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The Provinces of Ireland (Irish: Cúigí na hÉireann) refers to the historical and cultural major territorial divisions that the island is divided by. The provinces originally corresponded to an over-kingdom, the boundaries of which where changeable. With the end of the Gaelic era, the provinces came to function as fixed-boundary historical and cultural entities that have been used since by various organisations as a means of regional administration and representation.

Each province is known in Irish as a cuigeadh, which means a "fifth", based on the assumption that at one stage Ireland was divided into five provinces. This is still reflected in the Irish term Cuig Cuigidh na hEireann, meaning the Five Fifths of Ireland. The actual number of historical provinces however varied, with as many as seven circa 800AD. It has only been since the mid-17th century that there have only been four: Connacht, Leinster, Munster, and Ulster.

Each province was ruled by a rí ruírech (king of over-kings), also known as a rí cúigíd (king of a fifth). This was the highest rank of king provided for in Irish law tracts, despite notions of an ard rí (High-King).

Etymology
In modern Irish the word for province is cúige (pl. cúigeadh). The modern Irish term derives from the Old Irish cóiced (pl. cóiceda) which literally meant "a fifth". This term appears in 8th century law texts such as Miadslechta and in the Ulster Cycle where it refers to the five kingdoms of the Pentarchy. In the 12th-century Lebor na Cert (Book of Rights), 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 (king of the fifth/province) for certain overkings.

Structure
Each province, or 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:
 * 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; The term rí ruírech was replaced at a later date by the term rí chóicid, "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 were themselves made up of several smaller petty-kingdoms known as a túath (a group of people), equating at their largest to the size of an Irish barony. These túath where ruled by a king, or rí, and were also known as a rí túatha, or "king of the people". By the 10th centuries the rulers of a túath were no longer assumed to be kings but became referred to as leaders (toisech) or lords (tigern).

Pre-history
Prior to the arrival of Christianity to Ireland, its history was passed down the ages by an oral tradition, which was only recorded many centuries after the events and tales alluded to occurred. This lack of contemporary recording of early Irish history makes the people and events of it subject to a high degree of uncertainty between what is mythical, semi-historical, or historical fact.

The Pentarchy
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 (kings) 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".

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 subordinate to a central monarchy, which Keating called the "Septarchy".

Pseudo-historians list 84 kings of Ireland prior to the Pentarchy. When this 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, Etarscél Mór, the 84th king of Ireland. Keating however suggests it occurred in the reign of Eochaidh Feidhliach who was the 82nd king of Ireland.

Constituent provinces
The five cuigeadh or provinces that made up the Pentarchy where:
 * Connacht, with its royal seat was at Cruachain.
 * Ulaid (Ulster), with its royal seat at Emain Macha.
 * Muman (Munster), with its royal seat at Teamhair Erann.
 * Laigen Tuathgabair (North Leinster), with its royal seat at Tara (before it became the seat of a central monarchy).
 * Laigen Desgabair (South Leinster), with its royal seat at Dinn Riogh.

Keating and T. F. O'Reilly differ suggesting that it is Munster, not Leinster, that formed two of the fifths. These two fifths were called by Keating: Cuigeadh Eochaidh (eastern Munster) and Cuigeadh Con Raoi (western Munster), both named after their respective king. MacNeill discounts this suggestion citing the Táin Bó Cúailnge, which makes mention of Eochaidh as king of all Munster, with Cu Roi simply a "great Munster hero". He also cites that the Táin makes mention of the four fifths of Ireland that waged war on Ulster, which made reference to only one Munster. Another reason given by MacNeill was a problem made by Keating himself. According to Keating, when the province of Míde was being founded, it was created from portions of each province which all met at the hill of Uisnech. The boundaries given by Keating himself for the five provinces however meant that this would of been highly unlikely, with the boundary between his Munster fifths nowhere near this area.

Confusing the matter are titles used in historical documents compiled centuries later when referring to kings of provinces. In the Annals of Ulster, Congal mac Maile Duin is called rex Iarmumman, which means "king of West Munster". However the Annals of Tigernach and Chronicum Scotorum simply call him ri Muman, meaning "king of Munster". Similarly there are three instances where the Annals of Ulster call someone king of Leinster, however in other texts they are called ri Laigen Desgabair, meaning "king of Southern Leinster". The title ri diabul-Laigen, meaning "king of double Laigen", has also been used.

Connacht supremacy
According to legend, the ruling dynasty of Connacht were exiled from Ireland in the latter half of the 1st century. Túathal Techtmar led their return from exile with a powerful army to wage war on Ireland. As a result Connacht gradually expanded at the expense of the kingdoms of Ulster and North Leinster. Northern Leinster was absorbed in its entirety with the Déisi reduced to vagabondage. Having secured victory and established the High-Kingship at Tara, he took land from each province, which all met at Uisnech Hill, and created the province of Míde (meaning "middle" due to its location), with Tara as its seat.

Alternatively in the 5th century, four sons of the pseudo-historical Connacht king Niall of the Nine Hostages: Niall, Coirpre, Maine, and Fiachu, from which came the Southern Uí Néill, are credited with conquering lands from the Laigen, roughly equating to the present-day counties of Longford and Westmeath (containing Tara).

According to tradition, in the year 331 AD, the Three Collas from Connacht, grandsons of High-King Cairbre Lifechair, waged war on Ulaidh seeking to create their own kingdom. Having defeated the Ulaidh, burnt their capital Emain Macha, which was afterwards abandoned, the Collas seized a substantial amount of Ulaidh and founded the kingdom of Airgíalla. Circa 400 AD, Ulster was further reduced in the south-west. The Northern Uí Néill dynasty, who descend from the Connacht king Niall Noígíallach, took what was left of Ulster in the north-west (present-day County Donegal), founding the kingdom of In Tuaiscert (later Ailech). As such the power of Connacht spanned half the island laying the foundations of its hegemony.

Thus Ireland was now divided into seven kingdoms with that of Míde the seat of the High Kingship, to which the other six provinces were in theory, but rarely in practice, subordinate. This is how according to tradition that Ireland was structured upon the arrival of Saint Patrick in the late 5th century.

Historic period
By the 5th century following the arrival of Saint Patrick and the gradual recording of Ireland's oral history, Irish history starts to become more accepted to historians and less based on the legendary. The 12th-century manuscript Lebor na Cert (Book of Rights), Ireland was divided into seven cúigeadh: Ailech, Airgialla, Connacht, Leinster, Meath, Munster, and Ulster.

Míde
Míde, meaning "Middle territory", originally corresponded to the Hill of Uisnech (the traditional center of Ireland) in modern day Westmeath. As such the kings of Míde where titled rí Uisnig in the 12th-century king-lists. Uisnech was originally held by the Laigen until 516 AD when Fiachu, a son of Niall of the Nine Hostages and co-founder of the Southern Uí Néill, conquered it at the battle of Druimm Derge (Drumderg).

The earliest evidence in the Annals of Ulster for the kingship of Míde doesn't occur until the mid-8th century, though some other annals appoint some 7th-century kings from the Southern Uí Néill sept Clann Cholmain Mair as rí Mídi, "King of Meath".

During the 8th-century, the Clann Cholmain Mair rapidly expanded, with the name Míde being used to refer to their extensive domain which soon consisted of the present day county of Westmeath, and parts of counties Longford and Offaly. What status Usinech retained during this expansion is uncertain. Many Míde kings also became kings of Tara, and the kingdom enjoyed a prominent role in Irish politics from the late 8th-century to 11th-century.

The Northern Uí Néill saw their kindred's kingdom as a threat to their own ambitions and twice in the 9th-century tried to divide Míde amongst rival claimants of less illustrious Clann Cholmain lords. These attempts did not succeed for long.

By the 10th century Míde started to fall into decay. Internal divisions and encroachments by the kingdom of Breifne afflicted it during the 11th-century. The kingdom of Brega to its east declined so badly that by the 12th-century the name Míde was extended to it, expanding Míde into the southern half of modern-day County Louth and the northern half of County Dublin. The late 11th-century and 12th-century saw Míde reduced to the status of a puppet-kingdom as its kingship was appointed and divided almost at the beckon of the powerful dynasties in Connacht, Munster, and the Cenél nEógain.

The original kingdom became known as Iarthar Míde, meaning "west Meath", the name of which is preserved in the name of the present-day county of Westmeath. The eastern portion of their territory is preserved in the name of the present-day County Meath. Both of these counties would be created in 1542 by the Irish parliament.

Following the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in 1172, the kingdom was awarded to Hugh de Lacy as the Liberty of Meath by King Henry II of England in his capacity as Lord of Ireland. de Lacy's grant spanned the more extensive holdings that Míde once consisted of.

Ulster
Ulster, meaning "land of the Ulaidh", derives its name from the Irish words Ulaidh and tír, with the Norse genitive "s" placed inbetween them. By the 8th century this land of the Ulaidh was split between three rival provinces; that of Ulaidh, Airgíalla, and the Northern Uí Néill.

Ulaidh
The Ulaidh (formerly Ulaid) in the 4th century are claimed as having dominated the north of Ireland as far south as the River Boyne, with their capital at Emain Macha near present-day Armagh, County Armagh. By the 8th century, under pressure firstly from the Airgíalla who at their greatest extent had conquered central Ulster west of the River Bann, and then from the Northern Uí Néill who advanced from the north-west, the territory of the Ulaidh shrunk to east of the Bann into what is now the modern-day counties Antrim, Down and Louth. The taking over of the Ulaidh's ancestral lands by the Northern Uí Néill and the end of their glory led to a constant antagonism between them.

Principle clans in the much reduced Ulaidh included:
 * The Dál Fiatach, based at Dun-da-Lethglas (present-day Downpatrick, County Down), who dominated the over-kingship of Ulaidh and had interests in the Isle of Man;
 * The Cruthni, Dál nAraidi, based at Ráith Mór (near present-day Antrim town, County Antrim). They where the Dál Fiatach's main challengers for the over-kingship;
 * The Uíbh Eachach Cobha, a Cruthni sept, kin with the Dál nAraidi, who also challenged for the over-kingship of Ulaidh. They where based in modern-day County Down, possibly at Cnoc Uíbh Eachach (Knock Iveagh).
 * The Dál Riata, based in the Glens of Antrim, who since the 6th century where expanding throughout the Scottish Isles and south-western mainland, founding the kingdom of the Scots.

Ulaidh would put up stern resistance to further encroachment from the Northern Uí Néill, however in 1004 their king and most of their nobility were slaughtered in a battle at their inauguration site, Craeb Telcha. The result was a bloody succession war amongst the Ulaidh, and their inability to provide any useful aid to Brian Boru when he marched to force the submission of the Northern Uí Néill's most prominent clan, the Cenél nEógain.

Despite this Ulaidh would continue to survive but not for much longer. In 1177 it was invaded by the Normans led by John de Courcy, who in a surprise attack captured and held the Dál Fiatach capital, Dun-da-Lethglas, forcing the Ulaidh over-king, Rory MacDonleavy, to flee. Over the following years, despite some defeats, de Courcy expanded throughout Ulaidh, and shifted the focus of power in Ulster. De Courcy would style himself as princeps Ultoniae, "master of Ulster", and ruled his conquest like an independent king. The Uíbh Eachach Cobha in central and western Down however escaped conquest.

In 1199, King John I of England, sent Hugh de Lacy, to arrest de Courcy and take his possessions. In 1205, de Lacy was made the first Earl of Ulster, founding the Earldom of Ulster, with which he continued the conquest of the Ulaidh. The earldom would expand along the northern coast of Ulster all the way to the Cenél nEógain's old power-base of Inishowen.

Airgíalla
The over-kingdom of Airgíalla (Anglicised as Uriel, Oriel, and Oirghialla) was a federation of independent sub-kingdoms that paid suzerainty to an over-king. Airgíalla was situated in the heart of Ulster. At its earliest and greatest extent, Airgíalla included the entirety of the present-day counties of Londonderry, Monaghan, Tyrone, Armagh west of the River Bann, parts of Fermanagh and Louth.

There where nine main groups within Airgíalla: The first three were collectively known as the Ui Moccu Úais, and they also had branches in modern-day County Meath and County Westmeath.
 * Uí Maic Cairthinn, located south of Lough Foyle
 * Uí Fiachrach, located around Ardstraw, County Tyrone
 * Uí Thuirtri, east of the Sperrin Mountains
 * Fir Chraibe and Fir Li, west of the River Bann, north of the Ui Thuirtri.
 * Airthir, based around Armagh
 * Uí Chremthainn, located in modern-day County Fermanagh and parts of County Tyrone and County Monaghan
 * Uí Méith, in modern-day County Monaghan
 * Mugdorna, which branched into Meath

Historically the earliest mention of Airgíalla in records is in the Annals of Tigernach under the year 677 with mention of the death of the Ri Oigriall, or "king of Airgíalla". The Annals of Ulster make mention of Rex na nAirgialla under the year 697. Prior to the 6th-century it is suggested that they may have been subject to the Ulaid, however in the following centuries they came under the influence and control of the Northern Uí Neill's Cenél nEógain branch, who were expanding into their territory.

In 637-8 the Ulaid suffered a defeat at the Battle of Moira, which gave Airgíalla some independence from them and the Cenél nEógain, however a more devastating defeat for Ulaid in 735 at the Battle of Fochairt saw the Cenél nEógain establish domination over Airgíalla. Afterwards Airgíalla provided military service for the Cenél nEógain. Around 776, due to pressure from the advancing Cenél nEógain, the Ui Thuirtri migrated east of the River Bann into Ulaid, removing themselves from the Airgíalla by 919.

According to the Annals of Ulster, in 827 AD the Ui Cremthainn had dishonoured the Cenél nEógain in Armagh, resulting in the Battle of Leth Cam, which saw the Cenél nEógain defeat the Ui Cremthainn and their Ulaid allies, killing "many other kings of the Airgíalla". The aftermath of this battle saw the breaking of Airgíalla and their vassalisation by the Cenél nEógain. The following centuries would see the vast reduction in Airgíalla's territory. As the Northern Uí Néill headed by the Cenél nEógain advanced upon Airgíalla's western and northern borders, the Southern Uí Néill was absorbing the southern Airgíallan peoples. Eventually relations between the Northern and Southern Uí Néill drifted apart and in-between them emerged two buffer-state kingdoms, Uí Briúin Bréifne and a much consolidated Airgíalla. Now synonymous with the kingship of Fernmag, Airgíalla consisted of the modern-day counties Fermanagh, Monaghan and parts of Louth.

In the 11th century, the Ua Cerbail sept of the Ui Cremthainn had become the leading family of Airgíalla. In 1111 the Synod of Ráth Breasail used the boundaries of Airgíalla to create the "see of Ui Cremthainn", otherwise known as the Diocese of Clogher. Later on in 12th-century, Donnchad Ua Cerbaill extended Airgíalla south-easterly all the way to the River Boyne, to which he moved the seat of the diocese from Clogher to Louth.

By the end of the 12th-century, Airgíalla lost Louth to the Anglo-Normans, with area becoming known as "English Oriel". It also saw Louth being removed from the Diocese of Clogher and placed under that of Armagh, thus the seat of the diocese returned to Clogher.

Airgíalla survived in County Monaghan for as long as the Gaelic order survived. The last king of Airgíalla was Aodh Ruadh mac Airt, who reigned from 1589 until September/October 1590.