32-640: Conaille Muirthemne was a Cruithin kingdom located in County Louth , Ireland , from before 688 to after 1107 approximately. The Ulaid according to historian Francis John Byrne 'possibly still ruled directly in Louth as far as the Boyne in the early seventh century' at a time when Congal Cáech of the Cruthin of Dál nAraidi made a bid for the kingship of Tara . Conaille Muirtheimne once formed part of
64-699: A branch of the Cruthin. Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh stated of them: "To the Cruithne of Ireland belong the Dal Araidhe, the seven Laighsi of Leinster, the seven Soghain of Éire, and every Conaill of Eirinn." For much of its history it was at war with the Airgíalla and the Uí Néill ; sometimes even with its Ulaidh allies. The Conaille occupied the district of Magh Muirthemne , also known as Machaire Conaill , closely associated with two mythological heroes of
96-622: A people of early medieval Ireland . Their heartland was in Ulster and included parts of the present-day counties of Antrim , Down and Londonderry . They are also said to have lived in parts of Leinster and Connacht . Their name is the Irish equivalent of * Pritanī , the reconstructed native name of the Celtic Britons , and Cruthin was sometimes used to refer to the Picts , but there
128-469: A series of later inventions. Possible surnames derived from this group include Connolly. This description of Conaille Muirtheimne is taken from the article cited below: See Kings following rex Dícuill mac Ossénié. Cruithin The Cruthin ( Old Irish: [ˈkruθʲinʲ] ; Middle Irish : Cruithnig or Cruithni ; Modern Irish : Cruithne [ˈkɾˠɪ(h)nʲə] ) were
160-480: Is Cruithen (modern Irish: Cruithean ). The adjectival form is Cruithnech (modern Irish: Cruithneach ), which is also used as a noun . It is thought to relate to the Irish word cruth , meaning "form, figure, shape". The name is believed to derive from *Qritani , a reconstructed Goidelic / Q-Celtic version of the Brittonic / P-Celtic *Pritani . Ancient Greek geographer Pytheas called
192-845: Is a debate among scholars as to the relationship of the Cruthin with the Britons and Picts. The Cruthin comprised several túatha (territories), which included the Dál nAraidi of County Antrim and the Uí Echach Cobo of County Down. Early sources distinguish between the Cruthin and the Ulaid , who gave their name to the over-kingdom , although the Dál nAraidi would later claim in their genealogies to be na fír Ulaid , "the true Ulaid". The Loígis , who gave their name to County Laois in Leinster, and
224-443: Is his claim that the Cruthin or Priteni were pre-Celtic as opposed to Celts themselves. However, this model has since been refuted by authors such as Kenneth H. Jackson and John T. Koch . There is a lack of archaeological evidence for O'Rahilly's theory, and it was conclusively shown to be false in the landmark 2017 publication of the "Irish DNA Atlas", which sets out in great detail the genealogical history and modern day makeup of
256-573: Is stated that Columba needed to speak through an interpreter on his mission into Pictland (section XXXIII) (signifying that he could not understand the Pictish language), and that he brought with him two Irish Cruthin (St. Comgall and St. Canice) to translate for him. Historian Alex Woolf suggested that the Dál Riata were a part of the Cruthin and that they were descended from the Epidii . Dál Riata
288-651: The British Isles . The asteroid 3753 Cruithne was named after the group. Robert E. Howard 's pulp hero Bran Mak Morn was characterised as "chief of the Cruithni Picts". Middle Irish language Middle Irish , also called Middle Gaelic ( Irish : An Mheán-Ghaeilge , Scottish Gaelic : Meadhan-Ghàidhlig ), is the Goidelic language which was spoken in Ireland, most of Scotland and
320-610: The Celtic Britons the Pretanoí , which became Britanni in Latin. It is suggested that Cruthin was not what the people called themselves, but was what their neighbours called them . The name Cruthin survives in the placenames Duncrun ( Dún Cruithean , "fort of the Cruthin") and Drumcroon ( Droim Cruithean , "ridge of the Cruthin") in County Londonderry, and Ballycrune ( Bealach Cruithean , "pass of
352-990: The Isle of Man from c. 900–1200 AD; it is therefore a contemporary of Late Old English and Early Middle English . The modern Goidelic languages— Modern Irish , Scottish Gaelic and Manx Gaelic —are all descendants of Middle Irish. Middle Irish is a fusional , VSO , nominative-accusative language , and makes frequent use of lenition . Nouns decline for two genders : masculine and feminine, though traces of neuter declension persist; three numbers : singular , dual , plural ; and five cases : nominative , accusative , genitive , prepositional , vocative . Adjectives agree with nouns in gender , number , and case . Verbs conjugate for three tenses : past , present , future ; four moods : indicative , subjunctive , conditional , imperative ; independent and dependent forms. Verbs conjugate for three persons and an impersonal, agentless form ( agent ). There are
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#1732773200655384-719: The Northern Uí Néill , promising them the territories of Ard Eólairg ( Magilligan peninsula ) and the Lee, both west of the River Bann in County Londonderry. As a result, the battle of Móin Daire Lothair (modern-day Moneymore ) was fought between them and an alliance of Cruthin kings, in which the Cruthin suffered a devastating defeat. Afterwards the Northern Uí Néill settled their Airgíalla allies in
416-515: The Sogain of Leinster and Connacht , are also claimed as Cruthin in early Irish genealogies. By 773 AD, the annals had stopped using the term Cruthin in favour of the term Dál nAraidi, who had secured their over-kingship of the Cruthin. In medieval Irish writings, the plural form of the name is variously spelt Cruthin , Cruithin , Cruthini , Cruthni , Cruithni or Cruithini ( modern Irish : Cruithne ). The singular form
448-524: The Boyne at Tuath Inbir and Tráig Indbir Colpa . Though the Conaille Muitheimne never extended that far south in the 7th-century, as Ferrard was then occupied by the Árd Ciannachta , they represent pseudo-historical claims by the Cruithne through Conall Cernach. The first member of the dynasty to occur in the sources is Dícuill mac Ossénié who is registered as rex in Vita S. Romani . He
480-477: The Cruthin and Picts were the same people or were in some way linked. Professor T. F. O'Rahilly argued that the Qritani/Pritani were "the earliest inhabitants of these islands to whom a name can be assigned". Other scholars disagree. Historian Francis John Byrne notes that although in Irish both groups were called by the same name, in Latin they had different names, with Picti being reserved for
512-404: The Cruthin are "archaeologically invisible"; there is no evidence of them being a distinct group and "there is not a single object or site that an archaeologist can declare to be distinctly Cruthin"; they further considered Adamson's claims "quite remarkable". Much of Adamson's theories are based on the historical model put forward by Irish linguist T. F. O'Rahilly in 1946. Where Adamson differs
544-518: The Cruthin are indistinguishable from their neighbours in Ireland. The records show that the Cruthin bore Irish names, spoke Irish and followed the Irish derbfine system of inheritance rather than the matrilineal system sometimes attributed to the Picts. Possible linguistic connection between Cruthin and Picts is nevertheless mentioned in St. Andomnán's Life of St. Columba (c. 697-700 AD), in which it
576-532: The Cruthin king Mael Caích defeated Connad Cerr of the Dál Riata at Fid Eóin, but in 637 an alliance between Congal Cláen and Domnall Brecc of the Dál Riata was defeated, and Congal was killed, by Domnall mac Aedo of the northern Uí Néill at Mag Roth ( Moira, County Down ), establishing the supremacy of the Uí Neill in the north. In 681 another Dál nAraide king, Dúngal Eilni , and his allies were killed by
608-587: The Cruthin territory of Eilne , which lay between the River Bann and the River Bush . The defeated Cruthin alliance meanwhile consolidated itself within the Dál nAraidi dynasty. Their most powerful historical king was Fiachnae mac Báetáin , King of Ulster and effective High King of Ireland . Under their king, Congal Cláen , they were routed by the Uí Néill at Dún Cethirnn (between Limavady and Coleraine ) in 629, although Congal survived. The same year,
640-618: The Cruthin") and Crown Mound ( Áth Cruithean , "ford of the Cruthin") in County Down. These placenames are believed to mark the edges of Cruthin territory. By the start of the historic period in Ireland in the 6th century, the over-kingdom of Ulaid was largely confined to the east of the River Bann in north-eastern Ireland. The Cruthin still held territory west of the Bann in County Londonderry, and their emergence may have concealed
672-698: The King of Conaille, was killed in battle by the Uí Breasil Macha" , so it seems the kingdom still retained independence. However, the Airgíalla seem to have brought it under their control sometime after this, most probably c. 1130 by Donnchad Ua Cerbaill , king of Airgialla, and it was incorporated into his kingdom. He settled elements of the Uí Méith, an Airgialla tribe, on the Conaille of Cuailgne , on
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#1732773200655704-431: The Picts. Professor Dáibhí Ó Cróinín says the "notion that the Cruthin were 'Irish Picts' and were closely connected with the Picts of Scotland is quite mistaken", while Professor Kenneth H. Jackson wrote that the Cruthin "were not Picts, had no connection with the Picts, linguistic or otherwise, and are never called Picti by Irish writers". There is no archaeological evidence of a Pictish link and in archaeology
736-530: The Ulaid, Cú Chulainn and Conall Cernach , renowned defenders of the province of Ulster . Unusually for a character from the Ulster Cycle , Conall appears to have been taken on in medieval Irish genealogies by the Cruithne as an ancestor in the 7th century including by the kings of the Dál nAraidi and the Uí Echach Cobo . By tradition the forest and lands of Conall Cernach ran from the area of Newry to
768-441: The Uí Néill in what the annals call "the burning of the kings at Dún Cethirnn". The ethnic term "Cruthin" was by this stage giving way to the dynastic name of the Dál nAraide. The Annals record a battle between the Cruthin and the Ulaid at Belfast in 668, but the last use of the term is in 773, when the death of Flathruae mac Fiachrach, " rex Cruithne ", is noted. By the twelfth century it had fallen into disuse as an ethnonym , and
800-565: The dominance of earlier tribal groupings. A certain Dubsloit of the Cruthin is said to have killed the son of High King Diarmait mac Cerbaill in 555 or 558, and Diarmait himself was killed by a Cruthin over-king of Ulster, Áed Dub mac Suibni , in 565. In 563, according to the Annals of Ulster, an apparent internal struggle amongst the Cruthin resulted in Báetán mac Cinn making a deal with
832-582: The over-kingdom of the Ulaid, and it remained an ally of it for the greater part of its history. In Lebor na gCeart (the Book of Rights) the Conaille are listed among "The Territories whose King paid Tribute to the Ulaidh." In return, the king of Ulaid owed to "The Heroic King of Muirthemhne – six round goblets full of ale, ten ships from the Hero of Elga, ten steeds and ten brights cloaks." They are believed to be
864-540: The south side of Carlingford Lough which gave their name to the district of Omeath . In 1153 when High King Domhnall Mac Lochlainn " ... plundered ... and burned Conaille." Eoin MacNeill held the Conaille Muirtheimne to be kin of Ulaid and Érainn , descending from Conall Anglonnach, a son of Dedu mac Sin (MacNeill, pp. 97–8). Their association with the Cruthin appears to be the end result of
896-801: The story of the Táin Bó Cúailnge as representing this; and argues that most of the Cruthin were driven to Scotland after the Battle of Moira (637), only for their descendants to return 1,000 years later in the Plantation of Ulster . Adamson suggests that the Gaelic Irish are not really native to Ulster and that the Ulster Scots have merely returned to their ancient lands. His theory has been adopted by some Ulster loyalists and Ulster Scots activists to counter Irish nationalism , and
928-466: Was a Gaelic kingdom that included parts of western Scotland and northeastern Ireland. The Irish part of the kingdom was surrounded by Cruthin territory. In the 1970s, Unionist politician Ian Adamson proposed that the Cruthin were a British people who spoke a non-Celtic language and were the original inhabitants of Ulster. He argues that they were at war with the Irish Gaels for centuries, seeing
960-639: Was of the generation before the king killed at the Battle of Imlech Pich in 688. In either 732 or 735, the Ulaid suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of the Cenél nEógain led by Áed Allán in the battle of Fochart in Magh Muirthemne, which saw the king of Ulaid, Áed Róin , decapitated. As a result, the Cenél nEógain brought Conaille Muirthemne under their suzerainty. The last recorded king of Conaille Muirthemhne died in 1081, yet in 1107 Fergus, son of
992-690: Was promoted by elements in the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). They saw this new 'origin myth' as "a justification for their presence in Ireland and for partition of the country". Historians, archaeologists and anthropologists have widely rejected Adamson's theory. Prof. Stephen Howe of the University of Bristol argues it was designed to provide ancient underpinnings for a militantly separate Ulster identity. Historian Peter Berresford Ellis likens it to Zionism . Archaeologists such as J. P. Mallory and T. E. McNeil note that
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1024-518: Was remembered only as an alternative name for the Dál nAraide. The Pictish Chronicle names the first king of the Picts as the eponymous " Cruidne filius Cinge ". Early Irish writers used the name Cruthin to refer to both the north-eastern Irish group and to the Picts of Scotland. Likewise, the Scottish Gaelic word for a Pict is Cruithen or Cruithneach , and Pictland is Cruithentúath . It has thus been suggested that
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