Aidhne
Encyclopedia
Uí Fiachrach Aidhne
Uí Fhiachrach Aidhne was a kingdom located in what is now the south of Co. Galway.-Legendary origins and geography:...
, a tuath (tribal kingdom) located in the south of what is now County Galway
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
in the south of Connacht, 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...
. Aidhne is coextensive with the present diocese of Kilmacduagh
Kilmacduagh
Kilmacduagh is a small village in south County Galway, near Gort, in Ireland. It is best known for Kilmacduagh monastery, seat of the Diocese of that name. The diocese is now part of the Diocese of Galway and Kilmacduagh in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe in...
. The territory of Aidhne is bounded on the west by Loch Lurgain (Galway Bay) and the district of Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster. County Clare also bounds Aidhne on its south and south-east side. Aidhne is bounded on the east by the low mountains of Sliabh Echtghe / Slieve Aughty, which separate Uí Fhiachrach Aidhne from the territory of Uí Mhaine in eastern County Galway. On the north-east Aidhne is bounded by the plains of Uí Mhaine and on the north by Maigh Mucruimhe (the area around Athenry). On the north-west Aidhne is bounded by the parish of Meadhraighe / Maree which is in the territory of Uí Bhriúin Seola.
In placename lore the kingdom took its name from the mythological Aidhne, one of the ten daughters of Partholon
Partholón
Partholón, in medieval Irish historical tradition, was the leader of the second group of people to settle in Ireland, supposedly first to arrive after the biblical Flood. They arrived in 2680 BC according to the chronology of the Annals of the Four Masters, 2061 BC according to Geoffrey Keating's...
by his first wife, Topha. Aidhne was married to Breac.
In a later age, a branch of the 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:...
made Aidhne their home. Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh
Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh
Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh, also known as Dubhaltach Óg mac Giolla Íosa Mór mac Dubhaltach Mór Mac Fhirbhisigh, Duald Mac Firbis, Dudly Ferbisie, and Dualdus Firbissius was an Irish scribe, translator, historian and genealogist...
's Book of Genealogies states that the Tuath mhac nUmhoir[settled in]in 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...
and in Ui Fhiachrach of Aidhne. Their leader is given as Conall Caol, son of Aonghus mac Úmhór
Aonghus mac Úmhór
Aengus mac Umor was a mythical Irish king.The Fir Bolg of Connacht were ruled by King Aonghus mac Úmhór. Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh states that Aonghus led his people, the Tuath mhac nUmhoir, to the coast of Galway Bay and the Aran Islands, after being driven out by warfare with "Clann Chuian and...
. Connall was killed at the Battle of Maigh Mucruimhe
Battle of Maigh Mucruimhe
The Cath Maige Mucrama , is an early Middle Irish language tale which forms part of the Cycles of the Kings.-Content:...
in 195 A.D., and his body brought back to Aidhne where it was interred at a leacht called Carn Connell (itself the site of a major battle some centuries later).
The territory of Uí Fhiachrach Aidhne is coextensive with the diocese of Cill Mhic Dhuach / Kilmacduagh
Kilmacduagh
Kilmacduagh is a small village in south County Galway, near Gort, in Ireland. It is best known for Kilmacduagh monastery, seat of the Diocese of that name. The diocese is now part of the Diocese of Galway and Kilmacduagh in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe in...
, which contains the civil parishes of Kinvarradoorus, Killinny, Killeenavarra, Drumacoo, Kilcolgan
Kilcolgan
Kilcolgan , is a village on the mouth of the Kilcolgan River at Dunkellin Bay in County Galway, Ireland. The N18 passes through the settlement. There are also two public houses, Donoghue's and Raftery's Rest...
, Ardrahan
Ardrahan
Ardrahan is a village in County Galway, Ireland.-History:Richard de Brugo conquered Galway in 1236, and granted the land to Maurice Fitzgerald who built the castle whose ruins still stand today...
, Stradbally, Killeeneen, Killeely, Killora, Killogilleen, Kilchreest, Isertkelly, Killinan, Kilthomas, Kilbeacanty, Beagh, Kilmacduagh
Kilmacduagh
Kilmacduagh is a small village in south County Galway, near Gort, in Ireland. It is best known for Kilmacduagh monastery, seat of the Diocese of that name. The diocese is now part of the Diocese of Galway and Kilmacduagh in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe in...
, Kiltartan
Kiltartan
Kiltartan is a barony in County Galway, Ireland. It was formerly known as Cenél Áeda na hEchtge. It was the home of Lady Gregory, Edward Martyn, and a regular residence of W.B. Yeats.It is alluded to in Yeats's poem An Irish Airman Foresees His Death....
. The diocese of Kilmacduagh contains the present Catholic parishes of Kinvara
Kinvara
Kinvara is a sea port village located in the south of County Galway in the province of Connacht on the west coast of Ireland. Kinvara is also the name of the parish in which the village is situated. Kinvara is occasionally spelled Kinvarra in English; this may be seen on some maps and road signs,...
, Ballinderreen
Ballinderreen
Ballinderreen is a village located on the N67 route between Kilcolgan and Kinvara in south County Galway, in The Republic of Ireland.- Overview :...
, Gort
Gort
Gort is a town in south County Galway in the west of Ireland. An Gort is the official Irish name for the town, as defined by the Placenames Commission. In spoken Irish, however, the town is known by its traditional name Gort Inse Guaire. It lies just north of the border with County Clare on the...
, Ardrahan
Ardrahan
Ardrahan is a village in County Galway, Ireland.-History:Richard de Brugo conquered Galway in 1236, and granted the land to Maurice Fitzgerald who built the castle whose ruins still stand today...
, Craughwell
Craughwell
Craughwell is a village and townland in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. The name is also used as a surname, properly Ó Creachmhaoil, though often anglicised as Craughwell and Crockwell...
, Beagh, Kilbeacanty, Kilthomas (Peterswell), Clarinbridge
Clarinbridge
Clarinbridge is a small village, approximately 15 minutes drive south of Galway, Ireland in the Diocese of Kilmacduagh. It is on the mouth of the Clarin River at the end of Dunbulcaun Bay, which is the easternmost part of Galway Bay...
, Kilchreest.
Annalistic references
- M938.13.Aralt, grandson of Imhar, i.e. the son of Sitric, lord of the foreigners of Luimneach, was killed in Connaught by the Caenraighi of Aidhne.
- M1033.9 - A conflict between the Eli and the Ui-Fiachrach Aidhne, in which Braen Ua Cleirigh and Muireadhach Mac Gillaphadraig, with many others, were slain.