In 6th century Ireland, the population of

Mohill Mohill (, meaning "Soft Ground") is a town in County Leitrim, Ireland. The town of Carrick-on-Shannon is approximately 16 km (10 miles) away. History The Justinian plague of Mohill devastated the local population in the 6th centur ...

was devastated by the

Justinian plague The plague of Justinian or Justinianic plague (541–549 AD) was the first recorded major outbreak of the first plague pandemic, the first Old World pandemic of plague, the contagious disease caused by the bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. The dis ...

, an early phenomenon of the . The Mohill plague occurred following the

Extreme weather events of 535–536 The volcanic winter of 536 was the most severe and protracted episode of climatic cooling in the Northern Hemisphere in the last 2,000 years. The volcanic winter was caused by an eruption, with several possible locations proposed in various contin ...

and death of

Manchán of Mohill Manchan, enm, Manachain, Mainchin, Manachain, Managhan, Monahan, abbr=midEng, la, Manchianus, Mancenus, Manichchaeus, Monahan, cy, Maucannus, Maucann, Mancan, Mancen, Maucan or Moucan., name=namevariants ,, enm, Moithla, Moethla, Maethla, ...

Evidence

Evidence for the

in Mohill barony is revealed by the names of three contiguous townlands south west of

town—Tamlaght More, Tamlaght Beg, and Tamlaghtavally—all surrounding the former monastery of Mohill. Because Tamlaght ( ga, Taimhleacht) is a pagan name, all three townland names are ancient and pre-Christian in origin. Recognition that the word ''tamlacht'' signifies a plague

burial site Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

is widespread, but most communities are unaware of their ancient ancestors' experiences. Knowledge of the plague at Mohill emerged after 1975, when a local school teacher named Gaffney, wrote his account: Hanley (2002) also identifies Mohill barony with the Justinian plague. He noted nearly all 41 ''Tamlachta'' sites in the northern half of Ireland are associated with water - with the exception of

. However, Mohill ( ga, Maothail "soft or spongy place") is connected to waterways — the nearby Lough Rinn feeds the Rinn river, itself a tributary of the Shannon river. Hanley believed the bordering

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 ...

kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

was uniquely hard hit by

pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...

. Dooley believes another

epidemic An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics ...

in A.D. 550, christened the ''croin Chonaill (redness of C.)'', or the ''buidhe Chonaill (yellowness of C.)'', suggests a fairly widespread

outbreak In epidemiology, an outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease when cases are in excess of normal expectancy for the location or season. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire ...

focused on the Shannon area.

Causes

A sudden

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

in the decade after 538 can be observed from dendrochonology studies of Irish trees, and the arrival of the

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...

in Ireland c. A.D. 544, seems to correlate with the westward trajectory of the Justinianic plague, which had reached

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

by A.D. 543. The Four Masters states: "543 AD, an extraordinary universal plague through the world, which swept away the noblest third part of the human race", and the

Annals of Ulster The ''Annals of Ulster'' ( ga, Annála Uladh) are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, ...

christened the

"bléfed". It is estimated 25–50 million, or 40% of European population, died over two centuries as the plague returned periodically up until the 8th century.

Heritage

Haley observed how The presence and death of a Christian missionary during these events at Mohill is recorded. The conversion to Christianity and subsequent veneration of Manchan of Mohill (d. 538) as saint by the local populace is notable. This parish is named "Mohill-Manchan" to this day. Hanly reported a great surge in ringfort-building after the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

of 545 AD, as the populace on the

boundary Boundary or Boundaries may refer to: * Border, in political geography Entertainment *Boundaries (2016 film), ''Boundaries'' (2016 film), a 2016 Canadian film *Boundaries (2018 film), ''Boundaries'' (2018 film), a 2018 American-Canadian road trip ...

of devastated regions,

and Mohill (barony), sought security from mysterious and widespread death,

riving Wood splitting (''riving'',"Riving" def. 1.b. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 cleaving) is an ancient technique used in carpentry to make lumber for making wooden objects, some basket ...

, cattle-raids,

enslavement Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, and worse. These forts (called Raths) were entrenchments the Irish built about their houses. Numerous remains of these ''forts'' are visible around ancient barony of Mohill.

References

Citations

Main sources

* * *

Secondary sources

* * * * * {{refend Famines in Ireland First plague pandemic History of County Leitrim Medieval Ireland Natural disasters in Ireland Conmaicne Maigh Rein