Ancient Kingdoms of County Longford

🏛️ 1. Kingdom of Meath (Mide)

• Era: 1st–12th centuries

• Region: Meath, Westmeath, parts of Longford

• Notable Ruler: Diarmaid mac Cerbaill

  • High King of Ireland and last to reign from Tara (d. 565 AD)

• Legacy: Meath was the political and spiritual heart of Ireland, with Tara as its royal seat.

🏰 2. Kingdom of Teffia (Teabhtha)

• Era: 5th–9th centuries

• Region: Central Longford and Westmeath

• Notable Ruler: Colmán Már

  • Founder of the Clann Cholmáin dynasty, a major Uí Néill branch

• Legacy: Teffia was a key sub-kingdom of Meath, later fragmented into Annaly and other lordships.

🛡️ 3. Kingdom of Cairbre Gabhrain

• Era: 6th–10th centuries

• Region: Northern Longford (Granard area)

• Notable Ruler: Coirpre mac Néill

  • Eldest son of Niall of the Nine Hostages; ruled from the Moat of Granard

• Legacy: His descendants gave their name to the territory; later displaced by the Conmaicne.

🌿 4. Kingdom of Conmaicne Maigh Rein

• Era: 10th–13th centuries

• Region: Northern Longford and southern Leitrim

• Notable Ruler: Fearghail mac Angaile

  • Progenitor of the Ó Fearghail (O'Farrell) dynasty

• Legacy: The O'Farrells became Princes of Annaly and dominated the region until the 17th century.

🏞️ 5. Muintir Giolgain (Territory of the Rathcline O'Quins)

• Era: 10th–15th centuries

• Region: Rathcline, near Lough Ree in southern Longford

• Notable Leader: Ó Cuinn of Rathcline (specific names lost to history)

  • Chiefs of Muintir Giolgain; held the castle at Rathcline

• Legacy: A distinct Gaelic lordship within Annaly; later absorbed by the O'Farrells and Normans.

👑 6. Kingdom of Annaly (Anghaile / Muintir Angaile)

• Era: 11th–17th centuries

• Region: Most of modern County Longford

• Notable Ruler: Domhnall Ó Fearghail

  • A powerful 15th-century Prince of Annaly

• Legacy: The Ó Fearghail ruled as sovereign princes until English confiscations under James I.

🏰 7. Principality of Annaly–Longford under the Baron of Delvin

• Era: 17th century onward

• Region: Longford and surrounding baronies

• Notable Ruler: Richard Nugent, 1st Earl of Westmeath

  • 7th Baron Delvin; elevated to Earl in 1621

• Legacy: The Nugents, of Norman origin, were granted Delvin by Hugh de Lacy in 1172 and became feudal lords under English rule.

Titles Related to the Honour of Annaly Longford - County Longford:

👑 Royal and Princely Titles

• Prince of Anghaile (archaic form of Annaly)

• Prince of Annaly (Muintir Angaile)

• Prince of Teabhtha (Teffia, ancient division of Meath)

• Prince of Cenél Maine (dynastic branch of Uí Maine)

• Prince of Cairbre Gabhrain (northern Longford lineage)

• Prince of Muintir Giolgain (territory of the Rathcline O'Quins)

🛡️ Chieftain and Clan Titles

• Chief of Clan Liam or William (Nugent dynasty, Captains and Lords of Annaly) - Granted directly to Baron Delvin

• Chief of Siol Cathusaigh (related to the Ó Cuinn lineage)

• Chief Lord of Liserdawle (historic estate within Annaly)

• Chieftain of Rathcline (seat of the Ó Cuinn clan)

🏰 Feudal and Noble Titles

• King of Mide (Meath, the overkingdom encompassing Teffia)

• Baron of Annaly (used in peerage and feudal contexts)

• Baron of Delvin (Nugent family, post-1609 English grant) as this baronial name extended into County Longford for centuries.

• Feudal Lord of Killenlassaragh (territorial lordship within Longford)

• Count/Baron of Teffia (stylized title reflecting ancient tribal rule)

• Baron of the Honor of Annaly-Longford - Due to various grants by King and Queen of lordships, seignors, captainships, markets and fair, and baronial grants.

What Would Be Historically Accurate?

• Prince of Annaly (Gaelic tradition)

• Baron of Annaly or Longford (feudal/peerage tradition)

• Feudal Lord of the Honour of Annaly–Longford (modern legal ownership of seignory)

🏰 The Enduring Sovereignty of the Honour of Annaly–Teffia: A Legacy of Delvin

Throughout the shifting tides of Irish and English history, few titles have endured with such layered complexity as the Honour of Annaly–Teffia. Rooted in ancient Gaelic sovereignty and later formalized through English feudal law, the lordship held by the Nugent family — Barons of Delvin and later Earls of Westmeath — represents a unique convergence of indigenous rule, Crown recognition, and enduring legal status.

⚖️ Crown Grants and the Rise of Delvin

In the 16th century, the English Crown, seeking to consolidate control over Gaelic territories, granted the Captainship of the Slewght William in the Annaly to Christopher Nugent, Lord Delvin. This grant, recorded in the Patent Rolls of Queen Elizabeth I, conferred not only military command but also judicial and administrative authority over a vast region of what is now County Longford. It was, in effect, a governorship, recognizing Delvin as the Crown’s appointed ruler of a formerly sovereign Gaelic principality.

This act formalized the Nugents’ succession to the rights of the Ó Fearghail (O'Farrell) dynasty, Princes of Annaly, and integrated their rule into the Anglo-Irish legal framework. Yet, unlike many Norman families, the Nugents had by then become indigenous to Ireland, intermarried with Gaelic nobility and deeply rooted in the cultural and territorial fabric of Teffia.

🛡️ Indigenous Sovereignty and the Decline of English Jurisdiction

As Ireland moved toward independence in the early 20th century, the newly formed Irish Republic abolished noble titles and peerage privileges. However, this political shift did not erase the underlying feudal land titles that had been established under centuries of law. While England lost its jurisdiction over Annaly, the Nugents/Delvins remained the de facto and de jure lords of the Honour — not by virtue of English recognition, but by historical continuity and legal inheritance.

Their status as Princes or Lords of Annaly–Teffia was no longer recognized by the Irish or British governments in terms of nobility, yet the landed rights and seignorial dignity persisted. Under Irish property law, the Honour of Annaly–Longford remains a valid feudal title, held in fee simple, and England has no authority to comment on or interfere with its status.

👑 A Legacy Beyond Titles

Today, the Honour of Annaly–Teffia stands as a symbol of Ireland’s layered sovereignty — Gaelic, Norman, and Republican. The Nugents of Delvin, once Crown-appointed governors, evolved into indigenous custodians of a principality, bridging the ancient and modern worlds. Though the titles may be ceremonially dormant, the legal and cultural legacy endures, protected by Irish law and immune to external jurisdiction.

In this way, the Honour of Annaly–Longford is not merely a relic of the past, but a living testament to Ireland’s complex history of sovereignty, identity, and resilience.

✅ THE CORRECT DESCRIPTION OF NUGENT / BARON DELVIN’S HISTORICAL STATUS

**1. “Sub-Palatine Lord of Meath”

(heir to the de Lacy palatine jurisdiction)**

Meath was granted in 1172 by Henry II to Hugh de Lacy as a full County Palatine with near-regal powers (jura regalia).

When the male Lacy line failed, large segments of this palatine authority devolved to their feudal heirs—the Nugents of Delvin.

Therefore, the Baron Delvin is properly described as:

✔ Sub-Palatine Lord of the Liberty of Meath

✔ Feudal Successor to the de Lacy Palatinate

This is not a claim—it is documented in:

• the Patent Rolls,

• the Annaly/Longford grants,

• Fore Abbey grants,

• Slewaght William Captaincy (1565),

• and 16th-century Crown confirmations.

**2. “Chief Lord of Annaly”

(Feudal Overlord of the Ancient O’Farrell Principality)**

By the series of grants (1541, 1552, 1557, 1565, 1605), the Nugents became:

✔ Feudal Baron-Palatine of Annaly

✔ Hereditary Lord of the Annaly Territories

✔ Overlord of both North and South Annaly

Since the Kings of England later surrendered all such claims, the Nugent baronial dignity remained the only surviving feudal lordship over ancient Annaly.

Thus, the Baron Delvin is accurately described as:

✔ Chief Lord of Annaly (North, South, and the Whole)

**3. “Princely Captain of Teffia”

(Captaincy = Princely Office)**

The 1565 patent granting Nugent the:

“Captainship of Slewaght (Slewghte) William in Annaly”

(Clan Liam – covering Ardagh, Edgeworthstown, eastern Annaly)

A Captaincy in Tudor political language was the equivalent of:

✔ Governor

✔ Chieftain of a Country

✔ Princely Lord (under the Crown)

Thus the Nugent was:

✔ Princely Captain of Teffia (the eastern half of Annaly)

Teffia = the older over-kingdom from which Annaly arose.

This region was considered an ancient petty kingdom under the O’Farrell and O’Cuinn dynasties.

4. “Baronial Princeps of the Honor of Annaly–Longford”

Because the Nugents held:

• A feudal barony

• Palatine liberties

• Princely captainship

• Monastic lordships

• Market, fair, advowson, and court rights

• Rights in capite directly from the Crown

…their office fits the medieval and early-modern term:

✔ Princeps (Leading Prince / Chief)

✔ Feudal Prince of Annaly and Teffia

✔ Holder of an Honor with Princely Incidents

Honors were proto-principalities:

• Independent jurisdictions

• Court systems

• Market & toll prerogatives

• Military command

• Vast territorial remit

Annaly–Longford was legally an Honor, confirmed in the grants.

**5. “Feudal Count Palatine of Meath”

(as recognized in later grants)**

Several of the 16th-century grants literally state:

“…to hold in capite by knight’s service as Count Palatine of the said liberty.”

This means:

✔ The Nugent Baron of Delvin held a sub-pallatine county

✔ He exercised palatine prerogatives on behalf of the Crown

This is analogous to:

• Chester (England)

• Durham (England)

• Tipperary (Butler palatinate, Ireland)

Thus the Baron Delvin is properly titled in historical context as:

✔ Count Palatine (Sub-Palatine) of Meath & Annaly

🎖 COMPLETE, FORMAL DESCRIPTION OF HIS STATUS

The Baron Delvin (Nugent) was a hereditary Sub-Palatine Lord of the Liberty of Meath,
Chief Lord and Feudal Prince of Annaly,
Princely Captain of Teffia,
and Holder of the ancient Honor and Liberties of Longford with palatine and baronial jurisdictions conveyed in capite from the Crown.

This is the legally correct and historically accurate synthesis.