Fernmag (Mac Mathgamna)

Who he is

Name

Niall Mac Mathgamna (active 1196; standing on 1 January 1200 not pinned)

Title

Lord of Fernmag (Monaghan)

Since

Not pinned

Born

Not pinned

Family

The Meic Mathgamna (MacMahons), rising heirs of the Ui Cerbaill in Airgialla

Confidence

low

In 1196 Niall Mac Mathgamna joined John de Courcy to plunder and burn Louth and its castle (Mac Carthaigh's Book).

Overlord

The king of Airgialla in name; Ua Neill in fact

What it holds

• Fernmag round Monaghan and Clones

How it was acquired

Dynastic right.

Allies and rivals

De Courcy's ally in 1196; the English of Uriel are the enemy.

How things stand that morning

Held.

Wealth

Cattle.

Military

Their following.

Threats

• The English of Uriel

Where the sources disagree

• The brief names the Ui Cerbaill as the Airgialla dynasty: by 1200 their kingship had lapsed (last Ua Cerbaill king in the list, Muirchertach, 1189-94); the Meic Mathgamna and Ua hEignigh have replaced them.

Evidence: One annal entry.

On the map: Approximate.

Primary sources for Airgialla

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 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