Corcu Duibne
Encyclopedia
The Corcu Duibne was a notable kingdom in prehistoric and medieval County Kerry
, Ireland
which included the Dingle Peninsula
, the Iveragh Peninsula
and connecting lands. The tribe belonged to the Érainn and claimed descent from the legendary Conaire Mór
, possibly making them distant cousins of such far off kingdoms as Dál Riata
in Ulster
and Scotland
, as well as the closer Múscraige
and Corcu Baiscind
. All the tribes belonged to the Síl Conairi
of legend and ultimately traced their descent from the Clanna Dedad.
and O'Falvey
, and possibly O'Connell
.
Noted creators of ogham
inscriptions, with over one third of all Irish inscriptions found in their region, the existence of the Corcu Duibne is attested as early as the 5th century. These tell us they claimed descent from a female ancestor DOVINIA.
The Iron Age
mountaintop fortress Caherconree
, preserving the name of the legendary Cú Roí
, a cousin of Conaire Mór, is found on the Dingle Peninsula, the name of which in Modern Irish is Corca Dhuibhne.
Relations between the Corcu Duibne and the nearby Eóganacht Locha Léin
are poorly understood, but it appears they spent at least some period of time under the nominal overlordship of the latter in the powerful but relatively short-lived Kingdom of Iarmuman
. Rule from distant overkingdom of Eóganacht Chaisil
is not apparent and so it is likely that the Corcu Duibne kingdom had an independent, if remote, existence in the first millennium.
attributes to the Corcu Duibne an eponymous founder, Corc Duibne, a scion of the branch of the Érainn royal line called the Síl Conairi
, after Conaire Mór. In particular, the later "B version" of the text includes a lengthy episode describing Corc's birth and childhood deeds. Corc and his twin brother Cormac are born of incest to Coirpre Músc (a quo Múscraige) and Duihind, children of Conaire Cóem, a descendant of Conaire Mór. Their conception causes the crops to fail, and the people determine to immolate them to remove their curse. However, a druid
steps in and offers to take Corc to an offshore island so that the abomination is out of Ireland. Reciting a poem predicting great things for Corc's descendants, the druid and his wife Boí take the boy to the remote island of Inis Boí. Every morning for the next year, Boí performs a purification ritual in which she gives Corc an ablution while he is seated on the back of an otherworld
ly white cow with red ears. Finally one morning Corc's curse leaves him and enters the cow, who jumps into the ocean and turns to stone, becoming the rock of Bó Boí. Boí takes Corc to his grandmother, Sárait, daughter of Conn Cétchathach, and eventually convinces her to take him back.
When he is older Corc is sent to serve as hostage in the court of Cormac mac Airt
, King of Tara. There he is fostered by Óengus Gaíbúaibthech, a leader of the Déisi
. When Óengus and his people are expelled from Tara over a bloody dispute with the king's son, Corc absconds from hostageship and joins his foster-father, fighting beside him in many battles. Eventually the Déisi wander to the southern coast, and come to the island where Corc was reared. He tries to convince them to settle there, but they elect to move farther north. Corc remains, and founds his dynasty.
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
which included the Dingle Peninsula
Dingle Peninsula
The Dingle Peninsula is the northernmost of the major peninsulae in County Kerry. Its ends beyond the town of Dingle at Dunmore Head, the westernmost point of Ireland.-Name:...
, the Iveragh Peninsula
Iveragh Peninsula
The Iveragh Peninsula is located in County Kerry in Ireland. It is the largest peninsula in southwestern Ireland. A mountain range, the Macgillycuddy's Reeks, lies in the centre of the peninsula...
and connecting lands. The tribe belonged to the Érainn and claimed descent from the legendary Conaire Mór
Conaire Mor
Conaire Mór , son of Eterscél, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. His mother was Mess Búachalla, who was either the daughter of Eochu Feidlech and Étaín, or of Eochu Airem and his daughter by Étaín...
, possibly making them distant cousins of such far off kingdoms as Dál Riata
Dál Riata
Dál Riata was a Gaelic overkingdom on the western coast of Scotland with some territory on the northeast coast of Ireland...
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 Scotland
Scotland
Scotland 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...
, as well as the closer Múscraige
Múscraige
The Múscraighe were an important Érainn people of Munster, descending from Cairpre Músc, son of Conaire Cóem, a High King of Ireland. Closely related were the Corcu Duibne, Corcu Baiscind, both of Munster, and also the Dál Riata of Ulster and Scotland, all being referred to as the Síl Conairi in...
and 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...
. All the tribes belonged to the Síl Conairi
Síl Conairi
The Síl Conairi or "Seed of Conaire" were those Érainn septs of the legendary Clanna Dedad descended from the monarch Conaire Mór, son of Eterscél Mór, a descendant of Deda mac Sin, namely the Dál Riata, Múscraige, Corcu Duibne, and Corcu Baiscinn.The Dál Riata, presumably settling in far...
of legend and ultimately traced their descent from the Clanna Dedad.
Septs and relations with other kingdoms
The ruling septs of the Corcu Duibne were O'SheaO'Shea
O'Shea is a surname , originating in the Kingdom of Corcu Duibne in County Kerry, and could refer to:*Alicia O'Shea Petersen , Australian suffragist...
and O'Falvey
Falvey
Falvey is a surname which is an anglicisation of the name Ó Fáilbhe: in the Irish language Ó means "descendant" [of] and "fáilbhe" literally means "lively, pleasant, sprightly, merry, cheerful" or, according to another historian, "joker". Other anglicisations include O’Falvie, O’Falvy, O’Failie,...
, and possibly O'Connell
O'Connell (name)
O'Connell is a last name of Irish origin. It is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic Ó Conaill . The personal name Conall is possibly composed of the elements con and gal .-Surname:* Aaron D...
.
Noted creators of ogham
Ogham
Ogham is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the Old Irish language, and occasionally the Brythonic language. Ogham is sometimes called the "Celtic Tree Alphabet", based on a High Medieval Bríatharogam tradition ascribing names of trees to the individual letters.There are roughly...
inscriptions, with over one third of all Irish inscriptions found in their region, the existence of the Corcu Duibne is attested as early as the 5th century. These tell us they claimed descent from a female ancestor DOVINIA.
The Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
mountaintop fortress Caherconree
Caherconree
Caherconree is a mountain peak on the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Republic of Ireland. At 835 m , it is the second-highest peak of the Slieve Mish Mountains and the 26th highest in Ireland.-Geography:...
, preserving the name of the legendary Cú Roí
Cú Roí
Cú Roí mac Dáire is a king of Munster in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He is usually portrayed as a warrior with superhuman abilities and a master of disguise possessed of magical powers. His name probably means "hound of the plain/field", or more specifically, "hound of the battlefield"...
, a cousin of Conaire Mór, is found on the Dingle Peninsula, the name of which in Modern Irish is Corca Dhuibhne.
Relations between the Corcu Duibne and the nearby Eóganacht Locha Léin
Eóganacht Locha Léin
Eóganacht Locha Léin or Ui Caipre Luachra were a branch of the ruling Eoganachta of Munster. Their territory was in Iarmuman or West Munster. Luachair is the old name of a large district on the borders of Co Cork, Kerry and Limerick...
are poorly understood, but it appears they spent at least some period of time under the nominal overlordship of the latter in the powerful but relatively short-lived Kingdom of Iarmuman
Iarmuman
Iarmhumhain was a Kingdom in the early Christian period of Ireland in west Munster. Its ruling dynasty was related to the main ruling dynasty of Munster known as the Eóganachta. Its ruling branch was called the Eóganacht Locha Léin or Ui Chairpri Lúachra. Their center was around Killarney, County...
. Rule from distant overkingdom of Eóganacht Chaisil
Eóganacht Chaisil
Eóganacht Chaisil were a branch of the Eóganachta, the ruling dynasty of Munster during the 5th-10th centuries. They took their name from Cashel which was the capital of the early Christian kingdom of Munster...
is not apparent and so it is likely that the Corcu Duibne kingdom had an independent, if remote, existence in the first millennium.
Legendary origins
The 8th-century text known as The Expulsion of the DéisiThe Expulsion of the Déisi
The Expulsion of the Déisi is a medieval Irish narrative of the Cycles of the Kings. It dates approximately to the 8th century, but survives only in manuscripts of a much later date. It describes the fictional history of the Déisi, a group that had gained political power in parts of Ireland during...
attributes to the Corcu Duibne an eponymous founder, Corc Duibne, a scion of the branch of the Érainn royal line called the Síl Conairi
Síl Conairi
The Síl Conairi or "Seed of Conaire" were those Érainn septs of the legendary Clanna Dedad descended from the monarch Conaire Mór, son of Eterscél Mór, a descendant of Deda mac Sin, namely the Dál Riata, Múscraige, Corcu Duibne, and Corcu Baiscinn.The Dál Riata, presumably settling in far...
, after Conaire Mór. In particular, the later "B version" of the text includes a lengthy episode describing Corc's birth and childhood deeds. Corc and his twin brother Cormac are born of incest to Coirpre Músc (a quo Múscraige) and Duihind, children of Conaire Cóem, a descendant of Conaire Mór. Their conception causes the crops to fail, and the people determine to immolate them to remove their curse. However, a druid
Druid
A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....
steps in and offers to take Corc to an offshore island so that the abomination is out of Ireland. Reciting a poem predicting great things for Corc's descendants, the druid and his wife Boí take the boy to the remote island of Inis Boí. Every morning for the next year, Boí performs a purification ritual in which she gives Corc an ablution while he is seated on the back of an otherworld
Otherworld
Otherworld, or the Celtic Otherworld, is a concept in Celtic mythology that refers to the home of the deities or spirits, or a realm of the dead.Otherworld may also refer to:In film and television:...
ly white cow with red ears. Finally one morning Corc's curse leaves him and enters the cow, who jumps into the ocean and turns to stone, becoming the rock of Bó Boí. Boí takes Corc to his grandmother, Sárait, daughter of Conn Cétchathach, and eventually convinces her to take him back.
When he is older Corc is sent to serve as hostage in the court of Cormac mac Airt
Cormac mac Airt
Cormac mac Airt , also known as Cormac ua Cuinn or Cormac Ulfada , was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland...
, King of Tara. There he is fostered by Óengus Gaíbúaibthech, a leader of the Déisi
Déisi
The Déisi were a class of peoples in ancient and medieval Ireland. The term is Old Irish, and derives from the word déis, meaning "vassal" or "subject"; in its original sense, it designated groups who were vassals or rent-payers to a landowner. Later, it became a proper name for certain septs and...
. When Óengus and his people are expelled from Tara over a bloody dispute with the king's son, Corc absconds from hostageship and joins his foster-father, fighting beside him in many battles. Eventually the Déisi wander to the southern coast, and come to the island where Corc was reared. He tries to convince them to settle there, but they elect to move farther north. Corc remains, and founds his dynasty.