Muirisc, Muireasc, or Muireasg was a legendary but possibly historical woman who ruled over a territory called Mag Muirisce (later the Barony of

Murrisk Murrisk () is a village in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, on the south side of Clew Bay, about 8 km west of Westport, County Mayo, Westport and 4 km east of Lecanvey. Murrisk lies at the foot of Croagh Patrick and is the ...

) in what is now

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

Biography

What little is now known about Muirisc can be traced to two short medieval poetic references. Muirisc was given rule by her father,

Úgaine Mór Úgaine Mór, son of Eochu Buadach, son of Dui Ladrach, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, the 66th High King of Ireland. Biography He was the foster-son of Cimbáeth and Macha Mong Ruad and he took power by kil ...

(aka Hugony the Great), the sixty-sixth high king of

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 ...

who is said to have divided Ireland into twenty-five shares, one for each of his children. Her siblings included Lóegaire Lorc (who ruled Life), Cobthach Cóel Breg (who ruled Bregia), as well as a sister named Lathar. Muirisc placed her stronghold near

Clew Bay Clew Bay (; ) is a large ocean bay on the Atlantic coast of County Mayo, Ireland. It is roughly rectangular and has more than a hundred small islands on its landward side; Ireland's best example of sunken drumlins. The larger Clare Island guar ...

in the shadow of Cruachan Aigli (Conical Mountain), now known as

Croagh Patrick Croagh Patrick (), nicknamed 'the Reek', is a mountain with a height of and an important site of pilgrimage in County Mayo, Ireland. The mountain has a pyramid-shaped peak and overlooks Clew Bay, rising above the village of Murrisk, several ...

.R. A. Stewart Macalister (ed. & trans.), ''Lebor Gabála Érenn: The Book of the Taking of Ireland, Part V'', Irish Texts Society, 1956, p. 469. She was known as a sea captain and a warrior who "ruled o'er hardy sailors and great men" and was famed as much for being "daring" and "bold" as she was for her beauty and "snowy hands."Anne Chambers, ''Ireland's Pirate Queen: The True Story of Grace O'Malley'', New York: MJF Books, 2003, p. 16.

Timeframe

Estimates vary across a 1,100-year span as to when Muirisc (as well as her father) may have lived—from around the year 500 of the Common Era to as far back as 600 Before the Common Era.Roderick O'Flaherty, ''Ogygia, or, a Chronological Account of Irish Events,'' Part III (1685) as translated by James Hely in hi
Volume II, Dublin: 1793
p. 400.

References

{{reflist Ancient princesses Irish legends Irish sailors Irish folklore Women in ancient European warfare Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Female sailors Irish princesses 5th-century BC women