Fir Ol nEchmacht was the name of a group or race of people living in pre-historic

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 ...

. The name may be translated as "men (') of the race/people (', possibly '?) of '" (' being the given name of the people). Some scholars believe they are connected to, or the same as, the

Nagnatae The Nagnatae (Ναγνάται) or Magnatae (Μαγνάται) were a people of ancient Ireland, recorded in Ptolemy's 2nd century ''Geography'' as living in northern Connacht. O'Rahilly suggests a connection between the Nagnatae and the Fir Ó ...

tribe, 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 AD work ''Geography''. Virtually all of Ireland west of the Shannon was once named after them and was called

Cóiced Ol nEchmacht Cóiced Ol nEchmacht is an ancient name for the province of Connacht, Ireland and including the area of County Clare. Etymology and extent Cóiced Ol nEchmacht may be translated as the portion/fifth/province of the Ol nEchmacht, also called the ...

until the early historic era ( 5th-7th centuries). It was only with the rise of the

Connachta The Connachta are a group of medieval Irish dynasties who claimed descent from the legendary High King Conn Cétchathach (Conn of the Hundred Battles). The modern western province of Connacht (Irish ''Cúige Chonnacht'', province, literally "f ...

dynasty that the term ''Fir Ol nEchmacht'' was dropped and the province was renamed

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

Sources

* ''Foras Feasa Eirann'',

Geoffrey Keating Geoffrey Keating ( ga, Seathrún Céitinn; c. 1569 – c. 1644) was a 17th-century historian. He was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, and is buried in Tubrid Graveyard in the parish of Ballylooby-Duhill. He became an Irish Catholic priest and a ...

, 1636. * ''Leabhar Mor nGenealach'',

Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh (), also known as Dubhaltach Óg mac Giolla Íosa Mór mac Dubhaltach Mór Mac Fhirbhisigh, Duald Mac Firbis, Dudly Ferbisie, and Dualdus Firbissius ( fl. 1643 – January 1671) was an Irish scribe, translator, histori ...

, 1649–1666. * ''Ogyia'',

Ruaidhri O Flaithbheartaigh Roderick O'Flaherty ( ga, Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh; 1629–1718 or 1716) was an Irish historian. Biography He was born in County Galway and inherited Moycullen Castle and estate. O'Flaherty was the last ''de jure'' Lord of Iar Connacht, ...

, 1684. * ''The History of Mayo'', T.H.Knox, 1908.

External links

* http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlkik/ihm/ire150.htm Historical Celtic peoples Connacht Fir Bolg Tribes of ancient Ireland {{Europe-ethno-group-stub