Provinces of Ireland
There are four provinces of Ireland: Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster. The Irish word for this territorial division, cúige, meaning "fifth part", suggests that there were once five, and at times Meath has been considered to be the fifth province. In the medieval period, however, there were often more than five. The number of provinces and their delineation fluctuated until 1610, when they were permanently set by the administration of James I. The provinces of Ireland no longer serve administrative or political purposes but function as historical and cultural entities.
Etymology
In modern Irish, the word for province is cúige. The modern Irish term derives from the Old Irish cóiced which literally meant "a fifth". This term appears in 8th-century law texts such as Miadslechta and in the legendary tales of the Ulster Cycle where it refers to the five kingdoms of the "Pentarchy". MacNeill enumerates the five earliest fifths mentioned, these comprising the kingdoms of Ulster, Connacht, Munster, Tara and Dinn Riogh, located on the Barrow. The earliest hero tales name the Boyne as the dividing boundary between Ulster and Leinster, indicating that no province representative of Meath or Brega was yet in existence. The kings of Tara and Dinn Riogh were said to derive from the same lineage, which ruled all the Laigin. In the 12th century Lebor na Cert, the term means province, seemingly having lost its fractional meaning with seven cúigeadh listed. Similarly this seems to be the case in regards to titles with the Annals of Ulster using the term rex in Chóicid for certain overkings.History
Mythological origins
The earliest recorded mention of the major division of Ireland is in the Ulster Cycle of legends, such as the Táin Bó Cúailnge. The Táin is set during the reign of Conchobar Mac Nessa, king of Ulster, and is believed to have happened in the 1st century. In this period Ireland is said to have been divided into five independent over-kingdoms, or cuigeadh whose rí were of equal rank, not subject to a central monarchy. Pseudo-historians called this era Aimser na Coicedach, which has been translated as: "Time of the Pentarchs"; "Time of the Five Fifths"; and "Time of the provincial kings". It was also described as "the Pentarchy".The five provinces that made up the Pentarchy where:
- Connacht, with its royal seat at Rathcroghan.
- Ulaid, with its royal seat at Navan Fort.
- Muman, with its royal seat at Teamhair Erann.
- Laigen Tuathgabair, with its royal seat at Tara.
- Laigen Desgabair, with its royal seat at Dinn Riogh.
Pseudo-historians list 84 kings of Ireland prior to the formation of the Pentarchy. When this mythical kingship was interrupted is a matter of dispute. The Annals of Tigernach state that Ireland was divided into the five upon the slaying of Conaire Mór; however, it is suggested alternatively that it happened upon the death of Conaire's father, Eterscél Mór, the 84th king of Ireland. Keating, however, suggests it occurred in the reign of Eochu Feidlech who was the 82nd king of Ireland.
MacNeill claims that this division of Ireland into five is pre-historic and pre-Gaelic, describing the Pentarchy as "the oldest certain fact in the political history of Ireland". The notion of Ireland being divided into five permeated itself throughout Irish literature over the centuries despite what the cuigeadh representing no longer existing by the time of Saint Patrick in the 5th century. By then, Ireland had become divided into seven over-kingdoms.
The Three Collas and the founding of Airgíalla
The main body of the events in the myth of the Three Collas may have occurred in the late 4th to early 5th century; however, as the centuries passed the myth underwent updating and alteration. The most oft quoted version of their story was written by Geoffrey Keating in the 17th century in his work the Foras Feasa ar Éirinn, also known as "The History of Ireland".In it the Three Collas—Colla Menn, Colla Da Crioch, and Colla Uais—were the sons of Eocaidh Doimlén. It is from them that the Airgíalla are said to descend, branching off from the rest of the Connachta. The Northern and Southern Uí Néill dynasties are claimed to descend from Eocaidh's brother, Fiacha Sraibhtine. According to the story the Collas were told by Fiacha's son, Muiredach Tirech, the High King of Ireland, to conquer land of their own to pass on to their descendants, directing them to wage war on the Ulaid to avenge a slight against their great-grandfather Cormac mac Airt.
The Collas with their army along with a host from Connacht marched to Achaidh Leithdeircc in Fernmagh, southern Ulaid, and fought the Ulaid in seven battles over the course of seven days. The host from Connacht fought the first six battles, and the Collas fought the seventh. It is after this last battle that the king of Ulaid, Fergus Foga, was killed and his army routed. The Collas then pursued the Ulaid east of the "Glen Righe", before returning to loot and burn the Ulaid capital, Emain Macha, after which it never again had a king. They then took possession of central Ulaid spanning the modern counties of Armagh, Fermanagh, Londonderry, Monaghan and Tyrone founding the over-kingdom of Airgíalla.
Historical origins
The origins of the provinces of Ireland can be traced to the medieval cóiceda or "over-kingdoms" of Ireland. There were theoretically five such over-kingdoms; however, in reality during the historical period there were always more. At the start of the 9th century the following are listed: Airgíalla, Connachta, Laigin, Northern Uí Néill, Southern Uí Néill, Mumu, and Ulaid. These seven over-kingdoms are again listed in the 12th-century Lebor na Cert.Each over-kingdom was divided into smaller territorial units, the definition of which, whilst not consistent in Irish law tracts, followed a pattern of different grades. In theory in the early medieval period:
- A province was ruled by a "king of over-kings", known as a rí ruírech. This was the highest rank allowed for in Irish law tracts despite claims by some dynasties to the symbolic title of rí Temro, also known as the ard rí ; The term rí ruírech was replaced at a later date by the term rí cóicid, "king of a fifth".
- Each province was made up of several petty-kingdoms that corresponded roughly to the size of modern Irish counties or dioceses, and were ruled by an overking known as a ruirí;
- Each of these petty-kingdoms was further subdivided into smaller petty-kingdoms known as a túath, equating at their largest to the size of an Irish barony. These túath were ruled by a king, or rí, and were also known as a rí túaithe, or "king of the people". By the 10th century the rulers of a túath were no longer assumed to be kings but became referred to as tigern or toísech instead.
Paul MacCotter proposes the following structure of lordship in the 12th century: High-king of Ireland; semi-provincial king, such as Connacht, Ulaid, Desmumu; regional king, such as Dál Fiatach and Uí Fhiachrach Aidni; local king or king of a trícha cét, such as Leth Cathail or Cenél Guaire; and taísig túaithe at the bottom.
Early medieval
The kingdom of Osraige, which had its genealogy traced back by early Irish genealogists to the Laigin, was part of Mumu from the 6th to 8th century and ruled by the Corcu Loígde dynasty. By the 7th century Osraige had lost their dependence on the Corcu Loígde, with the restoration of the local Dál Birn dynasty. Osraige remained part of Mumu until 859 when Máel Sechnaill I, king of the Uí Néill, forced Mumu to surrender it to his overlordship. After this situation ended it became an independent kingdom which gradually moved towards the Laigin sphere of influence as they sought to claim the Laigin kingship. It was during the 9th century that Osraige, ruled by Cerball mac Dúnlainge, became a major political player.Airgíalla had come under the dominance of the Ulaid; however, Niall Caille, the son of Áed Oirdnide, brought it under the hegemony of the Northern Uí Néill after defeating the combined forces of the Airgíalla and Ulaid at the battle of Leth Cam in 827.
Later medieval
After a period of dynastic infighting in the early 12th century, Osraige fragmented and after a heavy defeat at the hands of High-King Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn became part of Laigin. In 1169, the king of Osraige, Domnall Mac Gilla Pátraic, hired the Norman knight Maurice de Prendergast to resist the Laigin king, Diarmait Mac Murchada, who had also recruited Norman aid.In 1118, the king of Connacht, Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair, aided the Mac Cárthaigh of south Munster in a rebellion against the ruling Uí Briain dynasty. This resulted in the division of Mumu into two: Tuadmumu to the north under the Uí Briain; and Desmumu to the south under the Mac Cárthaigh. Ua Conchobair would then conquer the heartland of the Uí Briain situated around modern County Clare and make it part of Connacht. This was to force them to accept Cormac Mac Carthaig, king of Desmumu, as the king of Mumu. Despite Ua Conchobair's aid, Mac Carthaig and the Uí Briain would form an alliance to campaign against Connacht's hegemony, and by 1138 ended the threat from that kingdom. The following decades would see Mumu united and repartitioned several times as the Uí Briain and Mac Cárthaigh vied for complete control. In 1168, the king of Connacht, Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, ensured Mumu remained divided. After Henry II, king of England, landed in Ireland in 1171, the Mac Cárthaigh submitted to him to prevent an Uí Briain invasion. The Uí Briain eventually followed suit in submitting to Henry II. The eagerness of these submissions encouraged Henry II to revive the papal grant, Laudabiliter, for Ireland.