The Laigin, modern spelling Laighin (), were a Gaelic population group of early

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. They gave their name to the Kingdom 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 ...

, which in the medieval era was known in Irish as ''Cóiced Laigen'', meaning "Fifth/province of the Leinstermen" (Modern Irish Cúige Laighean), where their descendants ruled till the 17th century. Their territory, located in south-east Ireland, is thought to have once extended from the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland. The Sha ...

to the

River Boyne The River Boyne ( ga, An Bhóinn or ''Abhainn na Bóinne'') is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newberry Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows towards the Northeast through C ...

. The surnames of those descended from the Laigin are still counted amongst the most numerous in Ireland.

Etymology

Laigin is a plural noun, indicating an

ethnonym An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and us ...

rather than a geographic term, but the Irish system of naming territories meant that an area tended to be named after an apical ancestor-figure even when the ruling dynasty had no links to that figure. The origin of their name is uncertain; however, it is traditionally assumed to derive from the Irish word ', meaning 'a spear'. Early texts use names ''Laigen'' and ''Gaileoin'' interchangeably.

Origins

The Laigin claimed descended from King Labraid Loingsech. Modern historians suggest, on the basis of Irish traditions and related place names, that the Laigin were a group of invaders from Gaul or Britain, who arrived no later than the 6th century BC, and were later incorporated into the medieval genealogical scheme which made all the ruling groups of early Ireland descend from Míl Espáine. Placenames also suggest they once had a presence in north Munster and in Connacht. One archaic poem, possibly dating from about 600AD, reads as follows:- ''Móin óin, ó ba nóid, ní bu nós ardríg,'' ''oirt ríga, rout án, aue Luirc Labraid.'' ''Láithe gaile Galián gabsit inna lámaib laigne'' ''Lagin de sin slóg Galián glonnach.'' ''Glinnsit coicthe cota lir lerggae íath nÉremóin:'' ''is iarna longis Lóchet Longsech fían flaith Góidel gabsus.'' ''Gríb indrid íath n-anéoil aue Luirc Lóiguiri'' ''arddu dóinaib acht nóibrí nime.'' ''Ór ós gréin gelmair gabais for dóine domnaib'' ''sceo déib Día óin as Móin macc Áini óinrig.'' "Móen alone since he was an infant (or "an adult") - a thing which is a custom for a High King -, slew kings (with) a splendid shot, Labraid grandson of Lorc. The warriors of the Galiáin took spears in their hands, from that the deedful host of the Galián are called Laigin. They won wars as far as the sea of the shore of the lands of Éremón; it is after the taking ship, a lightning flash of warrior bands, that he seized the lordship of the Gaedel Loégaire grandson of Lorc was a griffin overrunning unknown lands, exalted above men, except for the holy King of Heaven Gold more shining than the sun he took, on the lands of men and gods, one god, that is Móen son of Áine, the one king." In the saga, ''Orgain Denna Ríg'' (The Destruction of Dind Ríg), Labraid Loingsech is exiled when his granduncle Cobhtach Coel usurps the kingship, however, he subsequently returns from abroad with an army of spearmen (Laigin) and takes his kingship by burning the citadel of Dind Ríg to the ground with the usurper and all his retinue inside. The saga ends with:- ''"So then Cobthach Coel is there destroyed, with seven hundred followers and thirty kings around him, on the eve of great Christmas precisely. Hence is said: Three hundred years — victorious reckoning — before Christ's birth, a holy conception, it was not fraternal, it was evil — (Loegaire) Lorc was slain by Cobthach Coel. Cobthach Coel with thirty kings, Labraid ... slew him (Lugaid). Loegaire's grandson from the main, in Dind Ríg the host was slain.'' ''And 'tis of this that Ferchertne the poet said: ‘Dind Ríg, which had been Tuaim Tenbath,’ etc. i.e. Máin Ollam he was at first, Labraid Moen afterwards, but Labraid the Exile, since he went into exile, when he gained a realm as far as the Ictian Sea, and brought the many foreigners with him (to Ireland), to wit, two thousand and two hundred foreigners with broad lances in their hands, from which the Laigin (Leinstermen) are so called"''.

Related peoples and dynasties

Archaic poems found in medieval genealogical texts distinguish three groups making up the Laigin: the Laigin proper, the Gaileóin, and the Fir Domnann. The latter are suggested to be related to the British Dumnonii.Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, "Ireland, 400-800", in Dáibhí Ó Cróinín (ed.), ''A New History of Ireland'' Vol 1, 2005, pp. 182-234 Amongst others, some of the dynasties that claimed to belong to the Laigin include: Uí Failge, Uí Bairrche, Uí Dúnlainge,

Uí Ceinnselaig The Uí Ceinnselaig (also Uí Cheinnselaig, Anglicized as Kinsella), from the Old Irish "grandsons of Cennsalach", are an Irish dynasty of Leinster who trace their descent from Énnae Cennsalach, a supposed contemporary of Niall of the Nine Ho ...

Uí Garrchon The Uí Garrchon were the principal sub-sept of the Dál Messin Corb, who were the ruling dynasty of Leinster, Ireland for much of the fifth century. Their main opponents outside of Leinster were the nascent Uí Néill. Their known kings inclu ...

, and the Uí Máil.

In medieval literature

In the legendary tales of the

Ulster Cycle The Ulster Cycle ( ga, an Rúraíocht), formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the Ulaid. It is set far in the past, in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly coun ...

, the king 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 ...

Ailill mac Máta Ailill mac Máta is the king of the Connachta and the husband of queen MedbMatson, Gienna: ''Celtic Mythology A to Z'', page 2. Chelsea House, 2004. in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He rules from Cruachan (Rathcroghan in County Roscomm ...

, is said to belong to the Laigin. This is thought by Byrne (2001) to be related to a possible early domination of the province of Connacht by peoples related to the Laigin, the Fir Domnann and the Gamanrad.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Ancient Laigin
{{Kingdom of Ireland Gaels Tribes of ancient Ireland Gaelic-Irish nations and dynasties Leinster