The Ui Enechglaiss were a

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

attested in 5th-century Ireland, who provided some of the early kings 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 Leinster ...

Background

The dynasty were initially based on the plains of

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...

around

Naas Naas ( ; ga, Nás na Ríogh or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 21,393, making it the second largest town in County Kildare after Newbridge. History The name of Naas has been recorded in th ...

, (Devane, 2005, believes that they were based at Carbury Hill) but were forced east over the

Wicklow Mountains The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: ''Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in the Republic of Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. ...

by the invasions and conquests by the

Uí Néill The Uí Néill (Irish pronunciation: ; meaning "descendants of Niall") are Irish dynasties who claim descent from Niall Noígíallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages), a historical King of Tara who died c. 405. They are generally divided into t ...

in the first half of the 6th century. 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 ...

stone from south of

Slane Slane () is a village in County Meath, in Ireland. The village stands on a steep hillside on the left bank of the River Boyne at the intersection of the N2 ( Dublin to Monaghan road) and the N51 (Drogheda to Navan road). As of the 2016 cen ...

in County Meath points to a connection with that area. They became a politically unimportant people, situated between the Dal Messin Corb and the Ui Dega, on the coast of County Wicklow, based around

Arklow Arklow (; ; , ) is a town in County Wicklow on the southeast coast of Ireland. The town is overlooked by Ballymoyle Hill. It was founded by the Vikings in the ninth century. Arklow was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the 1798 re ...

. In the 11th century, their rulers adopted the surname Ua Fiachraige, now rendered as O'Fieghraie, O'Feary and Feary.

Heartland

Devane (p. 187, 2005) believes that ''"the heartland of Ui Enechglaiss asin Carbury, Co. Kildare, before dislocation either by Coirpre, son of Niall, or by his sons in the late 5th/early 6th century."'' She goes on to state that, by inference of the sources, ''"the Dál Messin Corb (a branch of the Uí Enechglaiss) was, in fact, dominant in north Leinster in the 5th century and was to the fore in the defence of the province against Coirpre and Ui Neill. This view is supported by the 'Vita Tripartia', in which Saint Patrick, or more likely Palladius, encountered members of the

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 include: ...

soon after his arrival in Ireland. The meeting took place in the vicinity of

, which is situated in Mag Liphi (the Liffy Plain), then heartland of political power in north Leinster."''

Notables

Mac Cairthinn mac Coelboth Mac Cairthinn mac Coelboth (?-446?-530?) was an Uí Enechglaiss King of Leinster. Background Mac Cairthinn is one of the very earliest verifiable Irish kings. Though not listed in any extant Irish genealogies, the Annals of Innisfallen record h ...

, who was killed at the battle of Fremen in 446, was King of Leinster and one of the earliest historically attested Irish kings. The

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

Dubhthach moccu Lughair Dubthach maccu Lugair (fl. fifth century), is a legendary Irish poet and lawyer who supposedly lived at the time of St Patrick's mission in Ireland and in the reign of Lóegaire mac Néill, high-king of Ireland, to which Dubthach served as Chief ...

was a native of Gorey, though he lived some sixty years prior to the dynasty's removal to the area.

Septs

A number of

sept A sept is a division of a family, especially of a Scottish or Irish family. The term is used in both Scotland and Ireland, where it may be translated as ''sliocht'', meaning "progeny" or "seed", which may indicate the descendants of a person ...

s of the Ui Enechglais were the following: * Ui Chuanach - descended from Cuanu mac Mael Aithgean, a gr.gr.gr.-grandson of Finchad mac Breasal Enechglas * Ui Thairmeisc - descended from Tairmesc mac Scandlan, gr.gr.gr.-grandson of Finchad mac Breasal Enechglas * Ui Muirenaig - descended from Emmal mac Breasal Enechglas * Sil nDiocolla meic Eogain - from Dicuill mac Eogan, gr.gr.gr.-grandson of Nath I mac Breasal Enechglas * Ui Meic Fhirithe - from Daurthecht mac Breasal Enechglas * Ui Ailella - also descended from Daurthecht * Ui Fergnae - from Nannaid mac Breasal Enechglas * Ui Fiachrach - from Fiachra mac Finsnechta, fl. 984

Ui Enechglais genealogy

Ui Enechglais , , Cathair mar , , Bressal Enechglas , , ______________________________________________ , , , , , , , , , , Finchad Emmal Nath I Daurthecht Nannaid

Ua/O Feary genealogy

Dicuill mac Eogan m. Berach m. Muiredach m. Amlagaid m. Nath I m. Bressal Enechglas , Mael Doborchon , ________________________ , , Tuaimmin Cu Dobur , , Dungalach Conmael , , Dunlang Dub da Leithe , , Dunchad Rudgus , , Fiachra Dungalach , , Cathal Cinaed , Cinaed, died 917 , Finsnechta , Fiachra, fl. 984, a quo Ua/O Fiachraige , Dunlang , Gilla Coemgin , Cu Mara , Gilla Coemgin

References

* ''Irish Kings and High Kings'',

Francis John Byrne Francis John Byrne (1934 – 30 December 2017) was an Irish historian. Born in Shanghai where his father, a Dundalk man, captained a ship on the Yellow River, Byrne was evacuated with his mother to Australia on the outbreak of World War II. ...

, Dublin, 1973; 3rd edition, 2001 * ''Kings, Saints and Sagas'', Alfred P. Smyth, in ''Wicklow:History and Society'',

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 ...

, 1994. p. 42, 43, 47, 99. * ''Carbury, Co. Kildare - topographical and onomastic hypotheses'', Caitriona Devane, in ''Above and beyond:Essays in memory of Leo Swan'', pp. 187–122, edited by Tom Condit and Christiaan Corlett, Wordwell, 2005. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Ui Enechglaiss Gaelic-Irish nations and dynasties History of County Kildare History of County Wicklow Laigin