TheDarini (Δαρῖνοι) (manuscript variant: Darnii [Δάρνιοι]) were a people of ancient Ireland mentioned inPtolemy's 2nd centuryGeography as living in southAntrim and northDown.[1] Their name implies descent from an ancestor calledDáire (*Dārios),[2] as claimed by several historical peoples, including theDál Riata andDál Fiatach (Ulaidh) in the same area of easternUlster[3] as well the Érainn (Iverni) ofMunster. An early name forDundrum, County Down, is recorded asDún Droma Dáirine, and the nameDáirine was applied to the Érainn dynasty.
Overview
editThe cognateDari(o) ("agitation, tumult, rage") is a form widely attested in theGaulish language, especially in personal names,[4] and exists in theWelsh language ascynddaredd ("rage"). Thus the Darini may have been considered a people "of great violence" and descendants of a so-called "red god". Over time, however, the Irish personal nameDáire would develop the meaning of "rutty" or "violent" apparently following a meaning of "bestial rage".[5]
Dáirine can sometimes refer to the so-called Érainn dynasties altogether and not only to the Corcu Loídge and their corelatives in Munster.[6]
Cú Roí mac Dáire is a king from Munster who appears frequently in theUlster Cycle possibly reflecting memories of the prehistoric Darini when their power was great in Ireland. The Dál Fiatach of Ulster later claimed descent from his semi-divine clan, theClanna Dedad,[7] further associating the two provinces—although seemingly in contradiction to their descent from theUlaid or Voluntii proper, until it is remembered that the Darini and Voluntii lived adjacent to one another in Ptolemy's Ireland and were no doubt ancient kin. Cú Roí's father wasDáire mac Dedad. The Clanna Dedad take their name from his grandfather,Deda mac Sin.
The legendaryConaire Mór, ancestor of theSíl Conairi, or Dál Riata,Múscraige,Corco Duibne, andCorca Baiscinn, was said to descend fromÍar mac Dedad, brother of Dáire. This is simply another variant of the root present in Iverni/Érainn.[8] Finally, the nameÍth, given in the genealogies as the ultimate ancestor of the Corcu Loígde (Dáirine) and offering some confusion about their parentage and relation to the Iverni, in fact preserves the same Indo-European root*peiH- ("to be fat, swell"),[9] thus in effect completing a basic picture of the Darini/Dáirine and their kindred in later historical Ireland.
Modern descendants
editA number ofScottish clans and families in the provinces of Ulster and Munster, trace their origins either among the Darini/Dáirine proper or peoples closely related to them. These include theMcMahon/McKenzie,Haughey/Hoey,McNulty/McKinley of Dál Fiatach, and theO'Driscoll andO'Leary of Corcu Loígde.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Ptolemy,Geography2.1
- ^T. F. O'Rahilly,Early Irish History and Mythology, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1946, p. 2, 7
- ^Donnchadh Ó Corráin, "Prehistoric and Early Christian Ireland", in R. F. Foster (ed.),The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland, Oxford University Press, 2001
- ^Xavier Delamarre,Dictionnaire de la Langue Gauloise. Paris: Editions Errance. 2001. p. 113
- ^see Delamarre
- ^electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language Letter: D1 (D-Degóir), Columns 35 and 36
- ^The Kingdom of Ulster
- ^*Eoin MacNeill,"Early Irish Population Groups: their nomenclature, classification and chronology", inProceedings of theRoyal Irish Academy (C) 29. 1911. pp. 59–114
- ^John T. Koch. "Ériu", in John T. Koch (ed.).Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. 2006. pp. 709-18