O'Rahilly's Historical Model - The Laginian Invasion

The Laginian Invasion

About two centuries after the Bolgic invasion Ireland was subjected to another invasion of P-Celtic-speaking people. Three names can be distinguished for them, but whether they were one tribe with three different names or three closely allied but separate tribes we cannot say. These names, as given in later written records, are Laigin, Domnainn and Gálioin. According to their own traditions, they came to Ireland from Armorica (Brittany). They landed in the southeast of the country and took the southeastern quarter from the Érainn. The modern name of this province, Leinster (Irish: Laighin), preserves the memory of this Laginian conquest, although in ancient times it was much smaller than the modern province. Before the Goidelic invasion, the River Liffey marked the boundary between Ulster and Leinster. The Domnainn were clearly a branch of the Dumnonii, a Celtic people identified by Classical authors as inhabiting Dumnonia (the English counties of Cornwall and Devon, to which they gave their name). Another branch of the Dumnonii settled in Scotland, where they founded Dumbarton and established the kingdom later known as Strathclyde. Presumably these settlements occurred at around the same time as the Laginian invasion of Ireland. It is even possible that the Dumnonii of Scotland were originally Irish Domnainn.

The Laginian invasion made little impact in Ulster or Munster, where Ernean tribes continued to be the dominant force. But the same cannot be said for Connacht, the westernmost of the four provinces. Sometime in the third century (all these dates, it should be pointed out, are highly conjectural) they crossed the River Shannon and subjugated the Ernean tribes of Connacht. The decisive battle was fought in County Sligo, in a place called Mag Tuired (Moytura). There a Laginian king (possibly known as Cairbre) overthrew the Érainn and drove them out of Connacht. According to Irish records the defeated Érainn sought refuge in many of the islands around Ireland. The fortresses of Dún Aengus and Dún Conor on the Aran Islands, and Dún Balor on Tory Island, are thought to have been built by them.

It was probably as a result of the Laginian conquests that the island of Ireland first came to be divided into four provinces. The Érainn continued to rule in Ulster and Munster, while the Lagin and their allies became the dominant force in Leinster and Connacht. Traditionally these four provinces met at the exact centre of the country, which was marked by the Hill of Uisneach (between Mullingar and Athlone in County Westmeath), a name which may mean “vertex” or “angular place.” The district immediately surrounding this hill was originally called Medion, which means “middle,” and is the origin of the county-name Meath. Julius Caesar informs us that the druids of Gaul regularly assembled at a hallowed spot in the centre of the country to celebrate their rituals (De Bello Gallico 6.13). Irish tradition records that a similar assembly, the Mórdáil Uisnig, periodically took place at the Hill of Uisneach on Beltane, the May-day festival.