{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 Magh Luirg or Magh Luirg an Dagda, Anglicised as Moylurg, was the name of a medieval Irish kingdom located in modern-day County Roscommon,

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 ...

. It was a sub-kingdom of the kingdom of

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 Del ...

from c. 956–1585. The

kings of Moylurg The Kings of or Moylurg were a branch of the , and a kindred family to the Kings of Connacht. Their ancestor, , was a brother to , King of Connacht 967–973, ancestor of the O Connor family of Connacht. is said to have made a deal of some nat ...

were a branch of the Síl Muiredaig, who were themselves of the Uí Briúin Ai who descended from

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 ...

. Moylurg is, in Irish, ''Magh Luirg an Dagda'', "the plain of the tracks of the Dagda". The Dagda was an ancient Irish deity. The kingdom's first king, Maelruanaidh Mor mac Tadg, was a son of

Tadg mac Cathal Tadhg (, ), (pronunciations given for the name ''Tadgh'' separately from those for the slang/pejorative ''Teague''.) commonly misspelled "Taig" or "Teague", is an Irish and Scottish Gaelic masculine name that was very common when the Goidelic ...

(

King of Connacht The Kings of Connacht were rulers of the ''cóiced'' (variously translated as portion, fifth, province) of Connacht, which lies west of the River Shannon, Ireland. However, the name only became applied to it in the early medieval era, being named ...

925–956) and brother to Conchobar mac Tadg, who succeeded as king in 967. Maelruanaidh is said to have made a deal of some nature where, in return for abandoning any claim to the provincial kingship, he would be given Moylurg. His dynasty were known as the Clan Mulrooney (later known as Clan MacDermot), cousins to O'Connor, who was then High King of Ireland. This royal connection was exploited to oust the existing chieftains of Moylurg, the MacReevys (Irish: Mac Riabhaigh, later anglicized spelling McGreevy). There are very few clues as to the exact point in time when the MacRiabhaighs (MacReevys/McGreevys) were dispossessed of their ancestral lands by the McDermots or to a controversy which precipitated the action. Modern sources are not much help. Clearly the dispossession occurred earlier than was speculated by Sir Cecil King-Harmon in 1958 (c. 1400) or the Roscommon Herald in 1959 (c. 1300). The statement on the McGreevy Stone in Ardcarne Cemetery (erected in the 20th century, c. 1930) that the MacRiabhaighs (MacReevys/McGreevys) were "kings of Moylurgh . . . until 1255" may be the most reliable, and also is consistent with the statement by the Irish genealogical authority Edward MacLysaght ("More Irish Families") that the McGreevys were "lords of Moylurg . . . until the 13th century, when they were subdued by, and become tributary to the McDermots".

Annalistic references

From the

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Flood myt ...

: * ''M932.2. The foreigners of Luimneach plundered Connaught as far as Magh-Luirg to the north, and as far as Badhbhghna 'Slievebawn''to the east.''

References

* "Mac Dermot of Moylurg: The Story of a Connacht Family", Dermot Mac Dermot, 1996. * http://www.macdermot.com/ * "A History of Medieval Ireland", A.J. Otway-Ruthven, 1968. Kings of Connacht Kingdoms of medieval Ireland States and territories established in the 10th century MacDermot family

Annalistic references

See also

References