiachrach Aidne in south
Galway, From the Ui Briuin Seola came
the O’Flaherty sept in the Middle Ages after having being forced to the west of
Lough Corrib, from the Ui Briuin Ai
came the O’Connors, the dominant Gaelic sept in the Middle Ages in Connaught,
and from the Ui Briuin Breifne came
the O’Rourkes of Breifne. The Ui Briuin
Ai spread out into the western strip of dioceses that clearly had the best
land. This strip was to be occupied by the Normans.
Also in Connaught were the Ui Maine. These latter claimed descent from
the Oirgialla. Smaller clans were the
various branches of the Conmaicne,
the various branches of the Ciaraige,
and the Luigne and Gailenga. As in north Munster there were
quite a number of the smaller tribes, so some historians conclude that they
were broken or dispersed clans. Various stories indicated that the Fir Bolg were at this time being
displaced, and finally rooted out of their last stronghold in the Aran Islands. The Fir Domnainn (Dumnonii?) and the Fir Bolg (Belgae?) were both associated
with this province. That the Belgae
and the Dumnonii, both living in
southern Britain, should have invaded Ireland
about the same time would not be surprising, but why did they end up in Connaught?
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