Fermanagh

Fermanagh
Fir Manach (Irish)
10th century–1607
of Fermanagh
Coat of arms
Fermanagh in the 15th–16th centuries
Fermanagh in the 15th–16th centuries
CapitalLisnaskea[1]
Common languagesIrish
GovernmentElective monarchy
King / Chief 
• d.1009
Cathal Ó Dubhdara
• 1600–1607
Cú Chonnacht Óg Mag Uidhir (last; half-brother of Hugh Maguire)[2]
History 
• Established
10th century
• Disestablished
1607
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Airgíalla
County Fermanagh
Kingdom of Ireland
Today part ofUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Historically, Fermanagh (Irish: Fir Manach), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. Fir Manach originally referred to a distinct kin group of alleged Laigin origins. The kingdom of Fermanagh was formed in the 10th century, out of the larger kingdom of Uí Chremthainn, which was part of the overkingdom of Airgíalla.[3] By the late 11th century it had grown to cover all of what is now County Fermanagh.[3] The kingdom came to be ruled by the Mag Uidhir (Maguire) clan from the late 13th century onward. They were based at Lisnaskea, and their royal inauguration site was nearby Sgiath Gabhra (Skeagoura), now called Cornashee.[4] Under Hugh Maguire, Fermanagh was involved in the Nine Years' War against English rule. His successor, Cú Chonnacht Óg Mag Uidhir, was one of the Gaelic Irish leaders who fled Ireland during the Flight of the Earls. Fermanagh was subsequently merged into the Kingdom of Ireland as County Fermanagh.

  1. ^ FitzPatrick, Elizabeth (2004). Royal inauguration in Gaelic Ireland c. 1100-1600: A cultural landscape study. Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: Boydell Press. pp. 84–85. ISBN 9781843830900.
  2. ^ Morley, Vincent (October 2009). "Mág Uidhir (Maguire), Cú Chonnacht Óg ('an Comharba')". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. doi:10.3318/dib.005370.v1. In 1607 Cú Chonnacht Óg left Ireland ... His ship put in at Genoa, where he died of fever on 12 August 1608
  3. ^ a b MacCotter, Paul. Medieval Ireland: territorial, political and economic divisions. Four Courts Press, 2008, p.243
  4. ^ FitzPatrick, Elizabeth. Royal Inauguration in Gaelic Ireland. Boydell Press, 2004. p.84