Ciarraige Aí
Encyclopedia
Origins
Four branches of the Ciarraige were known to be located in Connacht. Ciarraige Óic BethraCiarraige Óic Bethra
-Origins:The word Ciarraige means the people of Ciar, and denoted descent from Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. The Ciarraige Óic Bethra were located in the kingdom of Aidhne, in what is now south County Galway....
were located in what was then the kingdom of Aidhne
Aidhne
Aidhne also known as, Uí Fhiachrach Aidhne, Maigh Aidhne / Maigh nAidhne was the territory of the Ui Fiachrach Aidhne, a tuath located in the south of what is now County Galway in the south of Connacht, Ireland. Aidhne is coextensive with the present diocese of Kilmacduagh...
(now south 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...
, where they were one of the three peoples living in Aidhne prior to the arrival of the Ui Fiachrach
Uí Fiachrach
The Uí Fiachrach were a dynasty who originated in, and whose descendants later ruled, the coicead or fifth of Connacht at different times from the mid-first millennium onwards. They claimed descent from Fiachrae, an older half-brother of Niall Noigiallach or Niall of the Nine Hostages...
in the 6th century.
Ciarraige Aí, Ciarraige Airtig
Ciarraige Airtig
-Origins:The Ciarraige Airtech were one of three branches of the Ciarraige located close to each other in central Connacht. They were the Ciarraige Aí, Ciarraige Airtig and Ciarraighe Locha na nÁirne, along the east County Mayo/west-central County Roscommon area...
and Ciarraighe Locha na nÁirne, were located further north, adjacent to each other 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.165):
"The most notable fo the latter are Ciarraige Aí, also called Ciarraige Maige Aí, who obviously derive their designation from the great central plain of Roscommon, Mag nAí , in which the ancient 'capital' of Connacht, Cruachu, stood. Their settlement in contiguity to such a significant royal site must surely bespeck their possessing a considerable status at some stage just over the historical horizon. They first appear in the annals towards the close of the eighth century when, in 796, the Annals of Ulster
Annals of Ulster
The Annals of Ulster are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years between AD 431 to AD 1540. The entries up to AD 1489 were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, under his patron Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne in the...
record the death of Duinechaid ua Daire, whom it describes as 'dux Ciarraide'; this is expanded by the Four Masters to 'tighearna Ciarraighe Aí' and the latter also tells of the death in the same year of Fogartach mac Cathail who is termed 'tighearna Maighe Aí' ... The title usecd by the Four Masters ('lord of Mag nAí') is indicitive of the struggle for control of this crucial territory between the Ciarraige of the area and the rising dynastic power 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...
."
Annalistic references
- 791 - Duineachaidh Ua Daire, lord of Ciarraighe Aei, died. (Annals of the Four MastersAnnals of the Four MastersThe Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history...
) - 845 - Connmhach, son of Cethernach, half chief of Ciarraighe, died.
- 997 - An army was led by Maelseachlainn into Connaught; and he plundered or burned Magh-Aei, and the son of the lord of Ciarraighe was lost by them.
- 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 ConnachtAnnals of ConnachtThe 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