Eóganacht Raithlind or Uí Echach Muman are a branch of the

Eóganachta The Eóganachta or Eoghanachta () were an Irish dynasty centred on Cashel which dominated southern Ireland (namely the Kingdom of Munster) from the 6/7th to the 10th centuries, and following that, in a restricted form, the Kingdom of Desmond, an ...

, the ruling dynasty 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 ...

in southwest

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

during the 5th-10th centuries. They took their name from Raithlinn or Raithleann described around the area of Bandon, in the same area. Archaeologists believe that Garranes Ringfort in Templemartin parish, near Bandon,

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

may have been Rath Raithleann, the royal seat of the Éoganacht Raithleann. They are descended from Mac Cass, the son of

Conall Corc Corc mac Luigthig (340-379),Genealogy of the House of Mac-Carthy formerly Sovereign of the Two Momonies or Southern Ireland, P. Louis Lainé, pg. 26, https://celt.ucc.ie/published/F830000-001.html also called Conall Corc, Corc of Cashel, and Corc ...

, the first King of Cashel, through Mac Cass' son Echu.

History

In the 6th century the Uí Echach Muman split into two major groups; the Uí Láegaire and the Cenel nÁeda. The Cenel nÁeda were descended from Echu's grandson Áed Ualgarb mac Crimthainn. They gave their name to the barony of Kinalea in southern County Cork. An important sub-sept of the Cenel nÁeda were the Cénel mBéicce, descended from Bécc mac Fergusa (died 661) who gave their name to the barony of Kinelmeaky. They later became the O Mathghamhna or

O'Mahony O'Mahony (Old Irish: ''Ó Mathghamhna''; Modern Irish: ''Ó Mathúna'') is the original name of the clan, with breakaway clans also spelled O'Mahoney, or simply Mahony, Mahaney and Mahoney, without the prefix. Brodceann O'Mahony was the eldest of ...

Máel Muad mac Brain Máel Muad mac Brain (died 978), commonly anglicised Molloy, was King of Munster, first possibly from 959 Green, p. 362 or alternatively 963 to around 970, when he may have been deposed (usurped) by Mathgamain mac Cennétig of the Dál gCais, and ...

belonged to this branch. The Cenél Láegaire were descended from Echu's grandson Lóegaire mac Crimthainn and expanded westward toward Bantry as early as the 8th century. They were later represented by Ua Donnchadha, or

O'Donoghue Donoghue or O'Donoghue is an anglicized form of the Irish language surname Ó Donnchadha or Ó Donnchú. Etymology The name means "descendant of Donnchadh", a personal name composed of the elements ''donn'' "brown-haired an and ''cath'' "battle" ...

s, a sept whose chiefs later settled in County Kerry. This branch are still represented among the

Gaelic nobility of Ireland This article concerns the Gaelic nobility of Ireland from ancient to modern times. It only partly overlaps with Chiefs of the Name because it excludes Scotland and other discussion. It is one of three groups of Irish nobility, the others being ...

by the O'Donoghue of the Glens, Prince of Glenflesk. Members of the Raithlind branch only rarely held the throne of all Munster. According to tradition Mac Cass died before his father and so Conall Corc took his son's inheritance and instead imposed his grandson Echu in the south thereby excluding them from the inner circle of Eoganachta. The Raithlind branch was semi-independent in the south in the territory of Desmond or South Munster, though they may have been subject to the

Eóganacht Locha Léin __NOTOC__ Eóganacht Locha Léin or Uí Cairpre Luachra were a branch of the ruling Eóganachta of Munster. Their territory was in Iarmuman or West Munster. Luachair (Lúachra) is the old name of a large district on the borders of Co Cork, Kerry a ...

at times during the height of their power in the late 6th and 7th centuries. In any event, following that era the O'Donoghues eventually gained the advantage in the region with Cashel also having a hand in the interim dynamics.

References

* Byrne, Francis John (2001), Irish Kings and High-Kings, Dublin: Four Courts Press, * Charles-Edwards, T. M. (2000), ''Early Christian Ireland'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Ireland's History in Maps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eoganacht Raithlind Kings of Munster Eóganachta

History

See also

References