Soghain
Encyclopedia
The Soghain were a people of ancient Ireland. Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh
identified them as part of a larger group called the Cruithin, and stated of them:
Of the Cruithin of Ireland are the Dál Araidhi (Dál nAraidi), the seven Lóigisi of Leinster, the seven Soghain of Ireland, and every Conaille (see Conaille Muirtheimne) that is in Ireland.
The location of four of the seven Soghain is as follows:
bounded by the river Suck
on the east, the river Clare
on the west; the Grange and Shiven rivers to the north; the Raford and Ballinure rivers to the south. A poem recorded in The Book of Uí Maine, Cruas Connacht clanna Sogain, lists the kingdom's boundaries, which can be found to tie in with the above locations:
The previous, pre-Gaelic
people of the area were called the Senchineoil
. Very little information survives on them.
The Soghain of Connacht
were described by Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin
in his poem Triallam timcheall na Fodla where he states:
The six Sogain let us not shun/their kings are without oblivion/Good the host of plundering excursions/to whom the spear-armed Sogain is hereditary.
The Book of Lecan lists their six branches as Cinel Rechta, Cinel Trena, Cinel Luchta, Cinel Fergna, Cinel Domaingen and Cinel Deigill.
The genealogy of Saint Kerrill of Cloonkeekerrill is given as Caireall mac Curnain mac Treana mac Fionnchada mac Nair mac Earca mac Tiobraide mac Sodhain Salbhuidhe mac Fiacha Araidhe. His grandfather, Treana mac Fionnchada, was the eponym of the Cinel Trena, who were apparently located close to Knockma
as evinced by the placename Tír Mhic Trena (the land of the sons of Trena). This area was the western limit of the kingdom of the Connacht Soghain.
Early Christian
evangelists among the Soghain included Conainne
, St Connell and Kerrill
. Their successors include Naomhéid
, Cuana of Kilcoonagh
, Dubhán
, Felig
, Íbar, Íomar of the Sogain
, Laisren of Cloonkerrill
, Maol Chosna
, Modiúit
, Menott
, Molua of Kilmoluagh
.
Parishes known to be included in Tír Sogháin were:
Tír Sogháin became subject to the Uí Maine sometime in the middle of the first millennium.
, Ward/Mac an Bhaird
, Gill/Gillane, Scarry, Duggan, Megan/McGann, Martin, Cassain.
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...
identified them as part of a larger group called the Cruithin, and stated of them:
Of the Cruithin of Ireland are the Dál Araidhi (Dál nAraidi), the seven Lóigisi of Leinster, the seven Soghain of Ireland, and every Conaille (see Conaille Muirtheimne) that is in Ireland.
Locations
- 1 - A branch in the territory of Fernmag (barony of FarneyFarneyFarney may refer to:*Farney, Monaghan - a barony in County Monaghan, Ireland, based on a mediaeval Gaelic kingdom*Monaghan GAA - a nickname for the current Monaghan GAA team, derived from the preceding...
, County MonaghanCounty MonaghanCounty Monaghan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Council is the local authority for the county...
).
- 2 - In DelvinDelvinDelvin is a small town in east County Westmeath, Ireland located on the N52 road at a junction with the N51 to Navan. The town is from Mullingar and is the setting of the book Valley of the Squinting Windows by Delvin native Brinsley MacNamara, described under the fictitious name of "Garradrimna"...
(County WestmeathCounty 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...
) where a Soghain tribe lived with a branch of the DelbhnaDelbhnaThe Delbna or Delbhna were an ethnic group in Ireland. They had a number of branches in central and western Ireland.*The Delbhna Tir Dha Locha were the most westerly branch, based in Iar Connacht....
in an area called Trícha cétTrícha cétA Trícha cét or triocha cét was a a territorial unit ... to the eleventh and twelfth centuries [1] in medieval Ireland. It was succeeded by the cantred.Paul MacCotter describes it as:...
na Delbna Móire agus na Sogan.
- 3 - The Corcu Shogain, who were subject to the Benntraige under the Eoghanacht. An OghamOghamOgham 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...
inscription discovered near AglishAglishAglish is a village in west County Waterford, Ireland.The village has traditionally had a population of less than 300, but Ireland's recent building boom has seen the population almost double since the turn of the millennium. Aglish lies west of Dungarvan and north of Youghal, and is within the...
in the barony of MuskerryMuskerryMuskerry is a central region of County Cork, Ireland which incorporates the baronies of Muskerry West and Muskerry East. It is located along the vallley of the River Lee and is bounded by the Boggeragh Mountains to the north and the Shehy Mountains to the south. The region is named after the...
, some twelve miles west of the city of CorkCork (city)Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, displays the words MUCOI SOGINI, which probably means of the Corcu Sogain.
- 4 - The Soghain of Connacht were located in central east County GalwayCounty GalwayCounty 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 a kingdom called Tír Sogháin.
Tír Sogháin
The Soghain of Connacht were located in Tír Sogháin, and area in central east County GalwayCounty 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...
bounded by the river Suck
River Suck
The River Suck is a river in Ireland, approx. in length.It is the main tributary of the River Shannon. It meets the River Swilly a few kilometres north of the village of Shannonbridge to form the Suck-Swilly, which becomes the River Shannon....
on the east, the river Clare
River Clare
The River Clare is a river in counties Mayo and Galway in Ireland. The long river rises north of Ballyhaunis in Mayo and descends past Dunmore, where it flows west, then turns south past Milltown, continuing down through Kilbennan Church near Tuam...
on the west; the Grange and Shiven rivers to the north; the Raford and Ballinure rivers to the south. A poem recorded in The Book of Uí Maine, Cruas Connacht clanna Sogain, lists the kingdom's boundaries, which can be found to tie in with the above locations:
- From Áth an Ibar west
- to Glais Uair Arnaigh
- was the extent of Sodhan
- that sword-guarded land.
- From Béal na Róbe in Maenmagh
- to the clear, soft-reeded Simin
- was the breath of the plain
- which bore no ignominy.
The previous, pre-Gaelic
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....
people of the area were called the Senchineoil
Senchineoil
The Senchineoil was the name of the pre-Gaelic inhabitants of what is now central and east County Galway and south County Roscommon.-Overview:...
. Very little information survives on them.
The Soghain of 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...
were described by Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin
Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin
Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin was an Irish Gaelic poet.-Background:Ó Dubhagáinn was among the first notable members of the bardic family Baile Uí Dhubhagáin , near Loughrea, County Galway...
in his poem Triallam timcheall na Fodla where he states:
The six Sogain let us not shun/their kings are without oblivion/Good the host of plundering excursions/to whom the spear-armed Sogain is hereditary.
The Book of Lecan lists their six branches as Cinel Rechta, Cinel Trena, Cinel Luchta, Cinel Fergna, Cinel Domaingen and Cinel Deigill.
The genealogy of Saint Kerrill of Cloonkeekerrill is given as Caireall mac Curnain mac Treana mac Fionnchada mac Nair mac Earca mac Tiobraide mac Sodhain Salbhuidhe mac Fiacha Araidhe. His grandfather, Treana mac Fionnchada, was the eponym of the Cinel Trena, who were apparently located close to Knockma
Cnoc Meadha
Cnoc Meadha is a hill west of Tuam, County Galway, in Ireland.It is said in legend to be the residence of Finnbheara, the king of the Connacht fairies. Of two large cairns on the hill, one was thought to be the burial-place of Finnbheara and the other of Queen Medb, whose name may be transformed...
as evinced by the placename Tír Mhic Trena (the land of the sons of Trena). This area was the western limit of the kingdom of the Connacht Soghain.
Early Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
evangelists among the Soghain included Conainne
Conainne
Conainne, also known as Dachonna, was an Irish missionary and saint.Conainne was a female missionary who evangalised in the Soghain area of County Galway...
, St Connell and Kerrill
Kerrill
Saint Kerrill aka Caireall mac Curnain was a Christian missionary in what is now east County Galway, alive in the mid-to-late 5th century.-Origins:...
. Their successors include Naomhéid
Naomhéid
Naomhéid is the name given to the founder of the church of Killascobe, County Galway. In the 19th century there was a dried-up holy well thirty metres from the church and graveyard in Corgerry Oughter townland. It was called Tobar Naomhéid, possibly a corruption of Tobar Naomh Áed . He may be the...
, Cuana of Kilcoonagh
Cuana of Kilcoonagh
Cuana of Kilcoonagh was an early Christian missionary active in the northeast of the parish of Ballymacward, County Galway, sometime around or after 500 A.D....
, Dubhán
Dubhán
Dubhán was the founder of the church of Killooaun or Cill Dhubháin , Ballymacward, County Galway. All that now exists of the church are ruins, but it was once the centre of a medieval vicarage...
, Felig
Felig
-Biography:Felig is the name of a person believed to be the founder of Cill Fheilige , which according to local tradition was the first church founded among the Soghain people of Menlough, County Galway...
, Íbar, Íomar of the Sogain
Íomar of the Sogain
Íomar of the Sogain is an obscure fifth or sixth century saint associated with Killimorsogan , now the townlands of Killaghaun and Lisheen, north-east of Killamude, County Galway...
, Laisren of Cloonkerrill
Laisren of Cloonkerrill
Laisren of Cloonkerrill may be the St Laisrén or Molaissi of the Soghain, whose pedigree is given as "Laisren mac Colmain mac Luchtai mac Findcha mac Feidlimti mac Sogain mac Fiacha Araide." This would make him a close relative of Kerrill, Molua of Kilmoluagh and Cuana of Kilcoonagh, all of whom...
, Maol Chosna
Maol Chosna
Maol Chosna was an Irish missionary and founder of the church of Cill Maol Chosna , which gave its name to the vicarage of the east half of Ballymacward, County Galway...
, Modiúit
Modiúit
Modiúit was an early successor of Saint Kerrill, Bishop of the kingdom of Soghain in what is now County Galway.Modiúit established a church at what is now Killamude, in the parish of Ballymacward. Killamude derives from Cill Modiúit . Its foundations can still be seen in the townland of Killamude...
, Menott
Menott
Menott may have been the name of an early Christian evangelist among the Soghain people of Connaught.He is now represented in the placename Kilmenott, Ballymacward, of which the original form would be Cell Menott...
, Molua of Kilmoluagh
Molua of Kilmoluagh
Molua of Kilmoluagh was an early Christian missionary among the Soghain people of County Galway.Molua may have been a native of the kingdom, as a St Moluoc is listed as "Moluoc mac Luchta mac Finchada mac Feidlimithe mac Sodhan Salbhuidhe." Sodhán Salbhuidhe na Sreath - Sogan of the...
.
Parishes known to be included in Tír Sogháin were:
- 1 - AbbeyknockmoyAbbeyknockmoyAbbeyknockmoy is a village and parish in County Galway, Ireland. It is best known for the nearby ruins of the 12th century Cistercian abbey, established with the Kings of Connacht as its benefactors. The abbey was the burial site of King Cathal Crobhdearg Ua Conchobair and contains fine examples...
- 2 - Abbert
- 3 - BallymacwardBallymacwardBallymacward is a village in County Galway, Ireland, on the R359 regional road between the main road and rail networks which traverse east-west, 10 miles from Ballinasloe and approximately 30 miles from Galway City...
- 4 - Cloonkeenkerrill
- 5 - Fohenagh
- 6 - LackaghLackaghThe parish of Lackagh or Lacagh is located in County Galway in the West of Ireland, approximately half way between Galway city and Tuam . It is bounded by the parishes of Athenry, Abbeyknockmoy, Corofin, Annaghdown and Claregalway...
- 7 - KilconnellKilconnellKilconnell is a small rural village in County Galway, Ireland.Its population in 2006 was 680. Its land is mainly used for dairy farming and the raising of cattle....
- 8 - Kilgerrill
- 9 - Killascobe
- 10 - MoniveaMoniveaMonivea It was formerly part of the kingdom of the Soghain of Connacht. It is located approximately 30 km from Galway City and 9 km from Athenry. Monivea is known for its sizable forest, Monivea Castle which now lies in partial ruins, and a well-preserved mausoleum...
- 11 - MoyloughMoyloughMoylough is a small rural village located in County Galway in Ireland. It is located on the N63 national secondary road , and is served also by the R328 and R364 regional roads. It is 50 km from Galway, 30 km from Roscommon, and 5 km northwest of Mountbellew...
Tír Sogháin became subject to the Uí Maine sometime in the middle of the first millennium.
Descendants
Descendants of the Soghain are still found in great numbers in County Galway, bearing names such as MannionMannion
Mannion may refer to:* Chief Jack Mannion, fictional Irish-American in the television show The District* Frank Mannion, Irish film producer* Jonathan Mannion , Photographer and Director...
, Ward/Mac an Bhaird
Mac an Bhaird
The Mac an Bháird family was one of the learned families of late medieval Ireland. The name has evolved over many centuries, the anglicized forms coming down to us as MacAward, McWard, MacEward, MacEvard, Macanward, M'Ward, and its most commonly used variant today: Ward...
, Gill/Gillane, Scarry, Duggan, Megan/McGann, Martin, Cassain.
See also
- Clann FhergailClann FhergailClann Fhergail was a cantred located in County Galway, compriseing the baronies of Moycullen and Galway, the parishes of Oranmore and Ballynacourty and Rahoon....
- Uí Fiachrach AidhneUí Fiachrach AidhneUí Fhiachrach Aidhne was a kingdom located in what is now the south of Co. Galway.-Legendary origins and geography:...
- Clann TaidgClann TaidgClann Taidg was the name of a medieval cantred located in what is now County Galway, Ireland.It consisted of the parishes of Athenry, Monivea, Tiaquin, Kilkerrin, Moylough, Killererin, Ballynakill-Aghiart, Kilmoylan, and possibly Abbeyknockmoy....
- Conmhaícne Mara
- Delbhna Tir Dha LochaDelbhna Tir Dha LochaDealbhne Thíre Dhá Loch was a tuath of Gaelic Ireland, located in the west of what is now Co. Galway, Ireland. It is now called Connemara-Overview:It was ruled by the Mac Conraoi clann...
- Muintir MurchadaMuintir MurchadaMuintir Murchada was the name of an Irish territory which derived its name from the ruling dynasty, who were in turn a branchh of the Uí Briúin. The name was derived from Murchadh mac Maenach, King of Uí Briúin Seóla, who died 891.-Overview:...
- Trícha Máenmaige
- Uí DíarmataUí DíarmataUí Díarmata was a local kingdom located in what is now north County Galway.-Origins:The ruling dynasty took its name from King Diarmait Finn of Connacht , and the territory in turn was named after them. It seems to have been created by the Uí Briúin in the ninth century during a wave of expansion...
- Cóiced Ol nEchmachtCóiced Ol nEchmacht-Etymology and extent:Cóiced Ol nEchmacht may be translated as the portion/fifth/province of the Ol nEchmacht, also called the Fir Ol nEchmacht . They were divided up into three main tribes: the Fir Craibe, or Fir na Criabe; the Tuatha Taiden; the Gamanraige...
- Síol AnmchadhaSíol AnmchadhaSíol Anmchadha was a sub-kingdom or lordship of Hy-Many, and ruled by an off-shoot of the Ui Maine called the Síol Anmchadha , from whom the territory took its name....
- Maigh SeolaMaigh SeolaMaigh Seola was a term used to describe the land along the east shore of Lough Corrib in County Galway, Ireland. It was bounded by the Uí Maine vassal kingdom of Soghain. Its rulers up to the 1220s were the Muintir Murchada, who took the surname O'Flaherty...
- Cenél Áeda na hEchtgeCenél Áeda na hEchtgeCenél Áeda na hEchtge was a trícha cét Cenél Áeda na hEchtge (also Cenél Áeda, Kenloth, Kinalethes, Kenealea, Kinelea)was a trícha cét Cenél Áeda na hEchtge (also Cenél Áeda, Kenloth, Kinalethes, Kenealea, Kinelea)was a trícha cét (later a cantred, (a branch of the Uí Fiachrach Aidhne) and which...