East Breifne (Ua Raghallaigh)

Who he is

Title

Lord of Muintir Maelmorda

Since

Not pinned

Born

Not pinned

Family

The Ui Raghallaigh (O'Reillys)

Confidence

low

Feuding with the Ui Ruairc since 1172; East Breifne becomes their kingdom only after 1256.

Overlord

The king of Breifne

What it holds

• Muintir Maelmorda round Cavan

How it was acquired

Dynastic right.

Allies and rivals

Rivals of the Ui Ruairc; neighbours of the Meath barons.

How things stand that morning

Held.

Wealth

Cattle.

Military

Their following.

Threats

• The Ui Ruairc
• The Meath English

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Chief not pinned.

On the map: Approximate.

Primary sources for Breifne

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Annals of Clonmacnoise, Anonymous; English translation of a lost Irish chronicle by Conall Mac Geoghegan (medieval original lost; translated 1627). A midland chronicle, tied to Clonmacnoise and the kings of Meath and Connacht, surviving only in a 1627 translation. Read online
• Annals of Loch Ce, Various (compiled for the Mac Diarmada of Moylurg) (compiled 1580s from older annals; the medieval section rests on a Connacht chronicle). The fullest Connacht account of the year: Cathal Carrach's seizure of the kingship, Cathal Crobderg's flight north, the Connacht expedition of de Courcy and the Ui Neill on Crobderg's behalf and its defeat, William de Burgh's role, and the devastation of the province's churches, with the names of the Connacht nobles and clergy who died. Read online
• Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters, Various; compiled by Micheal O Cleirigh and others (1632 to 1636, from medieval annals now partly lost). A seventeenth century compilation but it draws on lost medieval annals, so its 1200 entries add names and incidents missing elsewhere: the Connacht war and the English of Meath and Munster, the deaths of Irish kings and churchmen across the island, and raids in Thomond and Desmond. Read online
• Annals of Ulster, Various; compiled by Cathal Mac Maghnusa (compiled about 1498 from much older annals; the entries for 1200 derive from contemporary record). The most reliable Irish annal for the north. Read online