0104A

The Oriel Invasions 800AD - 1000AD
Two Oriel tuaths existed in North Fermanagh during the Golden Age � the small Tirkennedy, located around Tempo, and the Clankelly, occupying the region between Fivemiletown and Clones. The Airghialla, as they were called in Irish, were �liberated� by the U� N�ill back in the fifth century. In succeeding centuries they occupied parts of Derry, Tyrone, Armagh, Monaghan and, of course, Fermanagh. Yet Oriel was never a province (possibly because of its origins) in the same right as the other provinces. It had no fixed capital like Aileach or Connacht, nor did its kings come from the same royal line. In fact, the Oriel kings were not given the same status as other provincial kings in the ancient king lists. Oriel would be described in modern terminology as a loose federation of states. It was a peculiar province and, besides, unfortunately situated.

No �King of Oriel� appears in the annals from 697AD to 827. When after 827 kings do begin to appear again it is for unusual reasons. We have seen that the great U� N�ill destroyed Eamhain Macha back in St Patrick�s time. This gave the Airghialla control of central Ulster. It may seem strange to us that the victors themselves - U� N�ill � retired to Donegal and left the richest part of the North to an ex-captive race. It may well be that Donegal was then more valuable than the much wooded Tyrone and Armagh. Possibly had not enough people with which to colonise central Ulster. At any rate they soon began to push out from Donegal, southwards and eastwards. By 897 the Cin�al Eoghain branch of U� N�ill had established a new capital in the heart of Tyrone at Leith Cam. The Oriel kings that appear after 827 are Cin�al Eoghain-sponsored rulers. Cin�al Eoghain are now working on the principle that what they cannot rule directly, they will govern through puppets or �satellites�.

The great push from the North made the Airghialla themselves look southwards. It is the Clogher branch of the Airghialla that concerns us, the U� Cremhthainn. The rulers of Clankelly and Tirkennedy were already Airghialla. Under constant northern pressure other members of the U� Cremhthainn pushed southwards. The U� Nadsluaigh entered Monaghan and Clann Lugain entered Fermanagh. The old Fir Manach could offer little resistance to the Clann Lugain and soon the Clann Lugain dominated as far south as Lough Erne. A further branch actually crossed the lake and founded a new kingdom � Muintir Pheodach�in � in the old Cin�al �anna territory between Enniskillen and Belcoo. Very quickly most of Fermanagh is in Oriel hands. When did this conquest take place?

We do not know accurately but it must have happened after 800AD. And what happened to the older peoples? They were not driven out. They simply received new Oriel rulers. The new rulers in fact adopted the name of the old. Airghialla now called themselves Fir Manach and from 1009AD on we find Oriel leaders calling themselves �Kings of Fermanagh�. But do not forget that a considerable part of the modern county allied itself with Connacht and Aileach.

The Northmen
The Airghialla, however, were not the only strangers to appear on Lough Erne�s shores during these centuries. Under the year 837 the Annals of Ulster record:

�All the churches of Loch Erne together with Cluainn Eois and Daimhinis were destroyed by Gentiles�.
This short entry represents what must have been the most trying period for the Loughsiders. The Gentiles in question were, of course, the Northmen, Vikings, fierce barbarian invaders from Scandanavia and Denmark who wrought havoc in Ireland from 795 to 1014AD. Unfortunately Fermanagh and Lough Erne were ideal hunting ground for these merciless marauders. The many churches along the shore attracted them and the lake itself provided them with an ideal highway. From their base near Beleek, they made numerous raids up the lake. They destroyed churches, massacred people and carried off treasures. These Northmen raids continued to molest Fermanagh for over a century. In 924 we find a Norse fleet on Lough Erne, plundering the islands on the lake and devastating the territory around it. The new Oriel kingship could hardly have been strong enough to offer any protection to the people. Even if the new Fermanagh had been organised, the hit-and-run nature of the Norse raids made any kind of defence virtually impossible. Not until their final defeat of the Norse at the battle of Clontarf by Brian Bor� in 1014, were the Irish free to breathe freely.

A Period of Change (1000 � 1300)
Clann Lugain
During the 11th and 12th centuries we read in the annals the names of many kings of Fermanagh. All of these bear the surnames of one or other of three families: � h�i?nigh, � Maolruanaidh, or � Dubhdara. All three families belong to the Clann Lugain, that branch of the Oriel U� Cremhthainn who were driven from the Clogher area by the Cin�al Eoghain of Aileach. Meanwhile their relatives, U� Nadsluaigh, were winning for themselves a kingdom in Monaghan and Louth. This eastern Oriel kingdom reached its greatest heights during the reign of Donnchadh O�Carroll (1125�1168) when it included all of Louth and Monaghan, stretching from the Boyne to the Erne. The west Oriel kingdom of Fermanagh never achieved such distinction. Nevertheless, we find its kings engaged in many encounters, and many of them met violent deaths. They attacked their kinsmen in Monaghan, they crossed the Erne and fought at Swanlinbar, they invaded the Fir Lurg, they are defeated by the Cin�al Eoghain. Of the three, the O�Hegnys are by far the most prominent but not even their surname, let alone their accomplishments, lives today.

Clogher
The years 1014 � 1166 (from the death of King Brian Bor� till the election of his undisputed successor, Rory O�Connor), were years of trouble throughout all Ireland. War followed war and disputes were settled only by further disputes. Yet, despite this, these centuries saw a reform of the Irish church. We have mentioned that the Irish church after St Patrick�s time rapidly took on a monastic form. Diocesan boundaries were abolished and the Church was ruled from the monasteries. In 1111AD a great Synod met at Rathbreasail to bring Irish church organisation back into line with the Universal Church. Ireland was redivided into dioceses and diocesan bishops were again appointed. Thanks to the efforts of the great St Malachy and the co-operation of many Irish princes the reforms became effective. In dividing the country the fathers of Rathbreasail had keen regard for political boundaries. The province of Oriel was formed into one diocese � Clogher � with Clogher itself, the old Oriel capital, at its head. The Clogher diocese has not changed substantially since then and hence the modern boundaries of the diocese seem to give an indication of the extent of Oriel authority in 1111AD.

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