Uí Bairrche (
Modern Irish
Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was the ...
: ''Uí Bhairrche'', IPA:
iːˈwaːɾʲɾʲçə was an Irish kin-based group that originally held lands in the south of the ancient province of
Leinster
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...
(or ''Cóiced Laigen'' "the Fifth of the Laigin"). Another south Leinster kin group associated with the Uí Bairrche were groups of the
Fothairt. The south of Leinster was dominated by the
Uí Chennselaig in the 8th century. Uí Bairrche held lands around
Carlow
Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272.
The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...
, however Uí Chennselaig expansion split the kindred. The result was that one Uí Bairrche branch persevered in the Barrow valley; and another was forced to move south towards the
Wexford
Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...
coast.
History
Following the medieval genealogies, the Uí Bairrche descend from Dáire Barrach, a son of
Cathair Mór
Cathair Mór ("the great"), son of Feidhlimidh Fiorurghlas, a descendant of Conchobar Abradruad, was, according to Lebor Gabála Érenn, a High King of Ireland.Foras Feasa ar Éirinn, Section 40, page 259, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100054/t ...
, and are thus of
Laigin
The Laigin, modern spelling Laighin (), were a Gaelic population group of early Ireland. They gave their name to the Kingdom of Leinster, which in the medieval era was known in Irish as ''Cóiced Laigen'', meaning "Fifth/province of the Leinsterm ...
origins.
T. F. O'Rahilly
Thomas Francis O'Rahilly ( ga, Tomás Ó Rathile; 11 November 1882 – 16 November 1953)Ó Sé, Diarmuid.O'Rahilly, Thomas Francis (‘T. F.’). ''Dictionary of Irish Biography''. (ed.) James McGuire, James Quinn. Cambridge, United Kingdom: C ...
, however, believed them to have originally belonged to the
Érainn
The Iverni (, ') were a people of early Ireland first mentioned in Ptolemy's 2nd century ''Geography'' as living in the extreme south-west of the island. He also locates a "city" called Ivernis (, ') in their territory, and observes that this se ...
, being descendants of an ancestor figure
Dáire
Dáire is an Old Irish name which fell out of use at an early period, remaining restricted essentially to legendary and ancestral figures, usually male. It has come back into fashion since the 18th century. The anglicised form of this name is Dar ...
(''*Dārios''), and the historical representatives of the Brigantes, who are located in Co. Wexford in Claudius Ptolemy's ''Geography''.
Genealogies for the Uí Baircche are recorded in
Rawlinson B 502
Oxford, Bodleian Library, Rawlinson B 502 is a medieval Irish manuscript which presently resides in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. It ranks as one of the three major surviving Irish manuscripts to have been produced in pre-Norman Ireland, the tw ...
, fos. 121–122.
[ Ó Corráin, "Creating the Past", p. 181.] Among the monasteries in Leinster controlled by the Uí Bairrche are Cell Auxili,
Slébte
Sletty, Sleaty, or Slatey (''Sléibhte'', 'mountains', in Irish), is a civil parish in County Laois, Ireland. It is situated some 2 km north-north-west of the town of Carlow. It was once the see of a bishopric, founded by Saint Fiacc in th ...
(Sletty),
Glenn Uissen
Killeshin () is a village in County Laois, Ireland on the R430 regional road. Killeshin is a small rural community situated five kilometres west of Carlow town and overlooks the picturesque Barrow Valley. The church at the foot of the Killeshi ...
(now Killeshin), Banba Mór, Cell Mo Lappóc and Tech Mo Shacro.
See also
*
List of Celtic tribes
This is a list of Celtic tribes, organized in order of the likely ethnolinguistic kinship of the peoples and tribes.
In Classical antiquity, Celts were a large number and a significant part of the population in many regions of Western Europe, ...
*
Tigernach of Clones
Tigernach mac Coirpri (''d''. 549) was an early Irish saint, patron saint of Clones (Co. Monaghan) in the province of Ulster.
Background
Tigernach or Tiarnach of Clones (anglicised ''Tierney'') was one of the pre-eminent saints of the territo ...
*
Áed of Sletty
Áed of Sletty was a Gaelic Irish Bishop and anchorite, fl. late 7th century.
Biography
Áed was a member of the Uí Bairrche. He was bishop of Sletty, County Laois, and patron of Muirchu Maccu Machteni, who at Áed's request wrote a life of ...
*
Saint Fiacc
Saint Fiacc (c. 415-520) was a poet, the chief bishop of Leinster, and founder of two churches.
Life
His father, MacDara, was prince of the Uí Bairrche in the country around Carlow, Ireland. His mother was sister of Dubhthach moccu Lughair, ...
Citations
General references
Secondary sources
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Primary sources
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External links
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Gaelic-Irish nations and dynasties
Laigin
Leinster
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