Capital Not specified -773 Flannabhra | Government Tanistry 1580–1593 Gráinne Ní Mháille | |
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Languages Middle Irish, Early Modern Irish, Latin Religion Catholic Christianity
Gaelic tradition | ||
Umaill was a territory located in the west of what is now County Mayo, Ireland. It comprises the baronies of Burrishoole and Murrisk, essentially all the land adjacent to Clew Bay.
Contents
The realm was conquered by the Tudor Kingdom of Ireland under the forces of Richard Bingham in 1593. It had then been under the leadership of Gráinne Ní Mháille, who was powerful there in lieu of her nephew, Éamonn Ó Máille, infant son of her brother and previous king, Lochlann Ó Máille who died in 1580. The English forces successfully integrated the realm into County Mayo.
Description
Knox says of Murrisk "With Burrishoole it forms the kingdom of Aicill and Umall, which comes into history at the battle of Moy Lena. Aicill seems to be a descriptive term applied to mountainous country. Umall means low, and applies in this sense to the country lying east of Clew Bay, as Aicill applies to the parts lying north and south of the bay. The title may be translated as King of Highland and Lowland. Aicill survives in Achill Island and Curraun peninsula. The term was applied to the country between Clew Bay and the Killeries in the thirteenth century. Though at all times an independent kingdom acknowledging supremacy of only the King of Connacht, it was too small to play an independent part, and therefore is rarely mentioned in the annals." (p. 303).
Legacy
The Gaelic culture and Irish language continued on in the area longer than most other parts of Ireland. Today, Acaill and An Corrán are part of the Mayo Gaeltacht.
Kings of Umaill
Its earliest rulers were the semi-historical Tuath mhac nUmhoir. The Umaill, its early historical rulers, were renamed the Uí Briúin Umaill to claim a fictitious relationship with the Uí Briúin. By the 12th century the ruling family adopted the surname Ó Máille, and were reckoned with the Ó Dubhda, Ó Flaithbheartaigh and Mac Conraoi as supreme seafaring clans of Connacht.