The Conmhaícne Cúile or Conmaicne Cuile Tolad () 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, at minimum, most of the barony of

Kilmaine Kilmaine or Kilmain () is a barony and village in County Mayo, Ireland. Village "Kilmaine", derived from the Irish language 'Cill Mheán', means The Middle Church – 'Cill' is the word used in the Irish language for a church, and 'meán' is ...

, in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the yew trees") is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Coun ...

Origin

The Conmhaicne or Conmaicne 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 Conmaicne territories. Other branches of Conmaicne were located in County Galway, Roscommon, Mayo, and Leitrim. Cuile means woods or forest.

Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh Roderick O'Flaherty ( ga, Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh; 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'' Lord of Iar Connacht, ...

linked "Cúile" with Cullagh townland ("An Choilleach", the woods). ga, Maigh Tuireadh ("plain of a lament") is the place where the 1st battle of Moytura was fought. Tuiredh translates as "a lament".eDIL, "http://edil.qub.ac.uk/42381" "Moytura" is a corruption of ga, Maigh Tuiredh. Some Latin texts reference them as "Conmacgneculy" and "Conmacniculy".

Territory

Knox said their territory comprised the baronies Ross and much of Kilmaine (except parts east, and north of the Robe). East Kilmaine was occupied by the Muinter Crechain. To the north was "Maigh Ceara", now the barony of

Carra, County Mayo Carra () is one of the nine baronies of County Mayo in Ireland, located in the mid-south area of the county. It is sometimes known as Burriscarra. It incorporates the town of Castlebar, the villages of Tourmakeady, Belcarra and Turlough, wher ...

. The alternative name for the barony of Kilmaine, Coolagh, probably reflects the ancient population group named Conmaicne Cuile. Their territory was bounded by lakes, and native Irish forests in places.

Septs

The chief Conmaicne Cuile family was Ó Talcharain. The primary

sept A sept is a division of a family, especially of a Scottish or Irish family. The term is used in both Scotland and Ireland, where it may be translated as ''sliocht'', meaning "progeny" or "seed", which may indicate the descendants of a person ( ...

s were:- * Ó Talcharain, Ó Talcharan. * Ó Morann (Moran) * Ó Martain (Martin or Martins) Conmaicne Cuile Tolad was invaded by Anglo-Normans about the middle of the thirteenth century, and granted to Maurice Fitzgerald. Another deed calls the district the cantred of 'Keneloch', probably Kinlough north-east of Moyne, a chief manor of the area. In later times the Burkes controlled the territory.

Patrican churches

In the original

Vita tripartita Sancti Patricii The ''Vita tripartita Sancti Patricii'' (''The Tripartite Life of Saint Patrick'') is a bilingual Life of Patrick, written partly in Irish and in parts in Latin. It is a hagiography focusing on Patrick. The text is difficult to date. Kathleen M ...

Tírechán Tírechán was a 7th-century Irish bishop from north Connacht, specifically the Killala Bay area, in what is now County Mayo. Background Based on a knowledge of Irish customs of the times, historian Terry O’Hagan has concluded that Tírechá ...

said Saint Patrick travelled through Conmaicne Dunmore to Conmaicne Cuile Tolad and established Christian churches here. Knox identified these new churches as Kilmaine-beg, Shrule, and perhaps the Church of Cross. Earlier Patrician churches already existed at Kilmainemore, Kilbennan, Donaghpatrick, and perhaps Templepatrick at "Inchanguill".

References

Secondary 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 ...