The Conmaicne Cúile or Conmaicne Cuile Tolad were an early people of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Their tuath comprised, at minimum, most of the barony of

Kilmaine Kilmaine or Kilmain () is a barony (Ireland), barony and village in County Mayo, Ireland. Village "Kilmaine", derived from the Irish language 'Cill Mheán', means The Middle Church – 'Cill' is the word used in the Irish language for a chur ...

, in

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 ...

Origin

The Conmaicne (or Modern Conmhaicne) were a people of early Ireland, perhaps related to the

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 Leinste ...

, who dispersed to various parts of

. They settled in

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 ...

and

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It had a population of 10,952 at the 2022 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of ...

, giving their name to several Conmaicne territories. Other branches of Conmaicne were located in County Galway, Roscommon, Mayo, and Leitrim.

Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh Roderick O'Flaherty (; 1629–1718 or 1716) was an Irish historian. Biography He was born in County Galway and inherited Moycullen Castle and estate. O'Flaherty was the last ''de jure'' Tigerna, Lord of Iar Connacht, and the last recognised C ...

linked "Cúile" with Cullagh townland ("An Choilleach", the woods). is where the 1st battle of Moytura was fought. "Moytura" is a corruption of . Some Latin texts reference them as "Conmacgneculy" and "Conmacniculy".

Territory

Knox said their territory comprised the baronies Ross and much of

(except parts east, and north of the

River Robe The River Robe () is a river in County Mayo, Ireland. It rises near Ballyhaunis, then flows generally west for , where it drains into Lough Mask. The river is the longest tributary of Lough Mask and it drains 320 square kilometres of south ...

). East Kilmaine was occupied by the Muinter Crechain. To the north was "Maigh Ceara", now the barony of

Carra, County Mayo Carra () is one of the nine barony (Ireland), baronies of County Mayo in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, located in the mid-south area of the county. It is sometimes known as Burriscarra. It incorporates the town of Castlebar, the villages of To ...

. The alternative name for the barony of Kilmaine, Coolagh, probably reflects the ancient population group named Conmaicne Cuile. Their territory was bounded by lakes, and native Irish forests in places.

Septs

The chief Conmaicne Cuile family was Ó Talcharain. The primary

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

s were:- * Ó Talcharain, Ó Talcharan. * Ó Morann (Moran) * Ó Martain (Martin or Martins) Conmaicne Cuile Tolad was invaded by Anglo-Normans about the middle of the thirteenth century, and granted to Maurice Fitzgerald. Another deed calls the district the cantred of 'Keneloch', probably Kinlough north-east of Moyne, a chief manor of the area. In later times the Burkes controlled the territory.

Patrican churches

In the original

Vita tripartita Sancti Patricii The ''Vita tripartita Sancti Patricii'' (''The Tripartite Life of Saint Patrick'') is a bilingual hagiography of Saint Patrick, written partly in Irish and partly in Latin. The text is difficult to date. Kathleen Mulchrone had assigned a late ...

Tírechán Tírechán was a 7th-century Ireland, Irish bishop from north Connacht, specifically the Killala Bay area, in what is now County Mayo. Background Based on a knowledge of Irish customs of the times, historian Terry O’Hagan has concluded that T ...

said

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...

travelled through

Conmaicne Dunmore The Conmaicne (; ) were a people of early Ireland, perhaps related to the Laigin, who dispersed to various parts of Ireland. They settled in Connacht and Longford, giving their name to several Conmaicne territories. T. F. O'Rahilly's assertion ...

Conmaicne Cuile Tolad The Conmaicne Cúile or Conmaicne Cuile Tolad were an early people of Ireland. Their tuath comprised, at minimum, most of the barony of Kilmaine, in County Mayo. Origin The Conmaicne (or Modern Conmhaicne) were a people of early Ireland, perh ...

and established Christian churches here. Knox identified these new churches as Kilmaine-beg, Shrule, and perhaps the Church of Cross. Earlier Patrician churches already existed at Kilmainemore, Kilbennan, Donaghpatrick, and perhaps Templepatrick at "Inchanguill".

References

Secondary sources

* * * * * * ''A Chorographical Description of West or H-Iar Connaught written A.D. 1684'' by Roderic O'Flaherty ESQ with notes and Illustrations by,

James Hardiman James Hardiman (February 1782 – 13 November 1855), also known as Séamus Ó hArgadáin, was a librarian at Queen's College, Galway and an important historian. Hardiman is best remembered for his '' History of the Town and County of Galway'' (1 ...