Dál mBuinne, alias Dál mBuain, meaning the "portion of Buinne", was a medieval Irish
Cruthin
The Cruthin (; mga, Cruithnig or ; ga, label= Modern Irish, Cruithne ) were a people of early medieval Ireland. Their heartland was in Ulster and included parts of the present-day counties of Antrim, Down and Londonderry. They are also said ...
Dál nAraidi
Dál nAraidi (; "Araide's part") or Dál Araide, sometimes Latinised as Dalaradia or Anglicised as Dalaray,Boyd, Hugh AlexanderIrish Dalriada ''The Glynns: Journal of The Glens of Antrim Historical Society''. Volume 76 (1978). was a Cruthin kin ...
of
Magh Line
Magh may refer to:
* Magh people, the Arakanese nationalities known in Bengal as Maghs
* Maagha, a month in Hindu calendar
* Magh (Bengali calendar), the 10th month in the Bengali calendar. This is the last month of the winter season
* Magh (Nepa ...
in the over-kingdom of
Ulaid
Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or Ulaidh ( Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include Ulidia, which is the Latin form of Ulaid, and i ...
. Their eponymous ancestor was Buinn, son of the legendary Ulaid king
Fergus mac Róich
Fergus mac Róich (literally " manliness, son of great stallion") is a character in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Formerly the king of Ulster, he is tricked out of the kingship and betrayed by Conchobar mac Nessa, becomes the ally and lo ...
. It consisted in whole or part of a
trícha cét
The tríocha céad, also known as trícha cét, meaning "thirty hundreds", was a unit of land-holding in eleventh and twelfth century Ireland. Dál mBuinne is Anglicised as Dalmunia and Dalboyn, the latter of which became the name of a medieval deanery.
Dál mBuinne contained the royal site of Dún Eachdach (Eochaidh’s fort, modern-day Duneight in County Down), which had been established by the
Dál Fiatach
Dál Fiatach was a Gaelic dynastic-grouping and the name of their territory in the north-east of Ireland during the Middle Ages. It was part of the over-kingdom of Ulaid, and they were its main ruling dynasty for most of Ulaid's history. Their ...
by the 9th century. In 1010 AD according to 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 ...
Flaithbertach Ua Néill
Flaithbertach Ua Néill (before 978–1036) was king of Ailech, a kingdom of north-west Ireland. He abdicated in 1030 and undertook a pilgrimage to Rome, for which reason he was known as Flaithbertach an Trostáin (Flaithbertach of the Pilgr ...
of the
Cenél nEógain
Cenél is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Cenél Conaill, the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Conall Gulban, son of Niall Noígiallach defined by oral and recorded history
* Cenél nEógain (in English, Cenel Eogan) i ...
led an incursion into Ulaid and burnt Dún Eachdach. South of Dún Eachdach lies the Ravernet river, which formed the boundary between Dál mBuinne and
Uí Echach Cobo
Iveagh ( ; ) is the name of several historical territorial divisions in what is now County Down, Northern Ireland. Originally it was a Gaelic Irish territory, ruled by the ''Uí Echach Cobo'' and part of the overkingdom of Ulaid. From the 12th c ...
.
Dál mBuinne also contained the royal inauguration site of Cráeb Telcha (modern-day Crew Hill near Glenavy, County Antrim), which at first appears to have been used as such by the Dál nAraidi before its take over by the Dál Fiatach by the 9th century.St. Patrick's slave master Míliuc mac Buan (also called Milchú) was a chief of the Dál mBuain.
Branches
The following are giving as branches of the Dál mBuinne: the Galini, possibly 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 ...
origin descending from the Galeóin; the Cenél nErnain; and the Dál Cuirb—also known as Dál Corb na hUamadh (Dál Cuirb of the cave) and Dál Coirbin—one of the five primtuatha (chief families) of Dál mBuinne. The ''Uí Coltarain'' ( Coulter) sept were located in Dál Cuirb.
Saints and ecclesiastical foundations
According to one tradition, Míliuc mac Buan's daughter Brónach had the following children:St. Fursa who spread Christianity throughout the
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
; Mo Chaoi (Anglicised as Mahee, a pet form of St. Caolán), who founded Nendrum Monastery on Mahee Island in
Strangford Lough
Strangford Lough (from Old Norse ''Strangr Fjörðr'', meaning "strong sea-inlet"PlaceNames N ...
. He is recorded as having died in 496; Colmán Comraire of
Uisneach
, alternate_name = Ushnagh (anglicisation)
, image = Hill of Uisneach.jpg
, alt =
, caption = Information sign
, map =
, map_caption =
, map_type = island of Ireland
, map_alt = A map of Ireland
, map_size =
, location = ...
; Colmán Muilinn, founder of the church of Daire Chaechain in
Dál Riata
Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaelic kingdom that encompassed the western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel. At its height in the 6th and 7th centuries, it covered what is n ...
; Bishop Mac Erca, attributed as possible founder of the church of Domnuch MórMaige Coba, County Down; and his sister Damnat, founder of the church of Cell Damhnata (Caldavnet) in Sliabh Beagh,
County Monaghan
County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County C ...
.
This pedigree stemming from Brónach is stated as being entirely fictional, the common denominator being that all had links to St. Patrick, and that their linking may have been to place them all into a particular ecclesiastical-religious context.
Deanery of Dalboyn
In the papal taxation of 1306 the following parishes are given as being in the rural deanery of Dalboyn: Aghagallon, Aghalee, Ballinderry, Blaris, Derryaghy, Drumbo, Drumbeg, Glenavy, Hillsborough, Lambeg, Magheragall, and Magheramesk.
The Irish districts that composed the deanery in the 16th-century where Derryvolgie, Kilultagh, and Kilwarlin. Kilultagh (from Irish: ''Coill Ultach'', meaning "wood of the Ulster") was the largest of these and is suggested as being conterminous to Dál mBuinne. The medieval deanery of Dalboyn is now represented by the modern rural deaneries of Hillsborough and Lisburn.
The deanery is said to have extended from
Glenavy
Glenavy () is a village and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, 17 kilometres north west of Lisburn on the banks of the Glenavy River. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 5,697 people. In early documents it was known as Lena ...
in the north to Hillsborough in the south, and from Spencer's Bridge near Moira to Drum Bridge near
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...