Cruithin

Origin and possible relationship to other groups

Because the name 'Cruithin' is a Gaelic cognate of 'Briton' and 'Britain', historical linguist Kenneth H. Jackson suggested that the name originally meant "people from Britain". He proposed that the medieval Cruithin were descendants of a group of immigrants from Iron Age Britain, having a shared ancestry with the Celtic Britons. Professor John T. Koch also suggested that the Cruthin came from Britain during the late Iron Age, and were associated with La Tène artefacts, which are most common in north-eastern Ireland. It is possible that the name referred to an aristocracy or group of dynasties. It is also suggested that 'Cruithin' was not what they called themselves, but was what their neighbours called them.