Mairtine
Encyclopedia
The Mairtine were an important people of late prehistoric Munster
, Ireland
, who by early historical times appear to have completely vanished from the Irish political landscape. They are notable for their former capital, Medón Mairtine, becoming the chief church of the later Eóganachta
, namely Emly
.
Geoffrey Keating
's History of Ireland includes the following section, which may refer to the eponymous ancestor of the tribe:
This would make Mairtine mac Sithcheann a gr-gr-gr-gr-grandson of Breogán
mac Brath, mythical king of Galicia. Breogan's grandson, Míl Espáine
, was the father and uncle of the first Goidelic people to settle in Ireland
.
Eochu Apthach, Mairtine's gr-gr-gr-grandson, is given as a member of the Corcu Loígde
. His reign is variously given as the 6th/5th, 7th, or 8th, century BC.
However, it is nowhere explicitly stated that Mairtine mac Sithcheann was the eponym of the Mairtine people. Plus, the Mairtine people are accorded status of Fir Bolg
, who were predecessors of the Gaels.
, County Tipperary
, was the central capital of the tribe. It is due west of Tipperary
town, which is due west of Cashel
, seat of the historic kings of Munster. It is therefore at what can be roughly regarded as the geographic centre (or middle, medón) of Munster.
In an essay of 2000, Nollaig Ó Muraíle
notes the remote possibility that the Mairtine Mór "might just" have been located in Connacht
, though he does not specify where.
.
Importantly, Dáibhí Ó Cróinín
notes that in one tradition, preserved in the Book of Lecan's still unpublished genealogies, the Mairtine are said to have been expelled from the north of Ireland, or Leth Cuinn, and to have settled in the territory later known as In Déis Tuaisceirt, which would become Dál gCais
.
date Conmael's reign of thirty years ending in Anno Mundi
3579.
These annals further state that Angus Olmucahda (Óengus Olmucaid), who died in Anno Mundi
3790, had defeated them in "the battle of Cuirce, the battle of Sliabh Cailge, against the Martini, in the territory of Corca Bhaiscinn." The territory of Corcu Baiscind
lies within what is now County Clare
.
Munster
Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, who by early historical times appear to have completely vanished from the Irish political landscape. They are notable for their former capital, Medón Mairtine, becoming the chief church of the later Eóganachta
Eóganachta
The Eóganachta or Eoghanachta were an Irish dynasty centred around Cashel which dominated southern Ireland from the 6/7th to the 10th centuries, and following that, in a restricted form, the Kingdom of Desmond, and its offshoot Carbery, well into the 16th century...
, namely Emly
Emly
Emly or Emlybeg is a village in South Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Clanwilliam. It is also an Ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly....
.
Mairtine mac Sithcheann
Geoffrey Keating
Seathrún Céitinn, known in English as Geoffrey Keating, was a 17th century Irish Roman Catholic priest, poet and historian. He was born in County Tipperary c. 1569, and died c. 1644...
's History of Ireland includes the following section, which may refer to the eponymous ancestor of the tribe:
"Eochaidh Apthach (Eochu Apthach) son of Fionn, son of Oilill, son of Flann Ruadh, son of Rothlan, son of Mairtine, son of Sithcheann, son of Riaghlan, son of Eoinbhric son of Lughaidh, son of Ioth, son of Breoghan (BreogánBreogánBreogán son of Brath was a mythical Celtic king from Galicia. Various accounts exist of this mythological father of the Galician nation. His sons were Ith and Bile . Bile was the father of Mil Espaine....
), held the sovereignty of Ireland one year; and he was called Eochaidh Apthach because of the number who died in Ireland in his time; for the plague or other disease seized upon the men of Ireland each month, from which many of them died; hence the name Eochaidh Apthach clung to him; for apthach means 'fatal'; and he himself fell by Fionn son of Bratha."
This would make Mairtine mac Sithcheann a gr-gr-gr-gr-grandson of Breogán
Breogán
Breogán son of Brath was a mythical Celtic king from Galicia. Various accounts exist of this mythological father of the Galician nation. His sons were Ith and Bile . Bile was the father of Mil Espaine....
mac Brath, mythical king of Galicia. Breogan's grandson, Míl Espáine
Míl Espáine
In Irish origin legends, Míl Espáine or Míl Espáne is the ancestor of the final inhabitants of Ireland, the "sons of Míl" or Milesians, who represent the vast majority of the Irish Gaels....
, was the father and uncle of the first Goidelic people to settle in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
Eochu Apthach, Mairtine's gr-gr-gr-grandson, is given as a member of the Corcu Loígde
Corcu Loígde
The Corcu Loígde , meaning Gens of the Calf Goddess, also called the Síl Lugdach meic Itha, were a kingdom centered in West County Cork who descended from the proto-historical rulers of Munster, the Dáirine, of whom they were the principal royal sept...
. His reign is variously given as the 6th/5th, 7th, or 8th, century BC.
However, it is nowhere explicitly stated that Mairtine mac Sithcheann was the eponym of the Mairtine people. Plus, the Mairtine people are accorded status of Fir Bolg
Fir Bolg
In Irish mythology the Fir Bolg were one of the races that inhabited the island of Ireland prior to the arrival of the Tuatha Dé Danann.-Mythology:...
, who were predecessors of the Gaels.
Medón Mairtine
This term has been translated as middle of the Mairtine [nation], indicating that modern-day EmlyEmly
Emly or Emlybeg is a village in South Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Clanwilliam. It is also an Ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly....
, County Tipperary
County Tipperary
County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...
, was the central capital of the tribe. It is due west of Tipperary
Tipperary
Tipperary is a town and a civil parish in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,415 at the 2006 census. It is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and is in the historical barony of Clanwilliam....
town, which is due west of Cashel
Cashel, County Tipperary
Cashel is a town in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 2936 at the 2006 census. The town gives its name to the ecclesiastical province of Cashel. Additionally, the cathedra of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly was originally in the town prior to the English Reformation....
, seat of the historic kings of Munster. It is therefore at what can be roughly regarded as the geographic centre (or middle, medón) of Munster.
In an essay of 2000, Nollaig Ó Muraíle
Nollaig Ó Muraíle
Nollaig Ó Muraíle is an Irish scholar. He published an acclaimed edition of Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh's Leabhar na nGenealach in 2004. He was conferred with the honour of admittance to the Royal Irish Academy in 2009.-Life and career:...
notes the remote possibility that the Mairtine Mór "might just" have been located in Connacht
Connacht
Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...
, though he does not specify where.
Ethnicity
The Mairtine are typically given as an Érainn people in the early sources and by scholars, but their precise relation to the better known Érainn septs of historical times has been lost to history. In a late poem they are given as one of the tribes of the Domnainn, and are elsewhere, in popular tradition, said to have belonged to the mythological Fir BolgFir Bolg
In Irish mythology the Fir Bolg were one of the races that inhabited the island of Ireland prior to the arrival of the Tuatha Dé Danann.-Mythology:...
.
Importantly, Dáibhí Ó Cróinín
Dáibhí Ó Cróinín
Dáibhí Ó Cróinín is an academic Irish historian, the current Professor of History at the National University of Ireland, Galway . M.Phil., Ph.D. , and Member of the Royal Irish Academy. He is a grandson of Elizabeth Cronin , an Irish traditional singer...
notes that in one tradition, preserved in the Book of Lecan's still unpublished genealogies, the Mairtine are said to have been expelled from the north of Ireland, or Leth Cuinn, and to have settled in the territory later known as In Déis Tuaisceirt, which would become Dál gCais
Dál gCais
The Dál gCais were a dynastic group of related septs located in north Munster who rose to political prominence in the 10th century AD in Ireland. They claimed descent from Cormac Cas, or Cas mac Conall Echlúath, hence the term "Dál", meaning "portion" or "share" of Cas...
.
The Annals of the Four Masters
The Annals of the Four MastersAnnals of the Four Masters
The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history...
date Conmael's reign of thirty years ending in Anno Mundi
Anno Mundi
' , abbreviated as AM or A.M., refers to a Calendar era based on the Biblical creation of the world. Numerous efforts have been made to determine the Biblical date of Creation, yielding varying results. Besides differences in interpretation, which version of the Bible is being referenced also...
3579.
These annals further state that Angus Olmucahda (Óengus Olmucaid), who died in Anno Mundi
Anno Mundi
' , abbreviated as AM or A.M., refers to a Calendar era based on the Biblical creation of the world. Numerous efforts have been made to determine the Biblical date of Creation, yielding varying results. Besides differences in interpretation, which version of the Bible is being referenced also...
3790, had defeated them in "the battle of Cuirce, the battle of Sliabh Cailge, against the Martini, in the territory of Corca Bhaiscinn." The territory of Corcu Baiscind
Corcu Baiscind
The Corcu Baiscind were an early Érainn people or kingdom of what is now southern County Clare in Munster. They descended from Cairpre Baschaín, son of Conaire Cóem, a High King of Ireland. Closely related were the Múscraige and Corcu Duibne, both of Munster, and also the Dál Riata of Ulster and...
lies within what is now County Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
.
Kings
- Dáire CerbbaDáire CerbbaDáire Cerbba was an Irish dynast of uncertain origins, named in many early and late sources as the grandfather of the semi-mythological Mongfind and Crimthann mac Fidaig, and the most frequently named early ancestor of the historical Uí Liatháin and Uí Fidgenti...
, a well known Munster dynast, ancestor of the Uí FidgentiUí FidgentiThe Uí Fidgenti or Wood-Sprung People were an early kingdom of northern Munster, situated mostly in modern County Limerick, but extending into County Clare and County Tipperary, and possibly even County Kerry and County Cork, at maximum extents, which varied over time...
and Uí LiatháinUí LiatháinThe Uí Liatháin were an early kingdom of Munster in southern Ireland. They belonged the same kindred as the Uí Fidgenti, and the two are considered together in the earliest sources, for example The Expulsion of the Déisi...
, stated in the strange epic Forbhais Droma Dámhgháire to have been king of Medón Mairtine
- Luath, Indell and Eoghan are listed as three kings of the son of the king of the Mairtine of Munster in Acallamh na Senórach ("Luath & Indell & Eogan tri meic rig Mairtine Muman aníar.").
Metrical Dindshenchas
The Metrical Dindshenchas includes a passage which mentions "The three active Red Wolves of the Martine quenched the sturdy strength of the famous man: they took his head from him, whatever came of it." This may be a reference to Luath, Indell and Eoghan in Acallamh na Senórach .Other resources
- Edmund Hogan, DOI: Onomasticon Goedelicum (M)
- Mumu by Dennis Walsh