O
OIREACHT
See
Society, Functioning of Gaelic
OLD AGE
See
Society, Functioning of
ÓENACH
The word derives from
óen
(one) and has a primary
meaning of “coming together,” a “reunion” for the
purpose of burial at the traditional tribal burial ground.
It is the normal word for a popular assembly or gath-
ering. It also occurs in place-names, meaning “a place
of assembly.”
The more elaborate burial mounds at an
óenach
were associated with kings and kingship and were a
focal point for the expression of identity of king and
people. The references to social intercourse on such
occasions, including horse racing, is reminiscent of the
funeral games of the ancient Mediterranean world. By
the seventh century, burial was for the most part in
Christian graveyards, but the
óenach
had become the
assembly (still at the traditional site) of king and peo-
ple on set occasions for the transaction of public busi-
ness, with games, music, social interaction, and trade
also part of the activities. The early Latin glosses on
óenach
—
theatrum
and
agon regale
—are a further
indication of this. The Latin
circio
(Hiberno-Latin for
“circus”) is also used for
óenach
, as in the entry of the
Annals of Ulster
for the year 800
A
.
D
. when the death
of the local king is recorded at the fair, on the feast-
day of St. MacCuilinn of Lusk (Co. Meath). The impli-
cation is that the
óenach
was held at the local monastery.
As local territories were incorporated into more powerful
kingdoms, the political significance of these local
óen-
ach
s declined, leaving only the social and commercial
aspect intact. In this way the
óenach
(Modern Irish
áonach
) survived as a “fair” into modern times.
There are references (dating between the eighth
and twelfth centuries) to local fairs being held at
churches such as Lusk, Armagh, Kildare, Glendalough,
Lynally, Roscrea, Cashel, and Kells. The marketplace
was marked with a cross in some of these sites. The
word
margad
(market), from Old Norse
markadr
,
itself from Latin
mercatus
, was probably borrowed
into Irish during the tenth century. It glossed Latin
nundinae
, the market held every ninth day. It some-
times seems interchangeable with
óenach
, and there
are references to markets being held at the great
provincial
óenach
s held by the great kings, in which
the political function was still of prime importance.
Such was the
Óenach Tailten
, at
Tailtiu
(Telltown)
situated on a loop of the river Blackwater in County
Meath. This was the
óenach
of the Uí Néill dynasty
and was closely associated with Tara. In Leinster,
Óenach Carmain
was the main assembly of the Lein-
stermen. Like
Óenach Tailten
, it was situated on a
loop of the river Liffey in the parish of Carnalway,
east of Kilcullen in County Kildare. Fairs such as
these were sometimes not held or were disrupted for
political reasons. The king who presided demon-
strated his right to rule. A poem celebrating the
Óen-
ach Carmain
provides most of what is known about
these fairs. It was held on the feast of Lugnasad
(August) every third year.
C
HARLES
D
OHERTYReferences and Further Reading
Gwynn, Edward, ed.
The Metrical Dindshenchas
(Royal Irish
Academy,
Todd Lecture Series X),
Part III. Dublin, 1913, pp. 2–24.
Ó Murchadha, Diarmuid. “Carman, Site of Óenach Carmain:
A Proposed Location,”
Éigse. A Journal of Irish Studies
33
(2002): 57–70.