Fir Ol nEchmacht

Fir Ol nEchmacht was the name of a group of people living in pre-historic Ireland. The name may be translated as 'men' (Fir) of the 'people' (Ol, possibly from Dal) 'of Echmacht' (nEchmacht), the last being the given name of the people or their territory, perhaps from ech ('horse') and macht ('death', 'wonderful', or 'across the sea').^[1] T. F. O'Rahilly believed they are connected to, or the same as, the Nagnatae tribe, mentioned in Ptolemy's second-century AD work Geography,^[2] but O'Rahilly's model of the early populating of Ireland is not well-accepted by modern scholars.

Virtually all of Ireland west of the Shannon was once named after the Fir Ol nEchmacht and was called Cóiced Ol nEchmacht until the early historic era (c. 5th-7th centuries).

It was only with the rise of the Connachta dynasty that the term Fir Ol nEchmacht was dropped and the province was renamed Connacht.

Sources

^ Smyth, D. (2020). Earthing the Myths: The Myths, Legends and Early History of Ireland. Dublin: Irish Academic Press.
^ O'Rahilly, T. F. (1946). Early Irish History and Mythology. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. pp. 2, 11–12.

Keating, Geoffrey (1636). Foras Feasa Eirann.
Mac Fhirbhisigh, Dubhaltach (1649–1666). Leabhar Mor nGenealach.
Ó Flaithbheartaigh, Ruaidhri (1684). Ogyia.
Knox, T. H. (1908). The History of Mayo.

External links

Walsh, D. (2009). "Ireland's History in Maps". RootsWeb. Ancestry.com. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016.

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[1] Smyth, D. (2020). Earthing the Myths: The Myths, Legends and Early History of Ireland. Dublin: Irish Academic Press.

[2] O'Rahilly, T. F. (1946). Early Irish History and Mythology. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. pp. 2, 11–12.

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