{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 Magh Luirg or Magh Luirg an Dagda,

anglicised Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

as Moylurg, was the name of a medieval Irish kingdom located in modern-day

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It was a sub-kingdom of the kingdom of

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

from c. 956–1585. The

kings of Moylurg The Kings of or Moylurg were a branch of the , and a kindred family to the Kings of Connacht. Their ancestor, , was a brother to , King of Connacht 967–973, ancestor of the O Connor family of Connacht. is said to have made a deal of some natu ...

were a branch of the Síl Muiredaig, who were themselves of the Uí Briúin Ai who descended from the

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 ...

. Moylurg is, in Irish, ''Magh Luirg an Dagda'', "the plain of the tracks of

the Dagda The Dagda ( , ) is considered the great god of Irish mythology. He is the chief god of the Tuatha Dé Danann, with the Dagda portrayed as a father-figure, king, and druid.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia''. ABC-CLIO, ...

". The Dagda was an ancient Irish deity. The kingdom's first king, Maelruanaidh Mor mac Tadg, was a son of Tadg mac Cathal (

King of Connacht The Kings of Connacht were rulers of the ''cóiced'' (variously translated as portion, fifth, province) of Connacht, which lies west of the River Shannon, Ireland. However, the name only became applied to it in the early medieval era, being named ...

925–956) and brother to

Conchobar mac Tadg Conchobar mac Tadg, King of Connacht 967–973 and eponym of the O'Conor family of Connacht. Biography A son of Tadc ''in Túir'' (of the tower), Conchobar's father died in 956 as king of Connacht, but his sept of the Síol Muireadaigh were s ...

, who succeeded as king in 967. Maelruanaidh is said to have made a deal of some nature where, in return for abandoning any claim to the provincial kingship, he would be given Moylurg. His dynasty was known as the Clan Mulrooney (later known as Clan MacDermot), cousins to O'Connor, who was then High King of Ireland. This royal connection was exploited to oust the existing chieftains of Moylurg, the MacReevys (Irish: Mac Riabhaigh, later anglicised spelling McGreevy). There are very few clues as to the exact point in time when the MacRiabhaighs (MacReevys/McGreevys) were dispossessed of their ancestral lands by the McDermots or to a controversy which precipitated the action. Modern sources are not much help. Clearly, the dispossession occurred earlier than was speculated by Sir Cecil King-Harmon in 1958 (c. 1400) or the Roscommon Herald in 1959 (c. 1300). The statement on the McGreevy Stone in Ardcarne Cemetery (erected in the 20th century, c. 1930) that the MacRiabhaighs (MacReevys/McGreevys) were "kings of Moylurgh ... until 1255" may be the most reliable, and also is consistent with the statement by the Irish genealogical authority Edward MacLysaght ("More Irish Families") that the McGreevys were "lords of Moylurg ... until the 13th century, when they were subdued by, and become tributary, to the McDermots".

Annalistic references

From the

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' () or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' () are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Genesis flood narrative, Deluge, dated as 2,242 Anno Mundi, years after crea ...

: * ''M932.2. The foreigners of Luimneach plundered Connaught as far as Magh-Luirg to the north, and as far as Badhbhghna 'Slievebawn''to the east.''

References

* ''Mac Dermot of Moylurg: The Story of a Connacht Family'',

Dermot MacDermot Sir Dermot MacDermot (1906–1989), styled Prince of Coolavin, Chief of the Name, head of the MacDermot clan, and a descendant of the Kings of Moylurg. MacDermot attended Stonyhurst College, and went on to Trinity College Dublin, where he was ...

, 1996. * ''A History of Medieval Ireland'', A. J. Otway-Ruthven, 1968. Kings of Connacht Kingdoms of medieval Ireland States and territories established in the 10th century MacDermot family

Annalistic references

See also

References