Origins

The Ciarraige Airtech were one of three branches of the Ciarraige

Ciarraige

-Origins:The word Ciarraige means the people of Ciar, and denoted descent from Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich.-Branches of the Ciarraige:Branches of the Ciarraighe were located all over Ireland:...

 located close to each other in central 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...

. They were the Ciarraige Aí

Ciarraige Aí

-Origins:Four branches of the Ciarraige were known to be located in Connacht. Ciarraige Óic Bethra were located in what was then the kingdom of Aidhne -Origins:Four branches of the Ciarraige were known to be located in Connacht. Ciarraige Óic Bethra were located in what was then the kingdom of...

, Ciarraige Airtig and Ciarraighe Locha na nÁirne, along the east County Mayo

County Mayo

County Mayo 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 village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...

/west-central County Roscommon

County Roscommon

County Roscommon 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 town of Roscommon. Roscommon County Council is the local authority for the county...

 area. They were thought to have once formed a single over-kingdom which was broken up by the rise of the Uí Briúin

Uí Briúin

The Uí Briúin were an Irish kin-group. Their eponymous apical ancestor was Brion, son of Eochaid Mugmedon and Mongfind, and an elder half brother of Niall of the Nine Hostages. They formed part of the Connachta, along with the Uí Fiachrach and Uí Ailello, putative descendants of Eochaid Mugmedon's...

 in the 8th and 9th centuries.

In 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:...

 wrote of them as follows (p.168):

"The most obscure of the (supposed) three branches of Ciarraige Connacht were those of Airtech who are mentioned in the Patrician documents, in the Lebor Gabála Érenn, in the saints' genealogies, and, for the last time, in the early-fourteenth-century annals. Their territory - variously referred to as Crích Airtig and Mag nAirtig - was centred on the parish of Tibohine, baony of Frenchpark (around the present village of Loughglynn), but covered parts of adjacent parishes (including Castlemmore, Kilcolman and Kilnamanagh) in north-west roscommon. Overall, their impact on Connacht history must be adjudged very slight."

Annalistic references

• 1315 - As for Maelruanaid Mac Diarmata, when he heard that Diarmait Gall had established himself in the seat of dignity of his own family and on the Rock of Loch Key, and that he had been sent to be made king at Cruachan, and when his own cows had been slaughtered in Glenn Fathraim, he marched with his household troops and retainers to the Callow of the Rock and, turning his back to the Shannon, he plundered from that river to Cara, where the eraghts of the Three Ciarraige were assembled with their flocks and herds, namely the Western Ciarraige, the Ciarraige of Mag nAi and the Ciarraige of Airtech; and it is not likely that there was made in that age a fiercer or a more booty-getting attack than this raid. (Annals of Connacht
  Annals of Connacht
  The Annals of Connacht, covering the years 1224 to 1544, are drawn from a manuscript compiled in the 15th and 16th centuries by at least three scribes, all believed to be members of the Clan Ó Duibhgeannáin....
  
  

External links

• http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlkik/ihm/connacht.htm#cai
• http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100011/index.html