The Darini (Δαρῖνοι) (manuscript variant: Darnii �άρνιοι were a people of ancient Ireland mentioned in

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

's 2nd century ''

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

'' as living in south Antrim and north Down. Their name implies descent from an ancestor called

Dáire Dáire is an Old Irish name which fell out of use at an early period, remaining restricted essentially to legendary and ancestral figures, usually male. It has come back into fashion since the 18th century. The anglicised form of this name is Da ...

(''*Dārios''),

T. F. O'Rahilly Thomas Francis O'Rahilly ( ga, Tomás Ó Rathile; 11 November 1882 – 16 November 1953)Ó Sé, Diarmuid.O'Rahilly, Thomas Francis (‘T. F.’). ''Dictionary of Irish Biography''. (ed.) James McGuire, James Quinn. Cambridge, United Kingdom: C ...

, ''Early Irish History and Mythology'', Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1946, p. 2, 7 as claimed by several historical peoples, including the

Dál Riata Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaelic kingdom that encompassed the western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel. At its height in the 6th and 7th centuries, it covered what is now ...

and

Dál Fiatach Dál Fiatach was a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic dynastic-grouping and the name of their territory in the north-east of Ireland during the Middle Ages. It was part of the over-kingdom of Ulaid, and they were its main ruling dynasty for most of Ulaid's ...

(Ulaidh) in the same area of eastern

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

as well the Érainn (

Iverni The Iverni (, ') were a people of early Ireland first mentioned in Ptolemy's 2nd century ''Geography'' as living in the extreme south-west of the island. He also locates a "city" called Ivernis (, ') in their territory, and observes that this se ...

) of

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

. An early name for

Dundrum, County Down Dundrum () is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is beside Dundrum Bay, about 4 miles outside Newcastle, County Down, Newcastle on the A2 road. The village is best known for its ruined Norman architecture, Norman Dundru ...

, is recorded as ''Dún Droma Dáirine'', and the name Dáirine was applied to the Érainn dynasty.

Overview

The cognate ''Dari(o)'' ("agitation, tumult, rage") is a form widely attested in the

Gaulish language Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switzer ...

, especially in personal names, and exists in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

as ''cynddaredd'' ("rage"). Thus the Darini may have been considered a people "of great violence" and descendants of a so called "red god". Over time, however, the Irish personal name ''Dáire'' would develop the meaning of "rutty" or "violent" apparently following a meaning of "bestial rage". Dáirine can sometimes refer to the so-called Érainn dynasties altogether and not only to the Corcu Loídge and their corelatives in Munster. Cú Roí mac Dáire is a king from Munster who appears frequently in the

Ulster Cycle The Ulster Cycle ( ga, an Rúraíocht), formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the Ulaid. It is set far in the past, in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly coun ...

possibly reflecting memories of the prehistoric Darini when their power was great in Ireland. The Dál Fiatach of Ulster later claimed descent from his semi-divine clan, the

Clanna Dedad Deda mac Sin (Deda, son of Sen) was a prehistoric king of the Érainn of Ireland, possibly of the 1st century BC. Variant forms or spellings include Ded, Dedu, Dedad, Degad, Dega, Dego, Deguth and Daig, with some of these occurring as genitives ...

, further associating the two provinces—although seemingly in contradiction to their descent from the

Ulaid Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or Ulaidh (Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include Ulidia, which is the Latin form of Ulaid, and in ...

or Voluntii proper, until it is remembered that the Darini and Voluntii lived adjacent to one another in Ptolemy's Ireland and were no doubt ancient kin. Cú Roí's father was

Dáire mac Dedad Dáire mac Dedad (Dáire, son of Dega) is the eponymous ancestor of the Dáirine of Munster and father of the legendary Cú Roí mac Dáire. These further associate him with the prehistoric Darini of Ulster. He is probably identical with Dáire ...

. The Clanna Dedad take their name from his grandfather, Deda mac Sin. The legendary

Conaire Mór Conaire Mór (the great), 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 ...

, ancestor of the

Síl Conairi The Síl Conairi (Sil Chonairi, Conaire) 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 ...

, or Dál Riata,

Múscraige The Múscraighe (older spelling: Músgraige) 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 als ...

Corco Duibne The Corcu Duibne, which means "seed or tribe of Duibhne" (the name of a goddess), was a notable kingdom in prehistoric and medieval County Kerry, Ireland which included the Dingle Peninsula, the Iveragh Peninsula and connecting lands. The tribe ...

, and Corca Baiscinn, was said to descend from

Íar mac Dedad Íar mac Dedad (Íar, son of Deda mac Sin) was a legendary King of Munster. He is the father, or in some sources more distant ancestor, of Eterscél Mór, and grandfather (or great-grandfather) of the famous Conaire Mór, both High Kings of Irelan ...

, brother of Dáire. This is simply another variant of the root present in Iverni/Érainn. Finally, the name ''Íth'', given in the genealogies as the ultimate ancestor of the Corcu Loígde (Dáirine) and offering some confusion about their parentage and relation to the Iverni, in fact preserves the same Indo-European root ''*peiH-'' ("to be fat, swell"),John T. Koch. "Ériu", in John T. Koch (ed.). ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia''. ABC-CLIO. 2006. pp. 709-18 thus in effect completing a basic picture of the Darini/Dáirine and their kindred in later historical Ireland.

Modern descendants

A number of

Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from Goidelic languages, Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official ...

s and families in the provinces of Ulster and Munster, trace their origins either among the Darini/Dáirine proper or peoples closely related to them. These include the

McMahon McMahon, also spelled MacMahon (older Irish orthography: ; reformed Irish orthography: ), is a surname of Irish origin. It is derived from the Gaelic ''Mac'' ''Mathghamhna'' meaning 'son of the bear'. The surname came into use around the 11th c ...

/ McKenzie,

Haughey Haughey ( ga, Ó hEochaidh) is an Irish surname of noble origins. Spelling variations include: Hoey, McCaughey and McKeogh, among others. The Haugheys are descendants of the ancient Dál Fiatach dynasty, rulers of Ulaid. According to Irish ...

Hoey Hoey is an Irish surname. Spelling variations include: O'Hoey, Haughey, McCaughey and McKeogh, among others. The original Irish spelling is Ó h Eochaidh. The Hoeys are descendants of the ancient Dál Fiatach dynasty, rulers of the Ulaid and fo ...

McNulty McNulty (also spelled MacNulty or McAnulty) is a surname of Irish origin. It is derived from the Gaelic ''Mac an Ultaigh'' meaning "son of the Ulsterman". Usually considered a branch of the Ulaid ruling dynasty of ''Mac Duinnshléibhe'' ( MacDon ...

/ McKinley of Dál Fiatach, and the

O'Driscoll O'Driscoll (and its derivative Driscoll) is an Irish surname stemming from the Gaelic ''Ó hEidirsceoil'' clan. The O'Driscolls were rulers of the Dáirine sept of the Corcu Loígde until the early modern period. Their ancestors were Kings o ...

and

O'Leary History Ancient The Uí Laoghaire clan, today associated with the Uibh Laoghaire parish in County Cork, is considered by scholars to have originated in the early Middle Ages on the south-west coast, in the area of Ros Ó gCairbre (Rosscarbery), ...

of Corcu Loígde.

Overview

Modern descendants

See also

References

Further reading