Eilne, also spelt as Eilni, alias Mag nEilne, was a medieval Irish

Cruthin The Cruthin (; mga, Cruithnig or ; ga, label= Modern Irish, Cruithne ) were a people of early medieval Ireland. Their heartland was in Ulster and included parts of the present-day counties of Antrim, Down and Londonderry. They are also said ...

petty-kingdom in the over-kingdom of

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 ...

. It lay between the

River Bann The River Bann (from ga, An Bhanna, meaning "the goddess"; Ulster-Scots: ''Bann Wattèr'') is one of the longest rivers in Northern Ireland, its length, Upper and Lower Bann combined, being 129 km (80 mi). However, the total lengt ...

and

River Bush The River Bush (from the ga, an Bhuais) is a river in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The River Bush is long. The river's source is in the Antrim Hills at 480m. From there the river flows northwest, with a bend at the town of Armoy. It then f ...

, and was centered on Magh nEilne, the "plain of Eilne", spanning north-east

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

and north-west

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

, in present-day

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. Eilne may represent the name of an original population grouping, though even in the Old Irish period who they were was forgotten. The end result of conquest first by the

Dál nAraidi Dál nAraidi (; "Araide's part") or Dál Araide, sometimes Latinised as Dalaradia or Anglicised as Dalaray,Boyd, Hugh AlexanderIrish Dalriada ''The Glynns: Journal of The Glens of Antrim Historical Society''. Volume 76 (1978). was a Cruthin kin ...

and then the

Uí Tuirtri Loughinsholin () is a barony in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Its southeast borders the northwest shore of Lough Neagh, and itself is bordered by seven other baronies: Dungannon Upper to the south; Strabane Upper to the west; Keenag ...

resulted in Eilne later becoming known simply as ''An Tuaiscert'', which survived into the

late medieval period The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...

as the name of a medieval deanery and the Anglo-Norman cantred of

Twescard Twescard () is a former county of the Earldom of Ulster in medieval Ireland. Taking its name from the native Irish territory of '' in Tuaiscirt'', it spanned the northern coastland of County Antrim and County Londonderry. At its height it stretche ...

History

In 563 the battle of Móin Daire Lothair (modern-day

Moneymore Moneymore () is a village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,897 in the 2011 Census. It is situated within Mid-Ulster District. It is an example of a plantation village in Mid-Ulster built by the Drap ...

) took place between an alliance of Cruthin kings and the

Northern Uí Néill The Northern Uí Néill is any of several dynasties in north-western medieval Ireland that claimed descent from a common ancestor, Niall of the Nine Hostages. Other dynasties in central and eastern Ireland who also claimed descent from Niall wer ...

. The Cruthin suffered a devastating defeat and lost the territories of Ard Eólairg (

Magilligan peninsula Magilligan () is a peninsula that lies in the northwest of County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, at the entrance to Lough Foyle, within Causeway Coast and Glens district. It is an extensive coastal site, part British army firing range, par ...

) and the Lee, which both lay west of the River Bann, with the Northern Uí Néill settling their

Airgíalla Airgíalla (Modern Irish: Oirialla, English: Oriel, Latin: ''Ergallia'') was a medieval Irish over-kingdom and the collective name for the confederation of tribes that formed it. The confederation consisted of nine minor kingdoms, all independe ...

allies in Eilne. The Cruthin afterwards consolidated themselves in the Dál nAraidi. In the mid-7th century the Dál nAraidi of

Magh Line Magh may refer to: * Magh people, the Arakanese nationalities known in Bengal as Maghs * Maagha, a month in Hindu calendar * Magh (Bengali calendar), the 10th month in the Bengali calendar. This is the last month of the winter season * Magh (Nepa ...

conquered Eilne to their north-west and one of their dynasty seems to have settled there, with this branch eventually being known as the

Dál nAraidi in Tuaiscirt Dál nAraidi in Tuaiscirt, also known as Dál nAraidi of the North, was a Dál nAraidi petty-kingdom and dynasty located in the over-kingdom of Ulaid, in medieval Ireland. It derived from a branch of the ruling Uí Chóelbad dynasty of Dál nAraid ...

. In 681, Dungal Eilni, king of the Cruthin, who was of the Dál nAraidi in Tuaiscirt was killed at Dún Ceithern (modern-day Giant's Sconce in parish of Dunboe, west of River Bann) along with the king of

Cianachta Glenn Geimin Keenaght () is a barony in the mid-northerly third of County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It connects to the north-Londonderry coastline, and is bordered by four other baronies: Coleraine to the east; Loughinsholin to the south-east; Tirkeera ...

Máel Dúin mac Máele Fithrich Máel Dúin mac Máele Fithrich (died 681) was a King of Ailech and head of the Cenél nEógain branch of the northern Uí Néill. He had married Cacht ingen Cellaig, daughter of the high king Cellach mac Máele Coba (died 658) of the Cenél Conai ...

of the Cenél Meic Ercae of

Cenél nEógain Cenél is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Cenél Conaill, the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Conall Gulban, son of Niall Noígiallach defined by oral and recorded history *Cenél nEógain (in English, Cenel Eogan) is ...

. Cathussach mac Ailello, king of Eilne and Dál nAraidi, and claimed as having ruled the over-kingdom of Ulaid for sixteen years, was killed at Ráith Beithech (Rathveagh, County Antrim) in 749. At the end of the 8th-century, the

, whose kingdom lay west of the River Bann, started to migrate into Eilne due to pressure from the encroaching Cenél nEógain. Eochaid mac Bressal, who died in 832, was the last known king of the Dál nAraidi in Tuaiscirt to hold the over-kingship of the Dál nAraidi. By the 10th-century, Eilne was under the control of the Uí Tuirtri who had also moved their client kingdom of Fir Lí eastwards as well.

List of kings

Below is a list of the known kings of Eilne: *

Dúngal Eilni mac Scandail Dúngal Eilni mac Scandail (died 681) was a Dál nAraidi king of the Cruthin. He ascended to this position some time after 668. He was the son of Scandal mac Bécce (died 646), a previous king. In the 6th and 7th centuries the Dál nAraidi were ...

, of the Dál nAraidi in Tuaiscirt, king of Dál nAraidi and the Cruthin after 668 to 681. *

Ailill mac Dúngaile Eilni Aillil mac Dúngaile Eilni (died 690) was a Dál nAraidi king of the Cruthin in Ulaid, an over-kingdom in medieval Ireland. He was the son of Dúngal Eilni mac Scandail (died 681), a previous king. He ruled from 682-690. In the 6th and 7th centur ...

, of the Dál nAraidi in Tuaiscirt, king of Dál nAraidi and the Cruthin 682-690. *

Cú Chuarán mac Dúngail Eilni Cú Chuarán mac Dúngaile (died 708) was a Dál nAraidi king of Ulaid, an over-kingdom in medieval Ireland. He was the son of Dúngal Eilni mac Scandail (died 681) and brother of Ailill mac Dúngaile Eilni (died 690), previous kings of Dál nA ...

, of the Dál nAraidi in Tuaiscirt, king of Dál nAraidi from 698 to 708, and of Ulaid from 707 to 708. *

Fiachra Cossalach Fiachra Cossalach (died 710) was a Dál nAraidi king of the Cruthin in Ulaid, a medieval over-kingdom in Ireland. He ruled from 709-710. Fiachra Cossalach was a son of Dúngal Eilni mac Scandail (died 681) and hence a member of the Eilne branc ...

, of the Dál nAraidi in Tuaiscirt, king of Dál nAraidi and the Cruthin 709-710. *

Flathróe mac Fiachrach Flathróe mac Fiachrach (died 774) was a Dál nAraidi king of the Cruthin in Ulaid, a medieval over-kingdom in Ireland. He was the son of Fiachra Cossalach (died 710), a previous king. He may have belonged to the Eilne branch of the family. He rul ...

, of the Dál nAraidi in Tuaiscirt, king of Dál nAraidi and the Cruthin 749-774. Was the last king to be called king of the Cruthin. * Cathussach mac Ailello, of the Dál nAraidi in Tuaiscirt, king of Ulaid in the mid-8th century. *

Cináed Ciarrge mac Cathussaig Cináed Ciarrge mac Cathussaig (died 776) was a Dál nAraidi king of Ulaid, an over-kingdom in medieval Ireland. He was the son of Cathussach mac Ailello (died 749), a previous king and possible over-king of Ulaid. He belonged to the Eilne branch ...

, of the Dál nAraidi in Tuaiscirt, king of Ulaid from 774 to 776. *Eochaid mac Bressal, of the Dál nAraidi in Tuaiscirt, died 832, the last king of Eilne from this dynasty.

Religious foundations

The church (or monastery) of Cuil Raithin on the shore of the River Bann lay in Eilne and was said to have been founded by Cairbre, who subsequently became its bishop. According to the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, written in the 9th-century, the Dál nAraidi had granted this church to

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

Territorial expanse

Dál nAraidi in Tuaiscirt is said to have corresponded to the later baronies of

Dunluce Lower Dunluce Lower is a barony in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. To its north runs the north-Antrim coast, and it is bordered by three other baronies: Dunluce Upper to the south, Cary to the east, and the North East Liberties of Coleraine to the wes ...

and

North East Liberties of Coleraine The North East Liberties of Coleraine (named after Coleraine town) is a barony in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It borders the north-Londonderry coastline, and is bordered by three other baronies: Coleraine to the west; Dunluce Lower t ...

, and appears to correspond to the

trícha cét The tríocha céad, also known as trícha cét, meaning "thirty hundreds", was a unit of land-holding in eleventh and twelfth century Ireland. A sub-division of in Tuaiscirt called ''Cuil an Tuaiscirt'', meaning the "nook/corner" of Dál nAraidi in Tuaiscirt, was located in the north-west of the petty-kingdom near Coleraine. Its territory would form the basis of the later barony of

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eilne Ulaid Cruthin Ancient Irish dynasties