Uí Bairrche (, ) was an Irish kin-based group that originally held lands in the south of the ancient province of
Leinster
Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland.
The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
(or ''Cóiced Laigen'' "the Fifth of the Laigin"). Another south Leinster kin group associated with the Uí Bairrche were groups of the
Fothairt. The south of Leinster was dominated by the
Uí Chennselaig in the 8th century. Uí Bairrche held lands around
Carlow
Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had a population of 27,351, the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland, ...
, however Uí Chennselaig expansion split the kindred. The result was that one Uí Bairrche branch persevered in the Barrow valley; and another was forced to move south towards the
Wexford
Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...
coast.
History
Following the medieval genealogies, the Uí Bairrche descend from Dáire Barrach, a son of
Cathair Mór, and are thus 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 Leinste ...
origins.
T. F. O'Rahilly, however, believed them to have originally belonged to the
Érainn
The Iverni (, ') were a people of early Ireland first mentioned in Ptolemy's 2nd century ''Geography'' as living in the extreme south-west of the island. He also locates a "city" called Ivernis (, ') in their territory, and observes that this se ...
, being descendants of an ancestor figure
Dáire
Dáire is an Old Irish name which fell out of use at an early period, remaining restricted essentially to legendary and ancestral figures, usually male. It has come back into fashion since the 18th century. The anglicised form of this name is Dar ...
(''*Dārios''), and the historical representatives of the Brigantes, who are located in Co. Wexford in Claudius Ptolemy's ''Geography''.
Genealogies for the Uí Baircche are recorded in
Rawlinson B 502, fos. 121–122.
[ Ó Corráin, "Creating the Past", p. 181.] Among the monasteries in Leinster controlled by the Uí Bairrche are Cell Auxili,
Slébte (Sletty),
Glenn Uissen (now Killeshin), Banba Mór, Cell Mo Lappóc and Tech Mo Shacro.
See also
*
List of Celtic tribes
This is a list of ancient Celts, Celtic peoples and tribes.
Continental Celts
Continental Celts were the Celtic peoples that inhabited mainland Europe and Anatolia (also known as Asia Minor). In the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, Celts inhabited a la ...
*
Tigernach of Clones
*
Áed of Sletty
*
Saint Fiacc
*
Pre-Norman invasion Irish Celtic kinship groups, from whom many of the modern Irish surnames came from
Citations
General references
Secondary sources
*
*
Primary sources
*
External links
*
*
Gaelic-Irish nations and dynasties
Laigin
Leinster
{{Ireland-hist-stub