The Soghain were a people of ancient Ireland. The 17th-century scholar

Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh (), also known as Dubhaltach Óg mac Giolla Íosa Mór mac Dubhaltach Mór Mac Fhirbhisigh, Duald Mac Firbis, Dudly Ferbisie, and Dualdus Firbissius (fl. 1643 – January 1671) was an Irish scribe, translator, histori ...

identified them as part of a larger group called the

Cruithin 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 sai ...

. Mac Fhirbhisigh stated that the Cruithin included "the Dál Araidhi ál nAraidi the seven Lóigisi oígisof Leinster, the seven Soghain of Ireland, and every Conaille that is in Ireland."

Locations

The locations of four of the seven Soghain are as follows: * A branch in the territory of Fernmag (barony of Farney,

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 ...

). * In

Delvin Delvin () is a village in County Westmeath, Ireland; it is located on the N52 road at a junction with the N51 to Navan. The town is from Mullingar (along the N52). The word Delvin comes from Delbhna. That tribe settled in what is present-d ...

( County Westmeath) where a Soghain tribe lived with a branch of the

Delbhna The Delbna or Delbhna were a Gaelic Irish tribe in Ireland, claiming kinship with the Dál gCais, through descent from Dealbhna son of Cas. Originally one large population, they had a number of branches in Connacht, Meath, and Munster in Irela ...

in an area called ''

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.Eoghanacht. An

Ogham Ogham ( Modern Irish: ; mga, ogum, ogom, later mga, ogam, label=none ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish langu ...

inscription discovered near

Aglish Aglish () is a village in west County Waterford, Ireland. Population The population of the village almost doubled in size from 169 people as of the 2006 census, to 333 inhabitants by the 2016 census. According to the 2016 census, approximatel ...

in the barony of East Muskerry, some twelve miles west of the city of Cork, displays the words ''MUCOI SOGINI'', which probably means "of the Corcu Sogain". * The Soghain of Connacht were located in central east County Galway, in a kingdom called Soghan.

Soghan

The Soghain of Connacht were located in the ancient kingdom of Soghan, an area in central east County Galway bounded by the

river Suck The River Suck ( ga, An tSuca ) is a river within the Shannon River Basin in Ireland, 133 km (82.5 mi) in length. It is the main tributary of the River Shannon. It meets the Shannon a kilometre south of the village of Shannonbridge. ...

on the east, the river Clare on the west, the Grange and Shiven rivers to the north, and the Raford and Ballinure rivers to the south. A poem recorded in ''The Book of Uí Maine'', ''Cruas Connacht clanna Sogain'', lists the kingdom's boundaries, which can be found to tie in with the above locations:

From Áth an Ibar west To Glais Uair Arnaigh Was the extent of Soghan That sword-guarded land. From Béal na Róbe in Máenmagh To the clear, soft-reeded Simin Was the breath of the plain Which bore no ignominy.

The previous, pre- Gaelic people of the area were called the

Senchineoil Senchineoil or Seincheinéal was the name of the early rulers, possibly pre- Gaelic, of what is now central and east County Galway and south County Roscommon, Ireland. Overview The term Senchineoil (''sen'' = old; ''chineoil'' = people/tribe/ ...

. Very little information survives on them. The Soghain 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 ...

were described by Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin in his poem ''Triallam timcheall na Fodla'' as follows: "The six Sogain let us not shun / Their kings are without oblivion / Good the host of plundering excursions / To whom the spear-armed Sogain is hereditary." The

Book of Lecan The (Great) Book of Lecan (Irish: ''Leabhar (Mór) Leacáin'') (RIA, MS 23 P 2) is a medieval Irish manuscript written between 1397 and 1418 in Castle Forbes, Lecan (Lackan, Leckan; Irish ''Leacán''), in the territory of Tír Fhíacrach, n ...

lists their six branches as ''Cenél Rechta'', ''Cenél Trena'', ''Cenél Luchta'', ''Cenél Fergna'', ''Cenél Domaingen'' and ''Cenél Déigill''. The genealogy of Saint Kerrill of Clonkeenkerrill is given as ''Caireall mac Curnáin mac Treana mac Fionnchada mac Náir mac Earca mac Tiobraide mac Soghain Salbhuidhe mac Fiacha Araidhe''. His grandfather, Treana mac Fionnchada, was the eponym of the Cinel Trena, who were apparently located close to Knockma, as evinced by the placename Tír Mhic Trena (the land of the sons of Trena). This area was the western limit of the kingdom of the Connacht Soghain. Early Christian evangelists among the Soghain included

Conainne Conainne, also known as Dachonna, ( ) was an Irish missionary and saint. The Irish terms of endearment, ''mo'' and ''do'', were regularly added to the names of Irish saints and secular people, hence the origin of her diminutive pseudonym, Dachonn ...

, St Connell and

Kerrill Saint Kerrill aka Caireall mac Curnain was a Christian missionary in what is now east County Galway, alive in the mid-to-late 5th century. Origins Caireall mac Curnain was a member of the Soghain people of Ireland, specifically those located in ...

. Their successors include Naomhéid, Cuana of Kilcoonagh,

Dubhán Dubhán was a 5th-century Brittonic priest and pilgrim, for whom Hook Head (originally ''Rinn Dubháin'') is named. Hagiography According to tradition, Dubhán came from Wales to Ireland in 452 AD along with a group of his followers. Numerous ...

, Felig, Íbar, Íomar of the Sogain, Laisren of Clonkeenkerrill,

Maol Chosna Maol Chosna () was an Irish missionary and founder of the church of ''Cill Maol Chosna'' ("the church of Maol Chosna"), which gave its name to the vicarage of the east half of Ballymacward, County Galway. The site is located at Kilmelcosing ceme ...

Modiúit Modiúit () was an early successor of Saint Kerrill, Bishop of the kingdom of Soghain in what is now County Galway. Modiúit established a church at what is now Killamude, in the parish of Ballymacward. Killamude derives from ''Cill Modiúit'' ...

, Menott, Molua of Kilmoluagh. Parishes known to be included in Soghan were: * Abbeyknockmoy * Abbert / Monivea * Ahascragh * Athenry *

Ballymacward Ballymacward () is a village in County Galway, Ireland, on the R359 regional road between the main road and rail networks which traverse east-west, 24 kilometres from Ballinasloe and approximately 48 kilometres from Galway City. It was once ...

* Clonkeenkerrill * Fohenagh * Kilcloony *

Kilconnell Kilconnell () is a small rural village in County Galway, Ireland. The village gives its name to the barony of Kilconnell, formerly held by the Lords de Freyne. In 2006 David Tye purchased the original feudal Barony of Kilconnell created in 117 ...

* Kilgerrill * Killascobe * Killosolan * Kilmoylan (part) * Lackagh (part) *

Moylough Moylough ( ; ) is a small rural village located in County Galway in Ireland. It is located on the N63 national secondary road (Cnoc Tua Mór–Longford), and is served also by the R328 and R364 regional roads. It is 50 km from Galway, 30 ...

Soghan became subject to the Uí Maine sometime during the first millennium.

Descendants

Descendants of the Soghain are still found in great numbers in County Galway, bearing names such as Ó Mainnín,

Mannion Mannion is a surname of Irish origin. Notable people with the surname include: * Frank Mannion, Irish film producer * Georgia Mannion (born 2003), Australian singer-songwriter known professionally as George Alice * John Mannion Jnr (1944–2006), ...

, Manning, Ward /

Mac an Bhaird The Mac an Bháird family ( ga, Clann an Bháird) was one of the learned families of late medieval Ireland. The name has evolved over many centuries, the anglicised forms coming down as ''MacAward'', ''McWard'', ''MacEward'', ''MacEvard'', ''Macan ...

, Gill / Gillane, Scarry, Dugan / Duggan, Megan / McGann, Martin, and Cassain.

Annalistic references

* ''811. Irghalach, son of Maelumha, lord of Corca Soghain''

References

* ''The Book of Uí Maine, otherwise called 'The book of the O'Kellys, R.A.S. Mac Alister (ed.),

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, 1942. * ''Punann arsa'' part i, Martin Finnerty, Galway, 1951. * ''The parish of Ballinasloe'', Rev. Patrick K. Egan, Dublin and London, 1960. Facsimile reproduction, Galway, 1994. * ''Ballymacward: The story of an east Galway parish'', John S. Flynn, 1991. * ''The Life, Legends and Legacy of Saint Kerrill: A Fifth-Century East Galway Evangelist'',

Joseph Mannion Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

, 2004. 0 954798 1 3 * ''The true identity of Saint Kerrill of Clonkeenkerrill'', Joseph Mannion, in ''Making shapes with slates and marla:A Gurteen anthology'', John and Margaret Corbett (compilers), Galway, 2004. * ''The

and the Sogain: Differentiating between the pre-Celtic and early Celtic Tribes of Central East Galway,'' Joseph Mannion, ''Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society'', Volume 58, pp. 165–170, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Soghain Connacht Historical Celtic peoples Geography of County Galway History of County Galway Tribes of ancient Ireland Ulaid

Locations

Soghan

Descendants

Annalistic references

See also

References