EARLY HISTORY OF IRELAND
he two surviving sons of Melisius, Eremon and Eber (sometimes seen as
Heremon and Heber) divided the island between them except for two
small areas set aside for the family of their two married brothers, Ir and
Ith. Eremon took the northern half and Eber took the southern half of
the isle. Ir's family was located on the northeast corner of the island and
Ith's on the southwest. Many historians feel the term `Ireland' comes
from the Vikings, who, when they landed in the northeast corner of the
island were told it was Ir-land.
This family of Milesians, it would appear, provided most of the names by which the island is known: Ireland, Erin and Eire as well as for earlier versions. Caesar referred to the island as Scota and its inhabitants as Scoti. Later when the "Scoti" landed in Alba, they changed the name of that land to Scotland.
Eremon eventually evolved as the ruler of all Ireland and a sucession of Milesian kings followed. The Firbolgs were kept in virtual serfdom in the area that will become known as Connacht. The De Dannan were apparently assimilated. The Milesian period was one of Europe's higher civilized and creative periods and it was centered in Ireland.
Based in Ulster, the Milesians wielded all the power in Ireland. About the time of Christ, a group of Firbolgs descended from those who left for Alba centuries earlier, returned to Ireland and were granted lands in southern Connacht by Queen Maeve.
Maeve had been the wife of the Milesian king of Ireland, Conor Mac Nessa. There was a problem between them and he divorced her and set her up in Connacht. There she remarried (the King of Connacht) and began organizing a suspiciously large retinue. When she let the Firbolgs in, Conor became alarmed and sent two of his best warriors (one of these was the famous Cuchhillian) to Connacht with some men to pursue and kill the Firbolgs.
After Conor Mac Nessa, many weaker kings ruled Ireland. In the first century there was the Aitech Tuatha (Revolt of the Rent-Paying Peoples). Taking advantage of the weakened organization of the Milesians, the Firbolgs started many disturbances with increasing violence and size. The leaders of the Milesians, wanting to effect a peace, agreed to attend a great feast offered by the Firbolgs during a truce. The feast was held at Magh Croin in County Galway. The Firbolg leader was Carbri Cinn Cait which translates as Carbri "leader of the unfree ones." Carbri had all the Milesians, who came to the banquet, murdered. He then took over leadership of Ireland as its 101st ruler. He ruled for five years in an evil and ruthless manner in stark contrast to the enlightened rule of the Milesians.
THE FIRST MORAN, MORANN
Carbri's son was Morann. He was from Connacht. During his father's reign he became known as a great Brehon (lawgiver) eventually serving as the Chief Justice of Ireland. When his father died, Morann refused the crown repudiating the brutal reign of his father in deference to the civilized rule of the Milesians. Feradach succeeded Carbri as Ireland's 102nd ruler in about 36 A. D.
Morann continued under Feradach in his position as the Chief Justice of Ireland. Known as the
"Just Judge", Morann was reknowned for the wisdom in his judgements. He wore something
known as the Iodhan Moran (Moran's Collar)
. To the left is a drawing from an early encyclopedia depicting "An Arch Druid in His Judicial Habit" wearing the collar which is detailed to the right. It was an ornamental collar made of gold. Chief
Justices through the ages wore the collar which it was said would choke the wearer if were
about to give an unjust decision. Morann was also known in Irish history as the first to believe in
a single all-powerful god, before the arrival of Christianity. When Saint Patrick codified Irish
law in about 400 AD in a work known as the Senchus Mor (The Great Law), Morann is
mentioned very favorably. No connection with this Morann has been made, however, for our
family.
The Milesian king named in place of Morann, Feradach, was followed by his son Fiacha. Fiacha was overturned by an alliance between the Aithech Tuatha (Firbolgs) and provincial Milesian kings. The alliance placed Elinn of Ulster on the thorn and he ruled for twenty years. Many Milesians began to be disturbed by the increasing power of the Firbolgs during Elinn's rule and plotted to restore the family of Fiacha by choosing his exiled son, Tuathal, as their leader. With popular support, Tuathal was successful in wresting the throne from Elinn and the Firbolgs.
The next ruler of note in Irish history was Conn of the Hundred Battles, son of Feidlimid, son of Tuathal. Conn had to take his throne from a usurper, Cathair Mor. Connacht is named for Conn. Conn was followed by his grandson Connaire II until his own son Art could take the throne. The king after Art was Lugaid until Art's son, Colmac was of age. Colmac's forces, in the year 240 AD, successfully invaded and held Alba for Ireland. Colmac was followed by his son Carbri Lifeachar. Carbri's son, Fiacha became King of Connacht. For some years now the stepping stone to Tara where the High King reigned was through the position of King of Connacht. Fiacha was made High King in 300 AD. His son Muiredeach, was doing so well in his father's battles and at court, that another branch of the sept headed by the brothers Colla, plotted to kill Fiacha and Muiredeach to take the throne. The brothers Colla killed Fiacha but were unable to kill Muiredeach, who defeated them after four years of fighting. Muiredeach reigned for 27 years as High King. His son was Eochaid Muighmhedon also seen as Eochidh, Eochay or Eochy Moyvane. He was the 124th king of Ireland.
EOCHAY MOYVANE AND MONGFINN
T. Whitley Moran, a noted Irish genealogist and a respected member of the Irish Genealogical Society, who has done extensive research in the ancient Gaelic manuscripts and on Moran family genealogies, suggests the Moran family of Connacht can trace its origins on fairly firm ground to Eochidh Muighmhedhon (Eochay Moyvane, King of Ireland) in circa 350 AD. For a discussion of other Moran families go to Appendix II - Other Morans.
Eochy Moyvane (Eochaidh Muighinheadhoin) was King of Connacht in the year 358 AD. He reigned eight years. He had several wives. One of his wives was Mongfinn, she was from the royal family of Munster. Her father's name was Fidach. She also had a brother, Crimthann Mor Mac Fidagh who was King of Munster. He will come into our story later. Two of the sons of Mongfinn and Eochaidh were Brian and Fiachra Foltsnathac (Fiachra of the flowing hair). T. Whitley Moran and other genealogists trace the Morans to which we are related from Mongfinn and her son Brian (see Appendix VII).
When Eochahaidh took a second wife, Mongfinn felt threatened. The wife was the daughter of Scal Moen, King of the Saxons. Her name was Caireann Chasdubh (Caireann of the dark curly hair). Mongfinn saw to it that Caireann did hard menial work right up to the last month of her preganancy when she presented Eochahaidh with another son. This son was called Niall and he developed into a very special person who was agile with weapons and words, in battle and in court.
Eochahaidh let it be known he wanted Niall to succeed him because Niall excelled both on and off the battlefield in all areas of leadership. Queen Mongfinn, however. wanted her oldest son, Brian to inherit the throne, but as he was too young, she supported giving the throne to her brother, Crimthann Mor Mac Fidaigh until Brian was old enough to take the throne. She arranged for Niall to be blamed for a plot of which he was innocent. He was exiled. When Eochaidh died at Tara, Crimthann succeeded Eochaid as King of Ireland. Crimthann had his own ideas about who should rule and ruled for twenty years. He called back Niall and made him a general in his army.
Mongfinn continued to plot to place Brian on the throne at Tara. None of her schemes worked. Out of desperation, she brought a poisoned drink to her brother, Crimthann. When he hesitated to take the drink, so consumed was she with her plot that, she drank from it herself to encourage him to drink. This woman of the royal house of Munster in her selfish act to put her son, a son of Connacht, on the throne - changed the history of Ireland dramatically and all in vain. Both she and Crimthann died of the poison. An emnity was born between the royal houses of Connacht and Munster that would last generations and result in many deaths. The crown passed to Niall.
NIALL
Niall had redeemed himself among the royal families of Ireland as the very successful general of the High-King's army. Eochaidh had wanted Niall to succeed him, and so with Crimthann gone and Niall again in good stead, Niall was made King. He became known as Niall Niogiallach or Niall of the Nine Hostages. To insure his reign he took an important hostage from each of the five provincial kings of Ireland as well as one from Alba, one each from the Saxons and Britons and one from the Franks on the continent or the Welsh. This last hostage is not clearly identified in the oral history.
Niall successfully extended the rule of Ireland into Alba and Europe. He was liked by all for his ability in war and at court. Niall is the progenitor of the Ui Neil (also seen as Hy Niall) who, in later years, ruled Ulster. Niall made his half brother, Brian, King of Connacht and Fiachra was made chief of a district extending from Carn Fearadhaigh near Limrick to Magh Mucronmhe near Atheny. Disputes arose between Brian and Fiachra and they marshalled their forces and met in battle. Fiachra lost and was captured. He was sent, a prisoner, to Niall.
Niall supported the Irish colony in Alba and then combined with the Picts to raid Britain, Wales and Gaul. On one of these raids, a young boy was captured and brought back to Ireland. He escaped but would later return as Saint Patrick.
Fiachra had five sons, Earc Ciulbhuidhe (yellow hair), Breasal, Conaire, Amhalgaidh, and Feradhach. Feradach had much prowess, he was so agile, skilled and athletic, his name became Dathi (sometimes seen as Nathi) which reflected this.
DATHI AND FIACRACH
Dathi pursued Brian and together with allies from Lienster defeated and killed him. Fiachra was then released by Niall and made king of Connacht.
Fiachra was the progenitor of the family of Ui Fiachrach Muaidh, of which we are a part. Fiachrach is the genitive (possesive) form of Fiachra. The name of the Barony of Tireagh in County Sligo comes from Tir - Fiachrach. The actual area of Tir - Fiachrach, as originally defined, was much larger than the present barony and encompassed all of the barony of Tireagh and a large part of the baronies of Gallen and Tirawley in County Mayo.
Muaidh, in UiFiachrach Muaidh, refers to the River Moy which was known successively in history as the Sal Srotha, Moda, Moadus, Maudis, Moyus, Muidh and Muaidh. The River Moy rises in the present barony of Leyny in County Sligo and then runs in a circuitous pattern to the sea by way of the Barony of Gallen in County Mayo where it passes through Foxford and Ballina/Ardnaree in the Barony of Tirawley on its way six more miles north to the Bay of Killala where the river forms the present boundary between the counties of Mayo and Sligo.
Fiachra was sent on a mission to collect the Borumean Tribute from Munster. The men of Munster, still upset over the murder of Crimthann, revolted and challenged the Connacht men to battle. The men of Connacht prevailed but Fiachra was wounded in the battle. To insure the continued support of Munster, hostages were taken. One night on the way back to Tara, the hostages broke loose, seized upon the wounded Fiachra and buried him alive before they were stopped. Fiachra died. His son, Dathi, became King of Connacht. Dathi was the last pagan King of Connacht.
Niall was killed in 404 AD during one of the raids into Gaul by an internal enemy from Lienster. One ancient account says the incident took place on the banks of the Loire River.
Niall was succeded by Dathi. Dathi's brother, Amhalgaidh, became King of Connacht. Amhalgaidh recieved the doctrine of Christianity from Saint Patrick himself and became the first Christian King of Connacht. From Amhalgaidh (sounds like Awley) comes the name, Tir - Amhalgaidh, meaning territory of Amhalgaidh which over time became Tirawley, the name of the Barony in County Mayo where our Morans are centered today.
Dathi followed Niall's lead and continued to raid into Britain, Wales and Gaul. He harrased the retreating Romans in Britain and Wales. In Gaul, he pushed them all the way to the Alps where he was suddenly struck by a bolt of lightning. Amahalgaidh returned the body to Erin fighting battles all the way. There were nine battles at sea and ten on land. Each time the body of Dathi was raised for his army to see and take from him inspiration and each time the men of Dathi's army were victorious. Amhalgaidh was killed in one of the last land battles [possibly the one listed as Lundunn (London)]. Four servants of Dathi's took the body of Dathi to an ancient burial ground at Cruachan in Meath where the kings of the race of Heremon were buried. Dathi was succeeded as High King by a son of Niall, Laoghaire, or Leary. He reigned for 30 years.
Dathi had three wives and 24 sons. With Ruadh or Rufina, the daughter of Airti Uichlleathan, he had sons, Oilioll Molt and Fiachra Ealgach. Oilioll became King of Connacht in 449 AD. The Barony Tireill, which is a corrupted form of Tir-Oiliolla, is named for him. This barony is shown in MacFirbus 's map of 1650 to border Tir Fiachrach at Ballysadar off Sligo Bay. Oilioll was King of Ireland in 463 AD, succeeding Laoghaire.
A side story concerning the progeny of Oilioll explains the origin of the name of Ardnaree. Oiliollol Molt's son, Ceallach, had two sons, Eoghan Beul and Oilioll Ionbhanda (they were later kings of Connacht). Eohghan Beul had two sons, Ceallach and Cuchongolt Mac Eoghain. Ceallach was murdered by his four foster brothers. Cuchongolt slew them and then hung them near the spot where they killed his brother. That place, a hill, was called Ard Na righ (the hill of executions) and is today Ardnaree.
Fiachra Ealgach, the son of Dathi, continued the line of the Hy-Fiachrach Muiadh. The son of Fiachra Ealgach was Maolduin, sometimes seen as Maoldubh. Maolduin's son was Muiren, Moran-Mor.
MUIREN, MORAN MOR
Muiren and his family were originally, in about 800 AD, located on the shore of Clew Bay in west County Mayo (in County Burrishoole and Murrisk) when the area was known as Umhall. Umhall is pronounced Oole.
Muiren's son, Maolduin, began the eastward movement of the Morans when he took his family inland and settled in a glen known as Glean Maoiduin along the Owneninny River somewhere north of Bellacorick (about ten miles east on the main road from Crossmolina). Over the years, the family extended eastward to and across the River Moy where they settled at Ardnaree (on the eastern shore of the River Moy, opposite Ballina which was on the western shore) and south along the River Moy to Tuaim da Bhodhar, now called Toomore near Foxford. By the twelfth century the family was known as the O'Moráins of Ardnaree and were vassal chiefs to the O'Dowdas, lords of Hy Fiachra Moy. The O'Moráins were hereditary proprietors of Ardnaree and held the stategic fords of the Moy at Ardnaree and Foxford.
THE O'MORAINS FROM CLEW BAY TO ARDNAREE
The O'Moráins were a large family throughout Connacht, though centered in Ardnaree, families could be found either side of a band from the shores of Clew Bay to Ardnaree. In Burrishoole parish there is an old archeological ruin of a circular fort known as Raith Ui Mhorain (Moran's Fort). In the Annals of the Four Masters there is written an account of an event in 1208 when O'Moran slew Amhaoibh O'Rothlain, Chief of Calruidhe Cuile Cearnadha. In Killeen, not far from Carrowkeel, the parish priest in 1440 was Ruaid hri O'Morain. A Donald O'Morain is listed in documents as being in Carrowkeel in February of 1486. The 1650 MS of Duald Mac Firbus quotes a poem written in the Book Of Lecan in about 1417 that tells of:
O'Moran, the swift, who deserved the
great esteem of the soldiers.
O'Moran goes triumphantly to
Ard na riagh, hospitable the man,
to tend the learned and the banquets.
For O'Moran accustomed to battles
...We have alloted Ard Na riagh, a hero
"by whom our mind was raised."
Looking at the 1856 Griffith's Valuation numbers of Moran Households by baronies in County Mayo, we see that of the 499 listed, 172 (34%) are from the baronies surrounding Clew Bay (Murrisk, Burrishoole and Erris). Another 128 or (26%) are in the contigous baronies east of those on Clew Bay (Tirawley and Carra) . Finally, 199 or another 40% are shown in the baronies further east bordering on Carra and Tirawley (Gallen, Costello, Clanmorris and Kilmaine). This would support the eastern migration theory from Clew Bay.
In 1750, the O'Morain family was centered in Ballina and the spelling was Moran. A Captain Francis Moran was born in Ballina in 1773. He lived in Down Hill House. He died in 1814. His brother, Thomas, was born in 1775. He also lived in the house. Thomas died in 1732. Thomas Moran was the grandfather of T. Whitley Moran, the genealogist mentioned earlier.
According to T. Whitley Moran, the Morans of Ardnaree and Ballina are related to Muiren and his family. I believe we are related to this family of Morans and therefore tie into all the preceding genealogy. This family's coat of arms is officially listed and described as follows:
Azure on a mount proper, two lions combatant oer holding between them a flagstaff also proper. Then from a flag argent.
According to Myra McGuire who paints coats of arms and shields professionally in her home in Rathmines, Dublin, Ireland, the overall shield is blue, the mound green and the lions gold. The flag is silver.
.For other Moran coats of arms see Appendix III.
Research is on-going to make the connection to these Morans of Ardnaree to those of our family in Carrowkeel, a distance of less than six miles.
ANCIENT GENEALOGY
Now that you have absorbed the Scythian, Greek and Spanish connections to Irish history and then some of Ireland's ancient history, you are ready to be referred to the work of some genealogists who have traced our history back to earlier than 1700 B. C. based on ancient documents and artifacts some of which include the transcriptions of oral histories that were preserved through the centuries from one generation to another until finally transcribed.
Follow this link to the ancient genealogy>
CARROWKEEL TODAY
On a side note, a Dutch family has contacted the website to let us know they have purchased property in Carrowkeel for their retirement. The property, it turns out, is part of the original Moran holdings. Edmond and Aine van Estrik, teachers in secondary education in the Netherlands, spent several summers in Carrowkeel and fell in love with it. A few years ago they bought the property from Josephine (Moran) Leonard, sister of Paddy Moran. The property adjoins Paddy's. The van Estrik's went to Carrowkeel in July 1999 and took pictures of Carrowkeel. Follow the link to see the pictures. Remember they take a while to download. We look forward to more as they build their home there.