Éile

Éile [ˈeːle] (Irish: Éle, Éli, commonly anglicised as Ely), was a medieval petty kingdom in northern Munster, Ireland. The historic barony of Eliogarty was the core of the kingdom.

The clan or people of Éile claimed descent from Céin (Cian), a younger son of Ailill Aulom and brother of Éogan 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.

Éile was bounded to the north by the Kingdom of Mide, to the south by Cashel and to the east by the Kingdom of Ossory. It consisted of the baronies of Clonlisk, Ballybritt, Ikerrin and Eliogarty. By the 12th century, approximately one thousand years later, it was much reduced in size.

The area then known as Éile was divided into two principal regions or lordships, the northern of which, called Éile Uí Chearbhaill (Ely O'Carroll), was ruled the O'Carroll family. The southern lordship, called Éile Uí Fhogartaigh (Ely O'Fogarty), was ruled by the O'Fogarty family, who may have been of a separate lineage, possibly Dalcassian, from the O'Carrolls. 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.

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