Iveagh Uíbh Eachach (Irish) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4th century–1543 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms | |||||||||
 Iveagh in the 15th–16th centuries | |||||||||
| Status | Túatha ofUlster (until 1177) | ||||||||
| Common languages | Irish | ||||||||
| Government | Elective monarchy | ||||||||
| King / Chief | |||||||||
• died 552 | Fothad mac Conaille(first) | ||||||||
• 1543 | Art MacArtáin(last) | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 4th century | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1543 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | ||||||||
Iveagh (/ˈaɪveɪ/EYE-vay; fromIrishUíbh Eachach, meaning 'descendants of Echu'[1]) is the name of several historical territorial divisions in what is nowCounty Down,Northern Ireland. Originally it was aGaelic Irishterritory, ruled by theUí Echach Cobo and part of the overkingdom ofUlaid. From the 12th century theMagennises (Mac Aonghusa) were chiefs of Iveagh. They were based atRathfriland and were inaugurated atKnock Iveagh. Following theNine Years' War, the rulers of Iveagh submitted to the English Crown and the territory was divided between them. Iveagh became abarony, which was later split into Iveagh Lower and Iveagh Upper. The territory of Iveagh was also the basis of theRoman Catholic Diocese of Dromore.
Iveagh derives its name from theCruithin tribeUí Echach (modern Irish:Uíbh Eachach), or "descendants of Echu", and referred to an ancient Irishtúath (district).[1] It is also known more fully asUí Echach Cobo (modern Irish:Uíbh Eachach Cobha, meaning Echu of Cobo), and equivalent withUí Echach Uladh (Echu of Ulster).[2] TheUí Echach were one of the tribes that made up the ancient kingdom ofUlaid in easternUlster.[1] They shared the kingship of Ulaid with theDál Fiatach and their kin theDál nAraidi.[1] TheUí Echach were the most prominent sept of the Cruthin.[3]
The nameMagh Cobha, meaning "plain of Cobo", appears to have been an older name for Iveagh. The name survived as Moycove, the earliest recorded name in the civil parish of Drumballyroney, where it was the name of an Anglo-Norman castle between 1188–1261.[4] The highest point in the parish is the hills of Knock Iveagh (Cnoc Uí Echach),[4] which may have been the centre ofUí Echach power.
Another form of the name appears to have beenCuib,[3] with the title of "king" ofCuib/Cobo making its first appearance in theAnnals of Tigernach under the year 685AD,[5] and in theAnnals of Ulster under 735AD.[6] The last mention is in the Annals of Ulster under the year 882AD,[7] after which the term is replaced with chief/lord ofUí Echach.
Uí Echach Cobo is mentioned in the Irish annals from AD551 to AD1136, with the last entry stating that "Echri Ua-h-Aitteidh, Lord of Ui-Eathach, was killed by the Ui-Eathach themselves".[8]
The ancestor of theUí Echach Cobo,Eochaid mac Condlai, descends fromFiachu Araide, eponymous founder of Dál nAraidi. The exact line of descent is uncertain as several different genealogies are given:
TheAnnals of Ulster give:
Rawlinson'sGenealogies gives:
TheLaud Genealogies and Tribal Histories gives:
At one point the territory of Iveagh was ruled by theUa hAitidhe, a name which may have been anglicised as O'Haughey or Haughey.[8][13] TheUa hAitidhe are claimed to have ruled Iveagh for two centuries. The first to be mentioned in the annals isAodh Ua hAitidhe, king ofUí Echach Cobo, who was killed by his own people in AD965.[8] The last mention is under AD1136 whereEchri Ua hAitidhe, lord ofUí Echach Cobo was killed, likewise by his own people.[8] From then on the name and its variant spellings disappear from the records.[8]
One of the septs under theUi hAitidhe was theMac Aonghusa (Magennis/MacGuiness), who ruledClann Aodha (Clan Hugh), and were descended fromSárán, a descendant ofEchach Cobo.[13] By the 12th century the Magennises had become the chiefs of Iveagh, withRathfriland their base.[13] One early mention is in 1153 with the granting of the charter to the abbey of Newry which was witnessed by Aedh Mor Magennis, chief of Clann Aodha, of Iveagh.[8] TheMac Aonghusa are also mentioned in letters byKing Edward II, where they are titledDux Hibernicorum de Ouehagh, meaning "chief of the Irish of Iveagh".[8]
During the 14th century theMac Artáin (MacCartan) chiefs of the name ofKinelarty became chiefs of Iveagh, though in the annals aMuirchertach MacArtain is recorded astánaiste (heir-elect) of Iveagh in the 11th century.[8] The MacCartan descended fromArtáin, a great-grandson ofMongán Mac Aonghusa.[14]
By the 15th century with the collapse of theEarldom of Ulster, theMac Aonghusa had expanded Iveagh from what is now County Down all the way east toDundrum Castle, where County Down meets theIrish Sea.[15] Iveagh however was far from secure as rivalry between the four main branches of theMac Aonghusa clan—Castlewellan, Corgary, Kilwarlin, and Rathfriland—threatened its cohesion.[15] In 1539 a cattle raid intoCounty Meath was intercepted byLord Deputy Grey and the clan was defeated at the Battle of Bellahoe. In 1543 the then chief Art MacArtáin of Rathfriland accepted the new policy of "Surrender and regrant" and travelled toGreenwich Palace to be knighted asSir Arthur Guinez byKing Henry VIII.[16]
In 1575 Hugh Magennis of Rathfriland petitioned successfully for a grant of his estates fromQueen Elizabeth and was knighted in 1576. In 1584 his tenure was improved by a grantin capite "of the entire country or territory of Iveagh". In 1585 his cousin Ever MacRory Magennis was granted the adjacent lordship and manor of Kilwarlin.[17]
During theNine Years' War (1594–1603), the clan chief Art Roe remained neutral, while many of his clan sided withHugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, one of whose wives was Catherine Magennis. O'Neill inaugurated a new chief in 1595 and the clan divided. Despite this,Charles Blount, theLord Deputy of Ireland, ravaged Iveagh to the point that its chief Art Roe Magennis submitted to prevent the extermination of his people.[15]
Following the Nine Years' War and just before the process of colonising Ulster with loyal Protestant subjects, the arrangement of dividing mighty Gaelic lordships into smaller, weaker lordships, such as what happened inCounty Monaghan with the MacMahon's, occurred with Iveagh.[15] In 1605 the "Commission for the Division and Bounding of the Lords" was established to replicate the Monaghan arrangement.[15] In February 1607, the commission decided to break up Iveagh, a process that continued until 1610, seeing the creation of fifteen freeholds.[15] The Magennises of Iveagh were granted thirteen of these freeholds, with their chief Art Roe Magennis being granted the largest.[15] The rest however was given to officers in the Crown forces, most of whom had served in the Nine Years' War under Sir Henry Bagenal andSir Arthur Chichester.[15]
TheBarony of Iveagh was created during the reign ofQueen Elizabeth I out of the territory ofUíbh Eachach, and was the largest barony in County Down, reflecting the importance of the Irish district. In the early 17th century it was divided into Iveagh Lower and Iveagh Upper, with the boundary running east to west from the settlements ofDromara andBanbridge.[1] By 1851 these two baronies were further divided into the baronies ofIveagh Lower, Lower Half,Iveagh Lower, Upper Half,Iveagh Upper, Lower Half andIveagh Upper, Upper Half.[18] The four baronies, like the rest of those inNorthern Ireland, are now obsolete for administrative purposes.[19]
The name Iveagh has been used as titles in thePeerage of Ireland andPeerage of the United Kingdom, specifically in regards to the Magennis and Guinness family:
In 1929 theNorthern Ireland Parliamentconstituency of Iveagh was created, comprising the northern part of county down south-west of Belfast. Almost as if keeping with tradition, a descendant of theMac Aonghusa,Brian Maginess, represented this constituency from 1938 until 1964. It was abolished in 1972 along with the Northern Ireland Parliament.
The medieval tuath was historically the territorial equivalent of the Diocese ofDromore.
