who legitimated Brian Boru’s usurpation of the king-
ship of Munster in 978 by grafting an ancestor of
their own, Cormac Cas, onto the Eóganacht geneal-
ogy as a son of Ailill Ólum, brother of the epony-
mous ancestor of the Eóganachta, Eógan Mór. The
Dál Cais version alleged that the Eóganacht had
ignored a decree of Ailill Ólum to have the kingdom
alternate between the descendants of his two sons.
Needless to say, this theory of alternation only lasted
in Brian’s lifetime, as the Dál Cais had no intention
of alternating with a weakened Eóganachta. The
Eóganachta staged a comeback in the first quarter of
the twelfth century in the person of Cormac Mac
Carthaig and went on, even after the Anglo-Norman
Invasion, to rule parts of Cork and Kerry until the
fall of the Gaelic Order in the seventeenth century.
The MacCarthys, O’Sullivans, O’Donoghues,
O’Keeffes, Kirbys, Moriartys, and many other well-
knownMunster families claim descent from these
rulers of early medieval Munster.
LETITIA CAMPBELL
References and Further Reading
Byrne, F. J. Irish Kings and High Kings. London: 1972; reprint
with additional notes and corrigenda, Dublin: Four Courts
Press, 2000.
Dillon, Myles. “The Story of the Finding of Cashel.” Ériu 16
(1952): 63.
Hull, Vernan. “Conall Corc and the Corcu Loígde.” Proceedings
of the Modern Languages Association of America 62(1947):
887 −909.
. “The Exile of Conall Corc.” Proceedings of the Modern
Languages Association of America 56 (1941): 937−950.
(Éoganacht origin legend with introduction, text, translation
and notes.)
Mac Niocaill, Gearóid. Ireland before the Vikings. Dublin: Gill
and Macmillan, 1972.
Meyer, Kuno. “The Laud Genealogies and Tribal Histories.”
(Zeitschrift fur Celtische Philologie viii 1911): 291−338:De
Bunad Imthechta Eóganachta, 312−315; Munster version of
Lebor Gabála Érenn.
Ó Corráin, Donnchadh. Ireland before the Normans. Dublin:
Gill and Macmillan, 1972.
See alsoKings and Kingship; Mac Carthaig,
Cormac; Munster
ÉRAINN
This is the name of one of the ancient peoples of
Ireland. It is first attested in the Geographyof Claudius
Ptolemaeus of Alexandria (c. 150 A.D.) as Ivernioi.
Ptolemy also records the “town” Ivernis, “the Fertile
Place,” from which is derived the name of the island,
Ivernia, and the people, Ivernioi. Ptolemy’s Ivernioi
inhabited the southwest of Ireland. According to the
genealogists the Érainn are found in other parts of
Ireland as well. Genealogical theory changed over time
so the status of the Érainn and their relationships with
other peoples evolved in accordance with the evolving
political landscape. The main groups classed as Érainn
were the Corcu Loígde, in historical times located in
southwest County Cork, the Múscraige of Cork and
Tipperary, the Corcu Duibne of Kerry, the Corcu
Baiscinnof west Clare, the Dál Riata of north Antrim,
and the Dál Fiatach (Ulaid) of County Down. The
genealogists considered the Érainn, the Laigin, and the
Cruthin as being distinct races. In the historical period
the Ulaid (Ulstermen) were the most prominent of the
Érainn and they, together with the Laigin (Leinstermen),
were regarded as “free races.” By the eighth century
the Éoganachta of Munster and the Connachta (in par-
ticular the Uí Néill) had come to dominate the island
and they made up the third “free race,” the Féni. In
time the Érainn were brought within the circle of the
Féni as a relative of “Míl.”
It is clear that the Érainn had been politically
important in the proto-historic period, although in the
historical period many of them had been reduced to
servile or politically subordinate status. In the saga
literature the ancestor of many of the Érainn, Conaire,
was depicted as the just and beneficent king of Tara.
Lugaid mac Con of the Corcu Loígde was said to have
been king of Tara and was succeeded by Cormac mac
Airt (ancestor of the Uí Néill). The Corcu Loígde
(Loigodewa, “the people of the Calf Goddess”) were
the most important of the Munster Érainn. Genealog-
ical theory claimed that they shared power with the
more recent Eóganachta. Early tradition suggests that
the Osraige, a major people between Munster and
Leinster, had been ruled by or were in alliance with
the Corcu Loígde. Indeed they may have been closely
related. This association was disrupted during the
sixth century, however, when the Eóganachta rose to
dominate Munster with the help of the Uí Néill. It is
likely that the Corcu Loígde had been dominant in
Munster, if not beyond the province, before the rise
of the Eóganachta and for this reason had been given
the status of most-exalted vassals of their new masters.
By the twelfth century the Corcu Loígde still retained
an element of prestige when the core of their territory
became the diocese of Ross. St. Ciarán of Saigir,
patron of the Osraige, was one of their kin. Their lord
during the later Middle Ages was O’Driscoll, whose
wealth was based upon the sea, trading in wine with
Gascony.
CHARLES DOHERTYReferences and Further Reading
Byrne, Francis John. Irish Kings and High Kings, new ed.
Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2001.
Charles-Edwards, T. M. Early Christian Ireland. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2000.EÓGANACHTA