Eóganachta


The Eóganachta were an Irish dynasty centred on Cashel which dominated southern Ireland from the 6/7th to the 10th centuries, and following that, in a restricted form, the Kingdom of Desmond, and its offshoot Carbery, to the late 16th century. By tradition the dynasty was founded by Conall Corc but named after his ancestor Éogan, the firstborn son of the semi-mythological 3rd-century king Ailill Aulom. This dynastic clan-name, for it was never in any sense a 'surname,' should more accurately be restricted to those branches of the royal house which descended from Conall Corc, who established Cashel as his royal seat in the late 5th century.

High Kingship issue

Although the Eóganachta were powerful in Munster, they never provided Ireland with a High King. Serious challenges to the Uí Néill were however presented by Cathal mac Finguine and Feidlimid mac Cremthanin. They were not widely recognized as High Kings or Kings of Tara, as they did not belong to the Uí Néill, but they controlled territories as large or larger than those of the other dynasty. The kings of the Hill of Tara were sometimes called High Kings but were not recognized as kings of all Ireland in the historical period. However, this is to put the supposed position of "High King of Ireland" on a platform that it probably never enjoyed. The social structure of Gaelic Ireland was extremely complex, hierarchically oriented and aristocratic in concept. At the summit of society stood the king of a province, variously styled in the law texts as "King of great kings", "Chief of kings" and "The ultimate king of every individual". From his justice there was no appeal, nor did the Brehon Law acknowledge the existence of the High Kingship of Ireland. The ri ruirech had no legal superior. In Munster this legal theory was explicitly adhered to by the annalists who styled the provincial kings as "High King", thereby stressing his absolute sovereignty. As the concept of the High Kingship of Ireland was developed from the 9th century onwards by the Uí Néill clan, the kings of Munster counterbalanced that historically inaccurate doctrine by stressing their alternative right to that title, or instead the enjoyment of full sovereignty in Leth Mogha, that part of Ireland south of a line from Dublin to Galway.
The Eóganacht king Fíngen mac Áedo Duib ruled as King of Munster and is the direct male line ancestor of the O'Sullivans. His son Seachnasagh was too young to assume the throne and was therefore followed by Eóganacht king of Munster Faílbe Flann mac Áedo Duib, direct male line ancestor of the later MacCarthy kings. In the Roll of "The Kings of Munster", under the heading "Provincial Kings", we find that Fingin, son of Hugh Dubh, is No.14 on the Roll, while his brother Failbhe is No.16. Long, an anglicized version of the name Ó Longaidh, belongs to one of the oldest branches of the Eóghanchta royal dynasty of Ireland's Munster Province. Prince Longaidh, patriarch of the sept living in about 640, was a descendant of Oengus Mac Nad Fróich, the first Christian king of Munster in the 5th century who was said to have been baptized by Ss. Patrick and Ailbe on the Rock of Cashel. Early genealogical heritage survives in a poem attributed to the 7th century entitled Duan Cathain, preserved in An Leabhar Muimhneach. By the time of the Norman invasion in 1066, this Catholic clan was well established in its present territory in the Barony of Muskerry, County Cork, parishes of Canovee, Moviddy, Kilbonane, Kilmurry, and Dunisky straddling the River Lee.
The MacCarthys owed the prominent position they held in Desmond at that period of the English invasion of Ireland, not to primogeniture, but to the disturbed state and chaos of Munster during the Danish wars, in which their immediate ancestors took a prominent and praiseworthy part.

Gentle rulers

The rule of the Eóganachta in Munster is widely regarded as gentle and more sophisticated in comparison with the other provincial dynasties of Ireland. Not only was Munster the wealthiest of the provinces, but the Eóganachta were willing to concede other previously powerful kingdoms whom they had politically marginalized, such as the Corcu Loígde, considerable status and freedom from tribute, based on their former status as rulers of the province.

Ancient origins

Their origins, possibly Gaulish, are very obscure. According to one of their own origin legends, they were descendants of Heber, eldest son of King Milesius from the north of Spain. The proto-Eóganachta, from the time of Mug Nuadat to the time of Crimthann mac Fidaig and Conall Corc, are sometimes referred to as the Deirgtine in early sources.
The earliest evidence for the proto-Eóganachta, the Deirgthine or Deirgtine, is in the form of ogham inscriptions. They appear to have initially been subjects of the Dáirine, a warlike people with frequently mentioned connections to Ulster, who were possibly cousins of the Ulaid. The Dáirine were represented in historical times most clearly by the Corcu Loígde, over whom the Deirgtine finally achieved supremacy during the 7th century, following the loss by the former of their centuries-long hold on the Kingdom of Osraige, apparently with some outside help from the Uí Néill.
The Eóganachta achieved their status primarily through political and economic sophistication and not military conquest. Ireland was dominated by several hostile powers whom they were never in any position to challenge militarily on their own, in the early centuries, but there also existed a number of subject tribes whom the Deirgtine successfully convinced to adopt them as their overlords. The effect was to separate the Dáirine, by now mainly the Corcu Loígde, from their cousin kingdoms and prominent subjects. The Eóganachta progressively surrounded themselves with favoured vassals such as the Múscraige, who would become the main source of their income as well as defense against the other kingdoms. The later famous Déisi Tuisceart, who would produce Brian Bóruma, were among these vassal peoples. The Déisi Muman of County Waterford may have shared Gaulish origins with the Eóganachta themselves.
Another powerful people of early Munster were the Mairtine, who had their capital at Emly or Imlech Ibair, first known as Medón Mairtine. It became the head church of the Eóganachta.

Mythology

See
  • Aimend
  • Áine
  • Battle of Mag Mucrama
  • Leath Mogha
  • Lugaid mac Con
  • Mór Muman
  • Mug Ruith
  • Nia Segamain
  • Óengus Bolg
  • Senchas Fagbála Caisil

    Royal houses, Septs and surnames

Early figures

A number of the figures below may be listed under the wrong septs. The quality of Eóganachta genealogical and historical writing greatly improves in the 2nd millennium under the MacCarthy overlords but some problems remain. The earliest historical rulers from the Eóganachta, descendants of Conall Corc, include:
The princely houses of the Eóganachta may usefully be divided into the inner circle, the outer circle and extinct septs.

Princely houses: inner circle

These three princely houses produced nearly all Kings of Cashel from the 5th to the 10th centuries. Some were strong, others were renowned bishops and scholars, and others were weak. The importance of the Cashel kingship was primarily ceremonial, and rulers were with the occasional exception not militarily aggressive, although they continually strove for political dominance as far as they could with the province's wealth. Strong petty kingdoms regarded as subject would receive large payments called rath in return for their acknowledgment of the political supremacy of Cashel, and they would sometimes give hostages as well. The most powerful petty kingdoms exchanged hostages with the King of Cashel, and though subject in some sense, they were legally free and capable of terminating the contract.
The Eóganacht Chaisil under the MacCarthys would later form the much more militarily capable but undermanned Kingdom of Desmond. The O'Sullivans, the eldest of the Eóganacht Chaisil, were the most powerful lords under them. The O'Keeffes of Eóganacht Glendamnach would later produce many great soldiers for Irish and Continental armies. The O'Callaghans were a smaller sept who have distinguished themselves in recent times, while the MacAuliffes and MacGillycuddys are, as stated, simply septs of the MacCarthys and O'Sullivans. The O'Kirbys of Eóganacht Áine were ruined by the Norman Invasion of Ireland.