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Airgialla
Airgialla, meaning perhaps ‘the hostage‐givers’, is the name of a kingdom (or, more accurately, a federation of subkingdoms, independent of each other but conceding nominal suzerainty to an overking) traditionally said to have been established by three brothers known as the three Collas. In its earliest state it ran from Coleraine to Newry, and westwards to the Foyle, where it was bounded from the 5th century on by the lands of the northern Uí Néill. It included, therefore, all of the modern counties of Derry, Tyrone, and Monaghan, Armagh west of the Bann, parts of Fermanagh and Louth, and perhaps a small corner of Meath. Over the centuries it was gradually pushed southwards by the advance of the northern Uí Néill, and by the 12th century the kingship of Airgialla and that of Fernmag in modern Co. Monaghan seem to have become synonymous. The Ua Cerbaill rulers of Fernmag also now ruled Co. Louth but this was lost as a result of the Anglo‐Norman invasion, and became known as Uriel. Monaghan, known as Oirghialla, survived as long as the Gaelic order prevailed, ruled over by a branch of the Uí Cerbaill who had adopted the surname Mac Mathghamhna (MacMahon).
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"Airgialla." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Airgialla." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-Airgialla.html "Airgialla." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-Airgialla.html |
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Airgialla
Airgialla, Oirghialla, Oriel [Ir., those who have submitted (?), hostage-givers (?)]. One of three proto-kingdoms or realms in the north of pre-Nordic Ireland, along with Ailech and Ulaid. Airgialla territory was on a line from Lough Foyle to the mouth of the Newry River and included much of counties Armagh and Monaghan, and portions of Louth, Down, and Fermanagh, or the southern half of Northern Ireland and adjacent areas in the Republic of Ireland. Airgialla was early conquered by the Uí Néill, who used the lands as a power-base for later expansion.
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Cite this article
JAMES MacKILLOP. "Airgialla." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES MacKILLOP. "Airgialla." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-Airgialla.html JAMES MacKILLOP. "Airgialla." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-Airgialla.html |
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