Éile

Éile (Modern Irish: [ˈeːlʲə]; Old Irish: Éle, Éli), commonly anglicised as Ely, was a medieval petty kingdom in the southern part of the modern county of Offaly and parts of North Tipperary in Ireland. The historic barony of Eliogarty was once a significant portion of the kingdom.

Overview

The clan or people of Éile claimed descent from Cian, a younger son of Ailill Aulom and brother of Eógan Mór, and thus had kinship with the Eóganachta. It has been suggested that the Éile were actually of Laigin origin, and that they may in fact have been the rulers of the Cashel area before the rise of the Eóganachta, as suggested by their role in Eóganachta origin tales, such as the Senchas Fagbála Caisil. Their name is also associated with Cruachán Brí Éile the original name of Croghan Hill. Historian C. Thomas Cairney, stated that the Ely were from the tribes known as the Laigin who also had a branch known as the Dumnonii and who were the third wave of Celts to settle in Ireland during the first century BC.

A 7th century artistic work for the Gospel of St. John in the Book of Dimma from the Roscrea monastery.

Several early Christian monasteries existed within the boundaries of the kingdom. This includes Birr established by St. Brendan of Birr (which held the Synod of Birr in 697) and Liathmore, which was established by St. Mochoemoc (a nephew of St. Íte of Killeedy). St. Crónán of Roscrea, who was born in the kingdom, established Roscrea in the 7th century. One of his monks created the Book of Dimma, which had a richly decorated cumdach created for it on order of the O'Carroll kings.

By the 12th-century it was much reduced in size, bounded to the north by the Kingdom of Mide, to the south by Cashel, to the east by the Kingdom of Ossory and the Múscraige Tíre to the west in Ormond. It was divided into two principal regions or lordships, named for their respective ruling families: Éile Uí Chearbhaill in the north and Éile Uí Fhogartaigh in the south.

Éile Uí Chearbhaill

The northern lordship, Éile Uí Chearbhaill (Ely O'Carroll), was ruled by the O'Carroll family. It included the later baronies of Clonlisk and Ballybritt, which after the Norman invasion of Ireland, were added to the Earl of Ormond's county palatine, now County Tipperary in the province of Munster. The earls lost effective control of the area during the Gaelic Resurgence. In 1606, after the Tudor reconquest, it was transferred from Tipperary to the recently created King's County (now Offaly) in the province of Leinster. This was to reduce the influence of the Earl of Ormond and the Presidency of Munster. The former boundary between Ely O'Carroll and the ancient Kingdom of Mide is coterminous with the present boundary between the diocese of Killaloe and the diocese of Meath. That portion of County Offaly which belongs to the diocese of Killaloe was Ely O'Carroll and originally belonged to Munster.

Around 2000, Shannon Development funded "Ely O'Carroll Tourism", an initiative to encourage heritage tourism in the region, based on the heritage towns of Roscrea and Birr.

Maryland connection

Descended from the O'Carroll princes are the prominent Carroll family of Maryland in the United States. Charles Carroll of Carrollton was a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence. His branch of the family has been seated at Doughoregan Manor for over two centuries. Charles Carroll the Barrister, a cousin, descended from among the very last lords of Éile. Mount Clare was his home in Maryland.

In 2000, Ely O'Carroll Tourism arranged for North Tipperary County Council to arrange the twinning of Ely O'Carroll with Baltimore in Maryland to mark the Carroll connection. By 2015, the twinning was inactive.

Éile Uí Fhogartaigh

The southern lordship, Éile Uí Fhogartaigh (Ely O'Fogarty) was in Munster and ruled by the O'Fogarty family, who may have been of a different imposed lineage from the O'Carrolls, possibly Dalcassian. Alternatively, they were actually kindred but regional politics influenced later genealogists to associate them with different provincial dynasties at different periods. John O'Hart finds an Uí Néill descent from Fogartach mac Néill for the O'Fogartys. Ely O'Fogarty included the later baronies of Ikerrin and Eliogarty, which have been part of County Tipperary since Norman times. The native lords, Ó Meachair (Meagher) and O'Fogarty, were left in possession of their lands, but were obliged to pay tribute to the Earl of Ormond. The barony name of Eliogarty is derived from Ely O'Fogarty.

Annalistic references

AI=Annals of Inisfallen. LC=Annals of Lough Ce. M=Annals of the Four Masters. C=Chronicon Scotorum.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Byrne, p. 133, 180-1
  2. ↑ Charles-Edwards, p. 546
  3. ↑ MacCotter, p. 212
  4. ↑ Cairney, C. Thomas (1989). Clans and Families of Ireland and Scotland. Jefferson, North Carolina, United States, and London: McFarland & Company. pp. 78–82. ISBN 0899503624.
  5. 1 2 "Ely OCarroll to win with Maryland". Irish Independent. 12 February 2000. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  6. ↑ Hoffman and Mason
  7. ↑ Baltimore City Sister Cities Program Working Group (October 2015). "Report" (PDF). p. 4. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  8. ↑ Tuadmumu, The Kingdom of Thomond by Dennis Walsh
  9. ↑ O'Hart, p. 454
  10. ↑ [Leabhar na gCeart, pp. 78, 79, note i.]

References