Maigh Seóla (), also known as Hy Briuin Seola, was the territory that included land along the east shore of Lough Corrib in

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

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 ...

. It was bounded to the east by the Uí Maine vassal kingdom of Soghain and extended roughly from what is now Clarinbridge in the south to Knockmaa Hill in the north. Its rulers belonged to the Uí Briúin Seóla and are sometimes found in the annals under the title "King of Uí Briúin" and "King of South Connacht". The earliest identifiable kings belonged to the line that became the Clann Cosgraigh. However in later times the line which would become the Muintir Murchada, under the O'Flaherty chiefs, monopolized the kingship. The Muintir Murchada were based at Loch Cime (later called Lough Hackett) until forced west of Lough Corrib during the de Burgo led English invasion of

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 ...

in the 13th century. According to the 17th-century historian

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 ...

, Maigh Seóla was considered part of Iar Connacht prior to the 13th-century Anglo-Norman invasion of Connacht. After the de Burgo / Burke family became established in Maigh Seola the territorial term was only used to denote the territory of the O'Flahertys west of Lough Corrib and Lough Mask. In English, the plain of Maigh Seóla is also known as Moyola.

Kings of Maigh Seóla

* Donn mac Cumasgach, died 752 * Connmhach Mór mac Coscraigh, died 846 * Maelan mac Cathmogha, died 848 * Murchadh mac Maenach, died 891 * Cléirchén mac Murchadh, died 908 * Urchadh mac Murchadh, died 943 * Donnchadh mac Urchadh, died 959 * Murchad mac Flann mac Glethneachan, died 973 * Ruaidhrí mac Coscraigh, died 992 * Maelcairearda, died 993 * Brian mac Maelruanaidh, died 1003 * Muireadhach ua Flaithbheartach, died 1034 * Murchadh an Chapail Ua Flaithbheartaigh, died 1036 * Cathal mac Ruaidhri, died 1043 * Amhalgaidh mac Cathal, died 1075

Annalistic references

From the

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' () or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' () are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Genesis flood narrative, Deluge, dated as 2,242 Anno Mundi, years after crea ...

: * ''M990.7 - The wind sunk the island of Loch Cimbe suddenly, with its dreach and rampart, i.e. thirty feet.''

References

* ''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 M.R.I.A., Irish Archaeological Society, 1846. * ''Medieval Ireland: Territorial, Political and Economic Divisions'', Paul MacCotter, Four Courts Press, 2008, pp. 133–134. History of County Galway Gaelic-Irish nations and dynasties Connacht Geography of County Galway O'Flaherty dynasty {{Galway-geo-stub

Kings of Maigh Seóla

Annalistic references

See also

References