The Uí Liatháin () were an early kingdom of

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

in southern Ireland. They belonged the same kindred as the Uí Fidgenti, and the two are considered together in the earliest sources, for example '' The Expulsion of the Déisi'' (incidentally). The two have been given various origins among both the early or proto-

Eóganachta The Eóganachta (Modern , ) were an Irish dynasty centred on Rock of Cashel, Cashel which dominated southern Ireland (namely the Kingdom of Munster) from the 6/7th to the 10th centuries, and following that, in a restricted form, the Kingdom of De ...

and among 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 ...

Dáirine The Dáirine (Dárine, Dáirfine, Dáirfhine, Dárfine, Dárinne, Dairinne), later known dynastically as the Corcu Loígde and associated, were the proto-historical rulers of Munster before the rise of the Eóganachta in the 7th century AD. They ...

by different scholars working in a number of traditions, with no agreement ever reached or appearing reachable. It is entirely possible that they were the product of a combination of lineages from both these royal kindreds, or alternatively of another origin entirely. Eochu Liathán ("Eochu the Grey"), son of

Dáire Cerbba Dáire Cerbba (or Cerba, Cearba, Cearb; meaning "Silver Dáire" or "Dáire the Sharp/Cutting") was a 4th-century Irish dynast who was evidently a king of late prehistoric central northern Munster, called Medón Mairtíne at the time. A frequen ...

, is the ancestor after which the Uí Liatháin is named. The small village of Castlelyons (Caisleán Ó Liatháin) in East

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

preserves the name of one of their last royal seats in the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...

, as does the name of Killaliathan Church, County Limerick. The two most powerful septs of the ''Uí Liatháin'' were the Uí Meic Caille (including the ''Uí Anmchada'') and the Uí Thassaig (later known as the ''Uí Meic Tire''). Following the

Norman invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land in Ireland over which the monarchs of England then claimed sovereignty. The Anglo-Normans ...

, the ''Uí Meic Caille'' gave their name to 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 Imokilly. States and territories disestablished in the 1220s

Career in Britain

The Uí Liatháin are known from both Irish and British sources, respectively the Sanas Cormaic and

Historia Brittonum ''The History of the Britons'' () is a purported history of early Britain written around 828 that survives in numerous recensions from after the 11th century. The ''Historia Brittonum'' is commonly attributed to Nennius, as some recensions ha ...

, to have had colonies in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. According to the ''Historia Brittonum'' they were driven out of

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

Cunedda Cunedda ap Edern, also called Cunedda ''Wledig'' (reigned – c. 460), was an important early Welsh people, Welsh leader, and the progenitor of the royal dynasty of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd, one of the very oldest of Western Europe. Nam ...

and his sons, and possibly have settled in South Wales such as the kingdoms of Dyfed, Ystrad Tywi, and

Brycheiniog Brycheiniog was an independent kingdom in South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It often acted as a buffer state between England to the east and the south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. It was conquered and pacified by the Normans ...

since they weren’t driven out from there. Alongside the Uí Liatháin in this region of Britain were a significant force of the so-called

Déisi The ''Déisi'' were a social class in Ireland between the ancient and early medieval period. The various peoples listed under the heading ''déis'' shared a similar status in Gaelic Ireland, and had little or no actual kinship, though they were ...

, whose story is told in the famous '' Expulsion of the Déisi'' already mentioned above, as well as a smaller population of 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 ...

. Neither are specifically connected to the Uí Liatháin, or connected to each other, in any of the Irish sources, but collaboration can certainly not be ruled out, especially in matters relating to trade, including the slave trade. The Déisi Muman lived adjacent to them in the neighbouring

County Waterford County Waterford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. ...

and the Laigin could be found not much farther east in the Kingdom 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 ...

. The Uí Liatháin can, however, be associated easily with their apparent relation Crimthann mac Fidaig, the legendary

King of Munster The kings of Munster () ruled the Kingdom of Munster in Ireland from its establishment during the Irish Iron Age until the High Middle Ages. According to Gaelic traditional history, laid out in works such as the ''Book of Invasions'', the earli ...

and dominant

High King of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and was later sometimes assigned anachronously or to leg ...

of the 4th century. They are mentioned not only in the same passage in the ''Sanas Cormaic'', but are close relations in all the earliest genealogical manuscripts. In a 1926 paper,

Eoin MacNeill Eoin MacNeill (; born John McNeill; 15 May 1867 – 15 October 1945) was an Irish scholar, Irish language enthusiast, Gaelic revivalist, nationalist, and politician who served as Minister for Education from 1922 to 1925, Ceann Comhairle of D ...

discusses the movements of the Uí Liatháin at considerable length, arguing their leadership in the South Irish conquests and founding of the later dynasty of

, figures in the Welsh genealogies matching Uí Liatháin dynasts in the Irish genealogies. He argues any possible settlement of the Déisi would have been subordinate until the ousting of the Uí Liatháin by the sons of Cunedda. The founder of Brycheiniog,

Brychan Brychan ap Anlach of Brycheiniog was a legendary 5th-century king of Brycheiniog (Brecknockshire, alternatively Breconshire) in Mid Wales. Name variations Brychan had Irish ancestry and came from Ireland to Wales, therefore his original name ...

, is in all probability the early dynast Macc Brocc (for whom see below), while the name Braccan also occurs early in the pedigrees of the Uí Fidgenti and Uí Dedaid, close kindred of the Uí Liatháin. MacNeill further associates this with the sovereignty in Ireland and conquests in Britain of their first cousin, the monarch Crimthann mac Fidaig.

Relations

Bressal mac Ailello Thassaig was an early king of Munster according to one source. His sister Angias was the queen of Lóegaire mac Néill,

, and mother of Lugaid mac Lóegairi, who later became High King himself despite the initial wishes of Saint Patrick, thanks to Angias' beseeching the saint. She and Bressal were children of (Ailill) Tassach, son of Eochu Liathán. Ruithchern, daughter of the King of Iarmuman (and possibly Munster), Áed Bennán mac Crimthainn, and sister of Mór Muman, was taken captive by the Uí Liatháin and forced to herd sheep. At the Battle of Carn Conaill, the Uí Liatháin are listed among the Munster allies of Guaire Aidne mac Colmáin, a mention dismissed by Byrne, but discussed at length by Seán Ó Coileáin, who relates it to the cycle of Mór Muman and Ruithchern. Both the mother, Gormgel, and celebrated wife, Caillech, of the infamous Cathal mac Finguine,

and King of Tara, were from the Uí Liatháin.

Later centuries

A substantial part of the recently defunct kingdom was granted to the De Barry family by

John of England John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...

in 1206, although the Uí Meic Tire persisted in a southern outpost for a few decades following.

Pedigree (illustrative)

Based on Rawlinson B 502, the Book of Leinster, the '' Vita tripartita Sancti Patricii'',ed. Stokes 1887, pp. 47, 557 the ''

Banshenchas ''An Banshenchas'' (literally "the woman lore") is a medieval text which collects brief descriptions of prominent women in Irish legend and history into a poetic narrative. Unlike much of early Irish literature, ''An Banshenchas'' may be attrib ...

'', '' Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'', and Flann mac Lonáin

/ Maine Munchaín , , ___________________________________________________________________________________________ , , , , , , , , , , Fidach Fiachu Fidgenid Eochu Liathán Uí Duach Argetrois Uí Dedaid , , , __________________________ , _____________________________ , , , , , , Crimthann mac Fidaig Mongfind = Eochaid Mugmedón = Cairenn Ailill Tassach , , , , , ,

Connachta The Connachta are a group of medieval Irish dynasty, dynasties who claimed descent from the legendary High King of Ireland, High King Conn of the Hundred Battles, Conn Cétchathach (Conn of the Hundred Battles). The modern western Provinces of ...

Niall Noígíallach , , ___________, , , , Lóegaire mac Néill = Angias Bressal mac Ailello , , Lugaid mac Lóegairi

Septs and surnames

The two most prominent septs of the Uí Liatháin were the following:

Uí Meic Caille

The Uí Meic Caille (Uí Maic Caille), who gave their name to the Barony of Imokilly, took their name from Meic Caille, son of Meic Brócc, son of Eochu Liathán. * Uí Meic Caille (O'Kiely, Kiely, Keily, Kiley, Keely, Kealy, Quelly) * Uí Anmchada (Lane, Lyons, Lehane) * Uí Glaissín (Glashan, Gleason, Gleeson) * Uí Charráin (Ó Corráin, Curran)

Uí Thassaig

These were the descendants of the aforementioned Ailill Tassach, son of Eochu Liatháin. * Uí Meic Tire (Ó Mic Thíre, Mictyre, MacTyre, MacTire, Wolfe, Woulfe)

Notes

References

* Byrne, Francis John, ''Irish Kings and High-Kings''.

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 ...

. 2nd revised edition, 2001. * Chadwick, Nora K. (et al.), ''Studies in the Early British Church''. Cambridge University Press. 1958. pgs. 122-3. * Charles-Edwards, T.M., ''Early Christian Ireland''. Cambridge. 2000. * Cormac mac Cuilennáin, and John O'Donovan (tr.) with Whitley Stokes (ed.), Sanas Cormaic, o
Cormac's Glossary
Irish Archaeological and Celtic Society. Calcutta: O.T. Cutter. 1868. * Geoffrey Keating, with David Comyn and Patrick S. Dinneen (trans.)
The History of Ireland by Geoffrey Keating
4 Vols. London: David Nutt for the Irish Texts Society. 1902–14. * Kelleher, John V., "The Rise of the Dál Cais", in Étienne Rynne (ed.), ''North Munster Studies: Essays in Commemoration of Monsignor Michael Moloney''. Limerick: Thomond Archaeological Society. 1967. pp. 230–41. * MacCotter, Paul, ''Medieval Ireland: Territorial, Political and Economic Divisions''. Four Courts Press. 2008. * MacNeill, Eoin
"Early Irish Population Groups: their nomenclature, classification and chronology"
in ''Proceedings of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...

(C) 29''. 1911. pp. 59–114 * MacNeill, Eoi
"The Native Place of St. Patrick"
in ''Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy''. 1926. pp. 118–40 * Meyer, Kuno (ed. & tr.), "The Expulsion of the Dessi", i
Y Cymmrodor 14
1901. pgs. 101-35. (also availabl
here
* Meyer, Kuno (ed.)

in ''Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie 8''. Halle/Saale, Max Niemeyer. 1912. Pages 291–338. * Morris, John (ed. and tr.), ''Nennius: British History and The Welsh Annals. Arthurian Period Sources Vol. 8''. London: Phillimore. 1980. * Ó Buachalla, Liam. "Contributions towards the political history of Munster" ii, in ''Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society 57'' (1952): 67–86 * Ó Buachalla, Liam. "The Uí Liatháin and their septlands", in ''Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society 44'' (1939): 28–36 * Ó Buachalla, Liam. "The Uí Meic Caille in pre-Norman times", in ''Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society 50'' (1945): 24–7 * Ó Coileáin, Seán, "Some Problems of Story and History", in ''Ériu 32'' (1981): 115–36. * Ó Coileáin, Seán, "The Structure of a Literary Cycle", in ''Ériu 25'' (1974): 88–125. * Ó Corráin, Donnchadh (ed.)
Genealogies from Rawlinson B 502
University College, Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts. 1997. * Ó Corráin, Donnchadh, "Onomata", in ''Ériu 30'' (1979): 165–85. * Ó Corráin, Donnchadh, "Prehistoric and Early Christian Ireland", in Foster, Roy (ed.), ''The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland''. Oxford University Press. 2001. pgs. 1–52. * Ó Cróinín, Dáibhí (ed.), ''A New History of Ireland: Prehistoric and Early Ireland, Vol. 1''. Oxford University Press. 2005. * O'Donovan, John (ed. and tr.), Annála Ríoghachta Éireann. Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters, from the Earliest Period to the Year 1616. 7 vols. Royal Irish Academy. Dublin. 1848–51. 2nd edition, 1856. * O'Nolan, Thomas Patrick (ed. & tr.)
"Mór of Munster and the Tragic Fate of Cuanu son of Cailchin"
in ''Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Vol. XXX, Sec. C, No. 9''. Dublin: Hodges, Figgis, & Co. 1912. * O'Rahilly, Thomas F., ''Early Irish History and Mythology''. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. 1946. * Pender, Seamus, "The Uí Liatháin Genealogies from the Book of Ballymote", in ''Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society 43'' (1938): 32–8. * Sproule, David
"Origins of the Éoganachta"
in ''Ériu 35'' (1984): pp. 31–37. * Sproule, David
"Politics and pure narrative in the stories about Corc of Cashel"
in ''Ériu 36'' (1985): pp. 11–28. * Stokes, Whitley (ed. & tr.)
The Tripartite Life of Patrick
London: Eyre and Spottiswoode for Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1887.

External links

at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ui Liathain Ancient peoples Kingdoms of medieval Ireland States and territories established in the 4th century Eóganachta Tribes of ancient Ireland Historical Celtic peoples Former kingdoms in Ireland