The Conmhaícne Angaile (the '

Conmhaícne The Conmhaícne or 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 ...

descended from Angaile') were an early people of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Their tuath comprised the territory of

Annaly Annaly is an Irish lordship and former principality, named for its conqueror Angaile, or An Uillin, ancestor of the Ó Fearghail. The territory of Annaly coincides with modern County Longford and was conquered in the 10th century by An Uilli ...

, now

County Longford County Longford ( gle, Contae an Longfoirt) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was ...

Origin

The

or Conmaícne 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 Leinster ...

, who dispersed to various parts of

. They settled in Connacht and

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

, giving their name to several Conmaícne territories. Other branches of the

were located in County Galway, Roscommon, Mayo, and Leitrim.

Territory

Their territory was bounded by native Irish forests in places, by the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland. The Sha ...

and Conmaícne of Maigh Rein to the east, Breifne O'Reilly to the north, and Leinster to the east.

Taoiseach

The chief Conmaícne family were the

Ó Fearghail Ó Fearghail is a family name of the Irish nobility from County Longford who were historically the Annaly, Princes of Annaly. The patronym means "descendant of Fearghail", whose name means "man of valour". Fearghail was a great-grandson of Laigin ...

, who descended from the great-grandson of Angaile.

Diocese

The Diocese of the Conmaícne (or Ardagh) was established in 1111 as the see for east Connacht. Fourteen years later, at the

Synod of Kells-Mellifont The Synod of Kells (, ) took place in 1152, under the presidency of Giovanni Cardinal Paparoni, and continued the process begun at the Synod of Ráth Breasail (1111) of reforming the Irish church. The sessions were divided between the abbeys of ...

its area was reduced to the territory of the Conmaícne in County Longford and south

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority f ...

.P Galloway, ''The Cathedrals of Ireland'', Belfast, 1992

References

Notes

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 (1782–1855), also known as Séamus Ó hArgadáin, was a librarian at Queen's College, Galway. Hardiman is best remembered for his '' History of the Town and County of Galway'' (1820) and ''Irish Minstrelsy'' (1831), one of the fi ...

M.R.I.A., Irish Archaeological Society, 1846. History of County Longford Historical ethnic groups of Europe Ethnic groups in Ireland Gaelic-Irish nations and dynasties Conmaicne Angaile {{Ireland-hist-stub