The Ciarraighe Locha na nÁirne were a branch of the Ciarraighe people, located in what is now central-east

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

Origins

The three Ciarraige of Connacht – Ciarraige Áei,

Ciarraige Airtig The Ciarraige Airtech were a population-group found in medieval Ireland. Origins The Ciarraige Airtech were one of three branches of the Ciarraige located close to each other in central Connacht. They were the Ciarraige Aí, Ciarraige Airtig a ...

and Ciarraighe Locha na nÁirne – were thought to have once formed a single over-kingdom which was broken up by the rise of the Ui Briuin in the 8th and 9th centuries. Ciarraighe Locha na nÁirne was located in the

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

of Costello in east County Mayo.

Descendants

The leading

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

of the Ciarraige Locha na nAirne had by the 12th century adopted the surname Ó Céirín. It is now anglicised as Kerin, Kerins, Kearn, Kerrane and Carey (although this is just one of many possible origins for this name) among other spellings. A branch settled in Clare in the early 15th century, there is also a branch in Kerry.Michael C. O'Laughlin, "Families of Co. Kerry, Ireland", p.87

Annalistic references

* 1155 - "''Fiacha, son of Cethearnach Ua Ceirin, lord of Ciarraighe-Locha-na-nairneadh, died.''" * 1210 - "''Donnchadh Cairbrech O'Briain, with his army, and Geoffroi Mareis, with his army of the Foreigners of Mumha, and Aedh, son of Ruaidhri O'Conchobhair, and the son of O'Flaithbhertaigh along with them, proceeded into Connacht..., from thence to Loch-na-nairne, in Ciarraighe, where they committed great depredations; and they were a fortnight, or nearly twenty nights, in Ciarraighe, and the Connachtmen before them.''" * 1224 - "''Mathghamhain O'Ceirín, king of Ciarraige Locha na nAirne died this year.''" * 1266 - "''Mathgamain son of Ceithernach, king of Ciarraige, was killed by the Galls of Dunmore this year. ''" * 1315 - "''The eraghts of the Three Ciarraige were assembled with their flocks and herds, namely the Western Ciarraige, the Ciarraige of Mag nAi and the Ciarraige of Airtech.''" * 1315 - "''Cormac Mac Ceithernaig, king of the Ciarraige fell,... along with Ruaidri, King of Connacht.''"

References

* ''Mayo Places: Their Names and Origins'',

Nollaig Ó Muraíle Nollaig Ó Muraíle is an Irish scholar. He published an edition of Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh's ''Leabhar na nGenealach'' in 2004. He was admitted to the Royal Irish Academy in 2009. Life and career A native of Knock, County Mayo, Ó Muraíle ...

, 1985 * ''The Carneys of Connacht'', Nollaig Ó Muraíle, in ''Sages, Saints and Storytellers: Celtic Studies in Honour of Professor James Carney'', pp. 342–357, ed. Ó Corráin, Breatnach and McCone, Maynooth, 1989. . * ''Some Early Connacht Population Groups'', Nollaig Ó Muraíle, in ''Seachas: Studies in Early and Medieval Irish Archaeology, History and Literature in Honour of Francis J. Byrne'', ed. Alfred P. Smyth,

Four Courts Press Four Courts Press is an independent Irish academic publishing house, with its office at Malpas Street, Dublin 8, Ireland. Founded in 1970 by Michael Adams, who died in February 2009, its early publications were primarily theological, notably ...

, Dublin, pp. 161–177, 2000. .

External links

ConnachtCairns family pedigree
Connacht Medieval Irish people History of County Mayo Ethnic groups in Ireland {{Europe-ethno-group-stub