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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Patrick Gleeson
This is the authors' accepted manuscript of an article that has been published in its final definitive form by Royal Irish Academy, 2017.
For re-use rights please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions.
This paper explores the enigmatic kingdom of Luigne Breg, and through that prism the origins and nature of the Uí Néill. Its principle aim is to engage with recent revisionist accounts of the various dynasties within the Uí Néill; these necessitate a radical reappraisal of our understanding of their origins and genesis as a dynastic confederacy, as well as the geo-political landsape of the central midlands. Consequently, this paper argues that there is a pressing need to address such issues via more focused analyses of local kingdoms and political landscapes. Holistic understandings of polities like Luigne Breg are fundamental to framing new analyses of the genesis of the Uí Néill based upon interdisciplinary assessments of landscape, archaeology and documentary sources. In the latter part of the paper, an attempt is made to to initiate a wider discussion regarding the nature of kingdoms and collective identities in early medieval Ireland in relation to other other regions of northwestern Europe.
Author(s): Gleeson P
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Archaeology, Culture, History, Literature
Year: 2017
Volume: 117C
Pages: 65-99
Online publication date: 16/06/2017
Acceptance date: 02/02/2017
Date deposited: 07/04/2017
ISSN (print): 0035-8991
ISSN (electronic): 2009-0048
Publisher: Royal Irish Academy
URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3318/priac.2017.117.04
