Bréifne
Breifne · a territory name of uncertain origin
Bréifne, in English Breifne, said BRAYF-neh. A kingdom.
Cavan and Leitrim. One kingdom that split into two along a line that is still the county border.
The name
a territory name of uncertain origin
Where
Cavan and Leitrim, and at its height into Longford, Fermanagh, Sligo and Meath.
In today's counties: Cavan (An Cabhán), Leitrim (Liatroim), Longford (An Longfort), Fermanagh (Fear Manach).
When it mattered
The twelfth century under Tigernán Ua Ruairc, then split in two from 1256.
Bréifne's famous moment is a bad one. Tigernán Ua Ruairc was its king when Diarmait Mac Murchada of Leinster carried off his wife Derbforgaill in 1152. The feud that followed is part of why Mac Murchada was driven out of Ireland in 1166, and so part of why the Normans came.
In 1256 the kingdom split after the battle of Magh Slecht. West Bréifne went to the Ua Ruairc and East Bréifne to the Ua Raghallaigh, and the two halves stayed apart.
The split is still on the map. West Bréifne became County Leitrim and East Bréifne became County Cavan, named for Cavan town in 1579.
What is left of the name
Breifne is used across both counties, and the diocese of Kilmore covers roughly the old kingdom.
Names out of it
Families on this site that belong to Breifne. A surname is not a pedigree, and plenty of people carry these names for reasons that have nothing to do with the old kingdom.
- O’Rourke (Ó Ruairc)
- Reilly (Ó Raghallaigh)
- Smith (Mac Gabhann)
- Brady (Mac Brádaigh)
- Finnegan (Ó Fionnagáin)