Menu

New Vistas on the Distant Past

Celtic tribes of Ireland

For an introduction to the Celtic tribes of Ireland including climate, La Tène Culture, Cruthin, Attacotti and Déisi, and the Five provinces, see the main page for Celtic Tribes of the British Isles. See also Irish Surnames and Y-DNA.

• Auteini (Latin), Autinoi (Greek): lived on the west coast below the Nagnati. They can be identified with the later Uaithne of Limerick and Tipperary.^{1G. Toner, Identifying Ptolemy's Irish places and tribes, in D.N. Parsons and P. Sims-Williams (eds.), Ptolemy: Towards a Linguistic Atlas of the Earliest Celtic Place-Names of Europe (2000), 73-82.}
• Brigantes: lived south of the Coriondi. A tribe of the same name occupied much of the north of Britain at this period. A Roman or Romano-British burial at Stoneyford, Co. Kilkenny, raises the possibility of links between these two regions. They presumably shared the patron goddess Briganti. She was Christianised as St Brigit, whose cult was rooted in Leinster/Laighin. The early medieval Irish septs the Uí Brigte (descendants of Brigit) and Uí Bairrche may be survivals of the tribe.^{2J. T. Koch, Celtic Culture: a historical encyclopedia (2006), pp. 284-5.}
• Cauci (Lat.), Kaukoi (Gr.): lived south of the Eblani.^{3Claudius Ptolemy, The Geography, II.1.}
• Cíarraige (Gaelic): the dark (cíar) people (-raighe), or the descendants of someone with the name or nickname Cíar, probably denoting his dark hair. This gens appears in some early medieval names, such as Coílbad maic Coirbb maic moccu Ciarraige, recorded in Ogham on a memorial stone from Rockfield, Co. Kerry,^{4R.A.S. Macalister, Corpus Inscriptionum Insularum Celticarum, vol. 1 (Dublin 1945), no. 244.} and the 6th-century West Muster poet Luccreth moccu Chiara.^{5J. Carney, Language and literature to 1169 in D. Ó Cróinín (ed.), A New History of Ireland, vol. 1 (2005), pp. 477-8, 485.} The annals of Ireland record the death in 737 of Flann Feórna, lord of the Ciarraighe Luachra,^{6Annals of the Four Masters} who gave their name to county Kerry (Gaelic: Contae Chiarraí). By this time several groups had the name Ciarraighe, so each was distinguished by an additional name, in this case the name of the district. A medieval genealogy of Flann Feórna traced his descent from a Moga Airtt who was called Cíar and thence back through increasingly dubious connections via the legendary Ulaid hero Fergus mac Róich to the mythical Míled an Espáin.^{7Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Rawlinson B. 502, olim The Book of Glendalough (written c. AD 1130), section 23, no. 265. Electronic edition compiled by Donnchadh Ó Corráin.} However the multiplicity of Cíarraige cropping up over much of Ireland suggests that the name or nickname Cíar was quite common, and that these are unrelated lineages. Medieval genealogists might well attempt to link them together and/or to an early occurrence of the name.
• Coriondi (Lat.), Koriondoi (Gr.) : lived south of the Manapi and north of the Brigantes. Though not appearing in later sources for south Leinster, they can probably be identified with the Corainn of the County Sligo area, as well as the tribal names Cuirenrige and the Dal Cuirind.^{8G. Toner, Identifying Ptolemy's Irish places and tribes, in D.N. Parsons and P. Sims-Williams (eds.), Ptolemy: Towards a Linguistic Atlas of the Earliest Celtic Place-Names of Europe (2000), 73-82.}
• Darini (Lat.), Darinoi (Gr. ): lived next to the Robogdi on the east coast. The name indicates followers or descendants of Dáire. The name Dáire (fertile or fruitful) is common in Irish myth and legend. Although given to various figures with separate regional associations, the root may be a widely-worshipped fertility god (see Iverni). The Dál Fiatach of Down claimed descent from Fiatach Finn mac Dáire. By historical times, they were the ruling dynasty of the Ulaidh. A Dál Fiatach kindred descended from Óengus Ibdach (Angus the Hebridean) straddled part of Ulster and the Hebridean island of Islay in the 6th century AD and was absorbed into the Kingdom of Dál Riata c. 700 AD (see Epidii). ^{9G. Toner, Identifying Ptolemy's Irish places and tribes, in D.N. Parsons and P. Sims-Williams (eds.), Ptolemy: Towards a Linguistic Atlas of the Earliest Celtic Place-Names of Europe (2000), 73-82; J. E. Fraser, From Caledonia to Pictland: Scotland to 795 (2009), pp. 159-160; J.T. Koch, Celtic Culture: a historical encyclopedia (2006), p. 556.}
• Domnann: the Fir Domnann (Fir = people) appear in Irish legend as among the invaders of Ireland. They were probably related to the Dumnonii of south-west Britain and what is now the western Scottish Lowlands. The name is based on the Celtic root dumno-, meaning both deep and the world. The name occurs in Inber Domnann (Malahide Bay, Co. Dublin), and more frequently in north-west Mayo as Iorrais Domnann (Erris, Co. Mayo) and the nearby Mag Domnann and Dun Domnann. An early Irish poem describes one of their leaders as the over-king of Leinster.^{10J.T. Koch, Celtic Culture: a historical encyclopedia (2006), p. 750.} At Ballydavis in County Laois, some some 4km north-east of Portlaoise, an extensive Iron Age complex has been discovered, which bears comparison with the Celtic royal cemeteries of Cruachain and Tara. An unusual cylindrical tinned bronze box (image in the online report) from the site is similar to one from the chariot burial of a woman at Wetwang Slack, Yorkshire.^{11V.J. Keeley, Ballydavis Early Iron Age Complex, in I Bennett (ed.), Excavations 1995: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland (1996), pp. 51-2.} This does not necessarily imply a relationship, but does suggest contacts between north Britain and Ireland during the Late Iron Age.
• Eblani (Lat.), Eblanioi (Gr.): lived south of the Volunti. Ptolemy gives coordinates for a coastal town of Eblana in their vicinity, identified by some auhors as Loughshinney, Meath and others as within the present Dublin.^{12R.Darcy and W. Flynn, Ptolemy's map of Ireland: a modern decoding, Irish Geography, vol. 41, no. 1 (March 2008), pp. 49-69; J. T. Koch, An Atlas for Celtic Studies (2007), map 14.2.}
• Erdini (Lat.), Erdinoi (Gr. ): lived on the west coast next to the Vennicni.^{13Claudius Ptolemy, The Geography, II.1.}
• Gangani (Lat.), Ganganoi (Gr.): lived on the west coast below the Autini.^{14Claudius Ptolemy, The Geography, II.1.}
• Iverni (Celtic), Iouerni (Gr.), Hiberni (Lat.) : lived on the west side next to the Vellebori. The tribe appears in later sources as the Érainn (Éraind, Érnai, Érna), a group of dynasties including the Corca Loigde who ruled in Munster prior to the rise of the Eóghanacht dynasty in the 7th century AD. The legendary founder of the Érainn was Dáire mac Dedad, perhaps an ancestor god. Ptolemy also places the town or settlement Iouernis (Gr.), Hibernis (Lat.) in the South-West. Iouernis could be Teamhair 'Erann, which appears in the Ulster Cycle as the muster-place for the Érainn. ^{15G. Toner, Identifying Ptolemy's Irish places and tribes, in D.N. Parsons and P. Sims-Williams (eds.), Ptolemy: Towards a Linguistic Atlas of the Earliest Celtic Place-Names of Europe (2000), 73-82;}
• Manapi (Lat.), Manapioi (Gr.): lived south of the Cauci, according to Ptolemy, who also locates the coastal town of Manapia. The appearance of the non-Gaelic letter p in these names has been put forward by some as evidence for P-Celtic speakers in the area. Yet there is no place-name evidence for this. So the names may simply have been transmitted via a P-Celtic speaker. The Manapi are considered identical to the Monaig, two small communities of whom survived into the Early Christian period, one in County Down and one near Louch Erne, who eventually gave their name to Fermanagh (Fir Manach). Early Irish genealogists claim that these emigrated from the south of Leinster.^{16G. Toner, Identifying Ptolemy's Irish places and tribes, in D.N. Parsons and P. Sims-Williams (eds.), Ptolemy: Towards a Linguistic Atlas of the Earliest Celtic Place-Names of Europe (2000), 73-82; J. T. Koch, An Atlas for Celtic Studies (2007), p. 18.} This tribal name is similar to Menapii, a Belgic tribe,^{17Caesar, Gallic Wars, II.4; III.9, 28; IV.4, 22, 38; VI.2, 5, 6, 9, 22.} but the similarity may be coincidental.
• Nagnatae (Lat.), Nagnatai (Gr.): lived on the west coast below the Erdini.^{18Claudius Ptolemy, The Geography, II.1.}
• Robogdi (Lat.), Robogdioi (Gr.): lived in the north-east.^{19Claudius Ptolemy, The Geography, II.1.} It has been speculated that this name may be a misreading of some predecessor of Dál Riata, but this strains both linguistics and chronology. Dál Riata appears to have emerged centuries later from the welding together of Corcu Réti in Kintyre (see Epidii) and other kingroups including Cenél nÓengusso in Islay and part of Ulster (see Darini). By the early historical period, the region formerly of the Robogdi was inhabited mainly by Cruthin (British) peoples.
• Usdiae (Lat.), Ousdiai (Gr. ): lived above the Iverni.^{20Claudius Ptolemy, The Geography, II.1.}
• Vellabori (Lat.), Ouellaboroi (Gr.): lived on the west coast below the Gangani. Orosius (writing c. 414 AD) mentions the Velabri and Luceni being settled in the promontory where the mouth of the Scena River is found. The Senus River mouth is located by Ptolemy and can be identified with the Shannon.^{21Claudius Ptolemy, The Geography, II.1; Paul Orosius, A History Against the Pagans, book 1, section 2, para 80.}
• Venicnii (Lat.), Oueniknioi (Gr.): lived on the west coast at the north, according to Ptolemy, with the Rogbogdi to the east.^{22Claudius Ptolemy, The Geography, II.1.}
• Volunti (Lat.), Ouolountioi (Gr.): lived south of the Darini, according to Ptolemy. This is probably a corruption of Uluti. They appear later as the Ulaidh, who gave their name to the province of Ulster. Their cult centre was at Emain Macha, scene of tales in the Ulster Cycle. It is now known as Navan Fort, Co. Armargh. A huge circular building there has been dated to 95 BC by dendrochronology. It can be identified with the northernmost of the two Irish places that Ptolomy names as Regia - the place of the ruler.^{23R.Darcy and W. Flynn, Ptolemy's map of Ireland: a modern decoding, Irish Geography, vol. 41, no. 1 (March 2008), pp. 49-69; J. T. Koch, An Atlas for Celtic Studies (2007), pp. 19-20.}

Notes

If you are using a browser with up-to-date support for W3C standards e.g. Firefox, Google Chrome, IE 8 or Opera, hover over the superscript numbers to see footnotes online. If you are using another browser, select the note, then right-click, then on the menu click View Selection Source. If you print the article out, or look at print preview online, the footnotes will appear here.

• Introduction
• Ireland
• Scottish Highlands
• S Scotland
• N England
• Wales & West
• SW England
• Belgic England
• Search this site  
  

Page created by Jean Manco 11 April 2011, by extract from the Celtic Tribes main page. Last edited 01-10-2011. XHTML: CSS