O'Rahilly's historical model
Encyclopedia
O'Rahilly's historical model is a theory of Irish prehistory
put forward by Celt
ic scholar T. F. O'Rahilly
in 1946. It was based on his study of the influences on the Irish language
and a critical analysis of Irish mythology
.
He distinguished four separate waves of Celtic invaders:
O'Rahilly's work was and remains influential but much of his linguistic work has since been refuted by noted authors such as Kenneth Jackson
and John T. Koch and is not generally the accepted model.
Nevertheless, and independent of his linguistic arguments, O'Rahilly's categorizations of most Irish kin groups generally remain accepted, although with important exceptions, e.g. those he believed were the true Gaels
cannot actually be demonstrated to be. In any case it is this historical aspect of his work which is most frequently cited in current scholarship.
people first settled in Britain and Ireland
from the continent. They spoke a P-Celtic
tongue, and called themselves Priteni or Pritani. The impact they had upon the native inhabitants can be inferred from the fact that Greek
geographers were referring to these islands as the “Pretanic Islands” (αι Πρετανικαι νησοι) by at least 300 BC. It is also possible that the very name “Britain” is derived from Priteni. However, there is no hard evidence for a Pretanic invasion as such. It is much more likely that their settlement of these islands was a gradual one, spread over several centuries.
In Britain these Priteni were absorbed by later invaders and lost their cultural identity, except in the far north where they were known to the Romans
as Picti
, or “painted people,” on account of their practice of decorating their bodies with tattoos (a practice which by then had died out among other Celtic nations). In Ireland, too, the Priteni were largely absorbed by later settlers; but a few pockets of them managed to retain a measure of cultural, if not political, independence well into the Christian era. By then they were identified as Cruithne
or Cruthin, a Q-Celtic
adaptation of the P-Celtic Priteni. Both words are derived from a root meaning “to shape” or “create.” Celtic tribes generally gave themselves names which were the pluralised forms of names they gave to their deities (in this case “the Creator”). Among the Cruthnian tribes that survived into the Christian era the most prominent were the Dál nAraidi
in Ulster
, and the Loíges and Fothairt in Leinster
. The name of the second of these tribes, modernized as Laois, has been revived and given to one of the counties of Leinster (formerly known as Queen's County).
, a Celtic people mentioned by Julius Caesar
in Commentarii de Bello Gallico
. Their other name (originally Iverni) is probably the origin of several of the early Classical names for Ireland: the Greek Ιερνη; Ιουερνια and possibly also the Latin
Hibernia
. In Irish mythology the name Fir Bolg obviously refers to the same people. It appears that groups of these Belgae colonised Britain and Ireland in the late 6th or early 5th century. In both islands they absorbed and subjugated most of the previous inhabitants. According to their own traditions the Érainn arrived in Ireland from Britain, and there is no good reason to dispute this.
Among the more prominent Ernean tribes were the following:
(Brittany
). They landed in the southeast of the country and took the southeastern quarter from the Érainn. The modern name of this province, Leinster
(Irish: Laighin), preserves the memory of this Laginian conquest, although in ancient times it was much smaller than the modern province. Before the Goidelic invasion, the River Liffey
marked the boundary between Ulster and Leinster. The Domnainn were clearly a branch of the Dumnonii
, a Celtic people identified by Classical authors as inhabiting Dumnonia
(the English counties of Cornwall
and Devon
, to which they gave their name). Another branch of the Dumnonii settled in Scotland, where they founded Dumbarton and established the kingdom later known as Strathclyde
. Presumably these settlements occurred at around the same time as the Laginian invasion of Ireland. It is even possible that the Dumnonii of Scotland were originally Irish Domnainn.
The Laginian invasion made little impact in Ulster or Munster, where Ernean tribes continued to be the dominant force. But the same cannot be said for Connacht
, the westernmost of the four provinces. Sometime in the third century (all these dates, it should be pointed out, are highly conjectural) they crossed the River Shannon
and subjugated the Ernean tribes of Connacht. The decisive battle was fought in County Sligo, in a place called Mag Tuired (Moytura). There a Laginian king (possibly known as Cairbre) overthrew the Érainn and drove them out of Connacht. According to Irish records the defeated Érainn sought refuge in many of the islands around Ireland. The fortresses of Dún Aengus
and Dún Conor on the Aran Islands
, and Dún Balor on Tory Island
, are thought to have been built by them.
It was probably as a result of the Laginian conquests that the island of Ireland first came to be divided into four provinces. The Érainn continued to rule in Ulster and Munster, while the Lagin and their allies became the dominant force in Leinster and Connacht. Traditionally these four provinces met at the exact centre of the country, which was marked by the Hill of Uisneach (between Mullingar
and Athlone in County Westmeath
), a name which may mean “vertex” or “angular place.” The district immediately surrounding this hill was originally called Medion, which means “middle,” and is the origin of the county-name Meath
. Julius Caesar informs us that the druids of Gaul
regularly assembled at a hallowed spot in the centre of the country to celebrate their rituals (De Bello Gallico 6.13). Irish tradition records that a similar assembly, the Mórdáil Uisnig, periodically took place at the Hill of Uisneach on Beltane, the May-day festival.
and Manx
. The P-Celtic dialects which were spoken in the country at the time of their arrival (and which they referred to as Iarnbélre, “language of the Érainn”) eventually became extinct. The Goidels originated in Aquitania
in southwestern Gaul. Around 100 BC two groups of these Celts emigrated to Ireland:
The Connachta
were named after Conn Cétchathach, or Conn of the Hundred Battles; a mythical ancestor who was later euhemerized and given a place in Irish history. The Connachta were led by a man known to later history as Tuathal Teachtmhar
. They landed at the mouth of the Boyne
and pushed inland to Tara, the seat of the local Ernean king, which they sacked. They soon carved out for themselves a new province between Ulster and Leinster, running from the mouth of the Liffey to the mouth of the Boyne and inland as far as the Shannon. In time, this fifth province came to be known as “Meath,” presumably for no other reason than that it contained the Hill of Uisnech.
The other group were known as the Eóganachta
. Their leader is known to history as Mogh (or Mug) Nuadat. The Eoganachta landed at a place called Inber Scéne, usually identified with Kenmare
River in the southwest of the country. Unlike the Connachta, they did not carve out a new province for themselves. Instead, they slowly but gradually rose in power, eventually becoming the dominant force in Munster. The names Eóganachta and Mug Nuadat, which were probably adopted after their arrival, suggest that initially there were friendly relations between them and the Érainn, as both names are derived from the titles of Ernean deities.
Early in their history, the Connachta subjugated the Laginian tribes of Leinster and reduced them to a state of vassalage. The Laginian leaders were allowed to retain possession of their territory, but a heavy tribute was imposed upon them. Known as the Bórama (or Bórú), it continued to be exacted at irregular intervals until the eight century of the common era. According to one tradition, it was Tuathal Techtmar himself who first imposed this tribute on the Lagin.
As their name suggests, the Connachta did not stop when they reached the Shannon. At an indeterminable point in history, some of them crossed the Shannon and conquered the western province, bestowing their name on it in the process. By the late fourth century of the common era Ireland was divided politically into five provinces or “overkingdoms”:
As can be seen, most of the country was in the hands of the Gael. Only Ulster remained independent, but this was not to last.
Early history of Ireland
The early medieval history of Ireland, often called Early Christian Ireland, spans the 5th to 8th centuries, from the gradual emergence out of the protohistoric period to the beginning of the Viking Age...
put forward by Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic scholar T. F. O'Rahilly
T. F. O'Rahilly
Thomas Francis O'Rahilly was an Irish scholar of the Celtic languages, particularly in the fields of Historical linguistics and Irish dialects. He was a member of the Royal Irish Academy.-Biography:He was born in Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland...
in 1946. It was based on his study of the influences on the Irish language
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
and a critical analysis of Irish mythology
Irish mythology
The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...
.
He distinguished four separate waves of Celtic invaders:
- The CruithneCruthinThe Cruthin were a people of early Ireland, who occupied parts of Counties Down, Antrim and Londonderry in the early medieval period....
or Priteni (c. 700 – 500 BC) - The BuilgBuilgBuilg is the name given to an ancient people who may have lived in southern Ireland, around the modern city of Cork.According to the historical scheme proposed by T. F. O'Rahilly the Builg are identical with or a sub-group of the Érainn or Iverni, who arrived in Ireland ca 500 BC and are attested...
or Érainn (c. 500 BC) - The LaiginLaiginThe Laigin, modern spelling Laighin , were a population group of early Ireland who gave their name to the province of Leinster...
, the Domnainn and the Gálioin (c. 300 BC) - The GoidelsGoidelic languagesThe Goidelic languages or Gaelic languages are one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic languages, the other consisting of the Brythonic languages. Goidelic languages historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from the south of Ireland through the Isle of Man to the north of Scotland...
or GaelGaëlGaël is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department of Brittany in north-western France.It lies southwest of Rennes between Saint-Méen-le-Grand and Mauron...
(c. 100 BC)
O'Rahilly's work was and remains influential but much of his linguistic work has since been refuted by noted authors such as Kenneth Jackson
Kenneth H. Jackson
Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson was an English linguist and a translator who specialised in the Celtic languages. He demonstrated how the text of the Ulster Cycle of tales, written circa AD 1100, preserves an oral tradition originating some six centuries earlier and reflects Celtic Irish society of the...
and John T. Koch and is not generally the accepted model.
Nevertheless, and independent of his linguistic arguments, O'Rahilly's categorizations of most Irish kin groups generally remain accepted, although with important exceptions, e.g. those he believed were the true Gaels
Gaels
The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....
cannot actually be demonstrated to be. In any case it is this historical aspect of his work which is most frequently cited in current scholarship.
The Pretanic colonisation
Between 700 and 500 BC, iron-wielding, Celtic-speakingCeltic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
people first settled in Britain and 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...
from the continent. They spoke a P-Celtic
Brythonic languages
The Brythonic or Brittonic languages form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family, the other being Goidelic. The name Brythonic was derived by Welsh Celticist John Rhys from the Welsh word Brython, meaning an indigenous Briton as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael...
tongue, and called themselves Priteni or Pritani. The impact they had upon the native inhabitants can be inferred from the fact that Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
geographers were referring to these islands as the “Pretanic Islands” (αι Πρετανικαι νησοι) by at least 300 BC. It is also possible that the very name “Britain” is derived from Priteni. However, there is no hard evidence for a Pretanic invasion as such. It is much more likely that their settlement of these islands was a gradual one, spread over several centuries.
In Britain these Priteni were absorbed by later invaders and lost their cultural identity, except in the far north where they were known to the Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
as Picti
Picts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
, or “painted people,” on account of their practice of decorating their bodies with tattoos (a practice which by then had died out among other Celtic nations). In Ireland, too, the Priteni were largely absorbed by later settlers; but a few pockets of them managed to retain a measure of cultural, if not political, independence well into the Christian era. By then they were identified as Cruithne
Cruthin
The Cruthin were a people of early Ireland, who occupied parts of Counties Down, Antrim and Londonderry in the early medieval period....
or Cruthin, a Q-Celtic
Goidelic languages
The Goidelic languages or Gaelic languages are one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic languages, the other consisting of the Brythonic languages. Goidelic languages historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from the south of Ireland through the Isle of Man to the north of Scotland...
adaptation of the P-Celtic Priteni. Both words are derived from a root meaning “to shape” or “create.” Celtic tribes generally gave themselves names which were the pluralised forms of names they gave to their deities (in this case “the Creator”). Among the Cruthnian tribes that survived into the Christian era the most prominent were the Dál nAraidi
Dál nAraidi
Dál nAraidi was a kingdom of the Cruthin in the north-east of Ireland in the first millennium. The lands of the Dál nAraidi appear to correspond with the Robogdii of Ptolemy's Geographia, a region shared with Dál Riata...
in Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. 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...
, and the Loíges and Fothairt in Leinster
Leinster
Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...
. The name of the second of these tribes, modernized as Laois, has been revived and given to one of the counties of Leinster (formerly known as Queen's County).
The Bolgic or Ernean invasion
Around 500 BC the Cruthin lost their dominant position in Irish society when the country was invaded by a second wave of P-Celtic speakers. These were the Builg or Érainn. The former name (originally Bolgi) identifies them as BelgaeBelgae
The Belgae were a group of tribes living in northern Gaul, on the west bank of the Rhine, in the 3rd century BC, and later also in Britain, and possibly even Ireland...
, a Celtic people mentioned by Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
in Commentarii de Bello Gallico
Commentarii de Bello Gallico
Commentarii de Bello Gallico is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine years he spent fighting local armies in Gaul that opposed Roman domination.The "Gaul" that Caesar...
. Their other name (originally Iverni) is probably the origin of several of the early Classical names for Ireland: the Greek Ιερνη; Ιουερνια and possibly also the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
Hibernia
Hibernia
Hibernia is the Classical Latin name for the island of Ireland. The name Hibernia was taken from Greek geographical accounts. During his exploration of northwest Europe , Pytheas of Massilia called the island Ierne . In his book Geographia Hibernia is the Classical Latin name for the island of...
. In Irish mythology the name Fir Bolg obviously refers to the same people. It appears that groups of these Belgae colonised Britain and Ireland in the late 6th or early 5th century. In both islands they absorbed and subjugated most of the previous inhabitants. According to their own traditions the Érainn arrived in Ireland from Britain, and there is no good reason to dispute this.
Among the more prominent Ernean tribes were the following:
- The Uluti (Middle IrishMiddle Irish languageMiddle Irish is the name given by historical philologists to the Goidelic language spoken in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man from the 10th to 12th centuries; it is therefore a contemporary of late Old English and early Middle English...
: UlaidUlaidThe Ulaid or Ulaidh were a people of early Ireland who gave their name to the modern province of Ulster...
), after whom Ulster is named. For centuries the Uluti were the dominant tribe in the north of the country. They founded Emain MachaEmain Macha]Navan Fort – known in Old Irish as Eṁaın Ṁacha and in Modern Irish as Eamhain Mhacha – is an ancient monument in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. According to Irish legend, it was one of the major power centers of pre-Christian Ireland...
(Navan Fort), the traditional capital of Ulster, near ArmaghArmaghArmagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...
. In later historical times their descendants were known as the Dál FiatachDál FiatachThe Dál Fiatach were a group of related dynasties located in eastern Ulster in the Early Christian and Early Medieval periods of the history of Ireland.-Description:...
and were confined to the eastern half of County DownCounty Down-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
. - The DariniDariniThe Darini were a people of ancient Ireland mentioned in Ptolemy's 2nd century Geography as living in south Antrim and north Down...
and Robogdii (or Reidodioi), two tribes whose territory was in Antrim and north Down. They were probably the ancestors of the historical Dál RiataDál RiataDál Riata was a Gaelic overkingdom on the western coast of Scotland with some territory on the northeast coast of Ireland...
or Dál Riada, who colonised ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in the 5th century of the common era and from whom the kings of Scotland were descended. - The IverniIverniThe Iverni were a people of early Ireland first mentioned in Ptolemy's 2nd century Geography as living in the extreme south-west of the island. He also locates a "city" called Ivernis in their territory, and observes that this settlement has the same name as the island as a whole, Ivernia...
, the dominant Ernean tribe in MunsterMunsterMunster 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...
from whom the Érainn as a whole took their name. The Corcu LoígdeCorcu LoígdeThe 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...
of historical times were their descendants. - The Ebdani, a tribe of the east coast whose name appears as Eblani in PtolemyPtolemyClaudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
's description of Ireland in his GeographiaGeographia (Ptolemy)The Geography is Ptolemy's main work besides the Almagest...
. Their settlement, which Ptolemy calls EblanaEblanaEblana is the name of an ancient Irish settlement believed by some to have occupied the same site as the modern city of Dublin, to the extent that 19th-century scholarly writers such as Louis Agassiz used Eblana as a Latin equivalent for Dublin...
, has often been mistakenly identified with the city of Dublin on account of the similarity of the two names.
The Laginian invasion
About two centuries after the Bolgic invasion Ireland was subjected to another invasion of P-Celtic-speaking people. Three names can be distinguished for them, but whether they were one tribe with three different names or three closely allied but separate tribes we cannot say. These names, as given in later written records, are Laigin, Domnainn and Gálioin. According to their own traditions, they came to Ireland from ArmoricaArmorica
Armorica or Aremorica is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul that includes the Brittany peninsula and the territory between the Seine and Loire rivers, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic coast...
(Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
). They landed in the southeast of the country and took the southeastern quarter from the Érainn. The modern name of this province, Leinster
Leinster
Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...
(Irish: Laighin), preserves the memory of this Laginian conquest, although in ancient times it was much smaller than the modern province. Before the Goidelic invasion, the River Liffey
River Liffey
The Liffey is a river in Ireland, which flows through the centre of Dublin. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac. The river supplies much of Dublin's water, and a range of recreational opportunities.-Name:The river was previously named An Ruirthech,...
marked the boundary between Ulster and Leinster. The Domnainn were clearly a branch of the Dumnonii
Dumnonii
The Dumnonii or Dumnones were a British Celtic tribe who inhabited Dumnonia, the area now known as Devon and Cornwall in the farther parts of the South West peninsula of Britain, from at least the Iron Age up to the early Saxon period...
, a Celtic people identified by Classical authors as inhabiting Dumnonia
Dumnonia
Dumnonia is the Latinised name for the Brythonic kingdom in sub-Roman Britain between the late 4th and late 8th centuries, located in the farther parts of the south-west peninsula of Great Britain...
(the English counties of Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
and Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, to which they gave their name). Another branch of the Dumnonii settled in Scotland, where they founded Dumbarton and established the kingdom later known as Strathclyde
Strathclyde
right|thumb|the former Strathclyde regionStrathclyde was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created by the Local Government Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government etc Act 1994...
. Presumably these settlements occurred at around the same time as the Laginian invasion of Ireland. It is even possible that the Dumnonii of Scotland were originally Irish Domnainn.
The Laginian invasion made little impact in Ulster or Munster, where Ernean tribes continued to be the dominant force. But the same cannot be said for 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...
, the westernmost of the four provinces. Sometime in the third century (all these dates, it should be pointed out, are highly conjectural) they crossed the River Shannon
River Shannon
The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at . It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception...
and subjugated the Ernean tribes of Connacht. The decisive battle was fought in County Sligo, in a place called Mag Tuired (Moytura). There a Laginian king (possibly known as Cairbre) overthrew the Érainn and drove them out of Connacht. According to Irish records the defeated Érainn sought refuge in many of the islands around Ireland. The fortresses of Dún Aengus
Dún Aengus
Dún Aonghasa is the most famous of several prehistoric forts on the Aran Islands, of County Galway, Ireland. It is located on Inishmore at the edge of an approximately 100 metre high cliff....
and Dún Conor on the Aran Islands
Aran Islands
The Aran Islands or The Arans are a group of three islands located at the mouth of Galway Bay, on the west coast of Ireland. They constitute the barony of Aran in County Galway, Ireland...
, and Dún Balor on Tory Island
Tory Island
Toraigh is an inhabited island 14.5 km off the northwest coast of County Donegal, Ireland. It is also known in Irish as Oileán Thoraigh, Oileán Thoraí or Oileán Thúr Rí.-Language:The main spoken language on the island is Irish, but English is also understood...
, are thought to have been built by them.
It was probably as a result of the Laginian conquests that the island of Ireland first came to be divided into four provinces. The Érainn continued to rule in Ulster and Munster, while the Lagin and their allies became the dominant force in Leinster and Connacht. Traditionally these four provinces met at the exact centre of the country, which was marked by the Hill of Uisneach (between Mullingar
Mullingar
Mullingar is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act of 1542, proclaimed Westmeath a county, separating it from Meath. Mullingar became the administrative centre for County Westmeath...
and Athlone in County Westmeath
County Westmeath
-Economy:Westmeath has a strong agricultural economy. Initially, development occurred around the major market centres of Mullingar, Moate, and Kinnegad. Athlone developed due to its military significance, and its strategic location on the main Dublin–Galway route across the River Shannon. Mullingar...
), a name which may mean “vertex” or “angular place.” The district immediately surrounding this hill was originally called Medion, which means “middle,” and is the origin of the county-name Meath
County Meath
County Meath is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Mide . Meath County Council is the local authority for the county...
. Julius Caesar informs us that the druids of Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
regularly assembled at a hallowed spot in the centre of the country to celebrate their rituals (De Bello Gallico 6.13). Irish tradition records that a similar assembly, the Mórdáil Uisnig, periodically took place at the Hill of Uisneach on Beltane, the May-day festival.
The Goidelic invasion
The fourth and final Celtic invasion of Ireland was the Goidelic or Gaelic invasion. Unlike the previous invaders, the Goidels spoke a Q-Celtic language, which was the forerunner of Modern Irish, Scots GaelicScottish Gaelic language
Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....
and Manx
Manx language
Manx , also known as Manx Gaelic, and as the Manks language, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, historically spoken by the Manx people. Only a small minority of the Island's population is fluent in the language, but a larger minority has some knowledge of it...
. The P-Celtic dialects which were spoken in the country at the time of their arrival (and which they referred to as Iarnbélre, “language of the Érainn”) eventually became extinct. The Goidels originated in Aquitania
Aquitania
Aquitania may refer to:* the territory of the Aquitani, a people living in Roman times in what is now Aquitaine, France* Aquitaine, a region of France roughly between the Pyrenees, the Atlantic ocean and the Garonne, also a former kingdom and duchy...
in southwestern Gaul. Around 100 BC two groups of these Celts emigrated to Ireland:
The Connachta
Connachta
The Connachta are a group of medieval Irish dynasties who claimed descent from the legendary High King Conn Cétchathach...
were named after Conn Cétchathach, or Conn of the Hundred Battles; a mythical ancestor who was later euhemerized and given a place in Irish history. The Connachta were led by a man known to later history as Tuathal Teachtmhar
Tuathal Teachtmhar
Túathal Techtmar , son of Fíachu Finnolach, was a High King of Ireland, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition. He is said to be the ancestor of the Uí Néill and Connachta dynasties through his grandson Conn of the Hundred Battles...
. They landed at the mouth of the Boyne
Boyne
Several terms incorporating the word "Boyne" include:* Boann, the Irish goddess after whom the river is named* Boyne River * Boyne Falls, Michigan,* Boyne Resorts, a ski resort company in Michigan...
and pushed inland to Tara, the seat of the local Ernean king, which they sacked. They soon carved out for themselves a new province between Ulster and Leinster, running from the mouth of the Liffey to the mouth of the Boyne and inland as far as the Shannon. In time, this fifth province came to be known as “Meath,” presumably for no other reason than that it contained the Hill of Uisnech.
The other group were known as the 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...
. Their leader is known to history as Mogh (or Mug) Nuadat. The Eoganachta landed at a place called Inber Scéne, usually identified with Kenmare
Kenmare
Kenmare is a small town in the south of County Kerry, Ireland. The name Kenmare is the anglicised form of Ceann Mara meaning "head of the sea", referring to the head of Kenmare Bay.-Location:...
River in the southwest of the country. Unlike the Connachta, they did not carve out a new province for themselves. Instead, they slowly but gradually rose in power, eventually becoming the dominant force in Munster. The names Eóganachta and Mug Nuadat, which were probably adopted after their arrival, suggest that initially there were friendly relations between them and the Érainn, as both names are derived from the titles of Ernean deities.
Early in their history, the Connachta subjugated the Laginian tribes of Leinster and reduced them to a state of vassalage. The Laginian leaders were allowed to retain possession of their territory, but a heavy tribute was imposed upon them. Known as the Bórama (or Bórú), it continued to be exacted at irregular intervals until the eight century of the common era. According to one tradition, it was Tuathal Techtmar himself who first imposed this tribute on the Lagin.
As their name suggests, the Connachta did not stop when they reached the Shannon. At an indeterminable point in history, some of them crossed the Shannon and conquered the western province, bestowing their name on it in the process. By the late fourth century of the common era Ireland was divided politically into five provinces or “overkingdoms”:
- Ulster was still dominated by Ernean tribes
- Meath, or the Midland territory, included Tara and was ruled by Gaelic tribes
- Leinster was held by Gaelicized tribes subject to Meath
- Munster was ruled by Gaelic tribes
- Connacht was ruled by Gaelic tribes
As can be seen, most of the country was in the hands of the Gael. Only Ulster remained independent, but this was not to last.