, , or (anglicised MoylenaO'Donovan 2008 p. ix or Moylen) was the name of a plain or

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

in the

Gaelic Irish The Gaels ( ; ; ; ) are an Insular Celtic ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising Irish, Manx, and Scottish Gaeli ...

territory of Firceall, between modern

Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal (Ireland), Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midlands Reg ...

and Durrow in

County Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland, ancient Kingdom of Uí ...

. Mag Lena straddled the

Esker Riada The Esker Riada () is a system of eskers that stretch across the middle of Ireland, between Dublin and Galway. Geography The Esker Riada is a collection of eskers that passes through the counties of Dublin, Meath, Kildare, Westmeath, Offaly ...

,O'Donovan 2008 pp. 30–31 was near the border between

Mide Meath ( ; ; ) was a kingdom in Ireland from the 1st to the 12th century AD. Its name means "middle," denoting its location in the middle of the island. At its greatest extent, it included all of County Meath (which takes its name from the k ...

and

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 ...

(Leinster), and is mentioned in

Irish manuscripts This is a list of manuscripts produced in Ireland as well as other manuscripts of Irish interest, including both vellum and paper manuscripts. See also *Cín Dromma Snechtai *Irish Manuscripts Commission Notes Sources *General: ** *Brussels: ...

as the site of several legendary, pseudohistorical, and historical events. The

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Kilbride in Ballycowan was "Kilbride al asMoylena" in the time of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

. According to John O'Donovan, the name Moleany was still being used in 1837 for the corresponding Catholic parish (formally Kilbride or Tullamore, and united to Durrow, in the

Diocese of Meath The Diocese of Meath () is an Irish diocese which took its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Roman Catholic Church it still exists as a separate diocese, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other dioceses. Histor ...

). By then the area was agricultural rather than heathland.

Legendary events

The of Mag Lena appended to '' The Tale of Mac Da Thó's Pig'' says the name means "the plain of Léna", from Mac Da Thó's son Léna, who was buried there. The division of Ireland into

Leath Cuinn and Leath Moga (Conn's Half) and (Mug's half) are legendary ancient divisions of Ireland, respectively north and south of a line corresponding to the Esker Riada running east–west from Dublin Bay to Galway Bay. The eponymous Conn and Mug were Conn Cétchath ...

(Conn's Half and Mug's Half) stems from a battle at Mag Lena, in which

Conn Cétchathach Conn Cétchathach (), or Conn of the Hundred Battles, son of Fedlimid Rechtmar, was a legendary High King of Ireland who is claimed to be the ancestor of the Connachta, and through his descendant Niall Noígiallach, the Uí Néill dynasties, w ...

defeated Éogan Mór

Mug Nuadat In Irish mythological history Mug Nuadat (servant of NuadaDictionary of the Iri ...

, The battle is placed at varying dates in the second century AD by the

Book of Ballymote The ''Book of Ballymote'' (, RIA MS 23 P 12, 275 foll.), was written in 1390 or 1391 in or near the town of Ballymote, now in County Sligo, but then in the tuath of Corann. According to David Sellar who was the Lord Lyon King of Arms in ...

Book of Lecan The ''Great Book of Lecan'' or simply ''Book of Lecan'' () ( RIA, 23 P 2) is a late-medieval Irish manuscript written between 1397 and 1418 in Castle Forbes, Lecan (Lackan, Leckan; Irish ), in the territory of Tír Fhíacrach, near moder ...

Annals of Ulster The ''Annals of Ulster'' () are annals of History of Ireland, medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luin� ...

, and

Book of Leinster The Book of Leinster ( , LL) is a medieval Irish manuscript compiled and now kept in Trinity College Dublin. It was formerly known as the ''Lebor na Nuachongbála'' ("Book of Nuachongbáil"), a monastic site known today as Oughaval. In 2023 ...

. The 13th-century text ''The Battle of Magh Lena'' was published in 1855 with an English translation and notes by

Eugene O'Curry Eugene O'Curry (, 20 November 179430 July 1862) was an Irish philologist and antiquary. Life He was born at Doonaha, near Carrigaholt, County Clare, the son of Eoghan Ó Comhraí, a farmer, and his wife Cáit. Eoghan had spent some time as a ...

. (

James Macpherson James Macpherson ( Gaelic: ''Seumas MacMhuirich'' or ''Seumas Mac a' Phearsain''; 27 October 1736 – 17 February 1796) was a Scottish writer, poet, literary collector, and politician. He is known for the Ossian cycle of epic poems, which he ...

's ''

Ossian Ossian (; Irish Gaelic/Scottish Gaelic: ''Oisean'') is the narrator and purported author of a cycle of epic poems published by the Scottish poet James Macpherson, originally as ''Fingal'' (1761) and ''Temora (poem), Temora'' (1763), and later c ...

'' conflates this Moylena with a different place in

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

, perhaps Moylinny in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

, which gives its name to the Moylena Cricket Ground.)

Historical events

About AD 630, a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

of Irish clerics was held in Mag Lena to resolve the controversy over the date of Easter. Shortly afterwards the southern clergy accepted the Roman

computus As a moveable feast, the date of Easter is determined in each year through a calculation known as – often simply ''Computus'' – or as paschalion particularly in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after th ...

, while at Mag nAilbe (Moynalvy,

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

) the northern clergy persisted with the

Iona Iona (; , sometimes simply ''Ì'') is an island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there are other buildings on the island. Iona Abbey was a centre of Gaeli ...

value. The , an important 9th-century dedicated to Colmán Elo, was probably held at Lynally at the southern edge of Mag Lena. In AD 906, another battle at Mag Lena was the first of two between the forces on the one hand of Cormac mac Cuilennáin, the

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 on the other hand of Flann Sinna, the king of Mide and

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 ...

, and

Cerball mac Muirecáin Cerball (modern spelling: Cearbhall) is an Irish language male given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and ...

, the king of Leinster. Cormac won at Mag Lena but was killed two years later at Belach Mugna. About AD 1020, Maolmuadh

Ó Maolmhuaidh ''Maolmhuaidh'' is an Irish surname, generally anglicised as '' Molloy'' or ''Mulloy''. Like other Irish surnames, ''Maolmhuaidh'' is patronymic. The male version is ''Ó Maolmhuaidh'' with the name in the genitive or possessive case preceded by ...

, king of Firceall, was taken by force from

Durrow Abbey Durrow Abbey is a historic site in Durrow, County Offaly in Ireland. It is located off the N52 some 5 miles from Tullamore. Largely undisturbed, the site is an early medieval monastic complex of ecclesiastical and secular monuments, visible an ...

by Fogartach Uí Chernaig, and killed in Mag Lena. In AD 1090,

Muirchertach Ua Briain Muirchertach Ua Briain (anglicised as Murtaugh O'Brien; c. 1050 – c. 10 March 1119), son of Toirdelbach Ua Briain and great-grandson of Brian Boru, was King of Munster and later self-declared High King of Ireland. Background and early career ...

of Munster lost a bloody battle against Domnall Ua Maél Sechnaill of Mide as part of a four-sided contest for the High Kingship.

Sources

* *

Legendary events

Historical events

Sources

References

Further reading