TOONAGH INAUGURATION MOUND
by Michael Houlihan
Magh Adhair, Clare
At this spot in the year 1311, Dermot, the “tower-like hero” of the O’Briens, was inaugurated as their chieftain. With the other leaders of the clan assembled around him, his bard commemorated the event:
“Let us give the title of King,(Which will be of much fameTo the land which has chosen him)To the valorous warriorThe son of the fair-formed DonoghOf the sealed secretsGenerous heir of generous Blood.”
Caithréim Thoirdhealbhaigh or Triumphs of Torlough, 14th century
John O’Donovan and Eugene O’Curry. Letters Containing Information Relative to the Antiquities of County Clare, Collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1839. Ed. Michael O’Flanagan, Bray, 1927.
Magh Adhair – The Local Landscape
CL034-095007- : Inauguration site : TOONAGH (Bunratty Upper Barony).
Description: ‘ Situated in a natural amphitheatre bounded to North and East by a curving ridge, with the Hell River immediately to the South West. The central mound is a possible ring-barrow (CL034-095001-) reused as an inauguration site. According to Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2004, 52) it is clear that the appropriation of prehistoric ceremonial landscapes by early and later medieval dynasties for assembly and inauguration is a recurrent theme. The earlier monuments were sometimes used unaltered but sometimes were modified or had additions made. No scientific excavations of inauguration mounds have taken place. What we know has been gleaned from the landscape context, surface morphology and historical circumstances (ibid.). Some of the earliest documented associations of mounds with medieval royal assembly and inauguration occur in respect of Magh Adhair, the assembly site of Dál gCais. Westropp (1896, 59) citing the Annals of the Four Masters, notes that in AD 877 Flan Sunagh of Cashel invaded Thomond and thought fit to stop and play chess at Magh Adhair in bravado. In AD 982 the Annals tell us that Máel Sechnaill, king of Temair, overran Thomond, and cut down a probable sacred tree (CL034-095011-) at Magh Adhair (FitzPatrick 2004, 59). It is recorded that another sacred tree was cut down here by Aedh O Conor, King of Connacht, in 1051. FitzPatrick, outlining the later history states that by the thirteenth century, Magh Adhair was well established as the inauguration site of the Ua Briain descendants. Seven Ua Briain inaugurations are noted in the Caithréim Thoirdhealbhaigh between 1242 and 1313, with Mac Con Mara’s of Clann Chuileáin officiating at the ceremony in each case. A number of further inaugurations are documented after that of Donnchadh Ó Briain in 1313 and throughout the 15th century but the place of inauguration is not mentioned. In October 1598 it was reported that it was intended to inaugurate Tadhg as Ó Briain. This was presumably carried out at Magh Adhair. If so, FitzPatrick notes that it would have been the culmination of over 700 years of royal elections at this historic place. This is a national monument in state care, no. 224.’
National Monument Services 2025
The great mound of Magh Adhair near Toonagh County Clare served Dál gCais assemblies perhaps as early as the ninth century and later the mound was used for inauguration ceremonies of the O’Briens, opponents of the Earl of Thomond, up to the end of the sixteenth century.
MAGH ADHAIR INAUGURATION SITE
Magh Adhair, the plain of Adhar is named after Adhar, son of Umor and brother of Aengus, the Firbolg chief. The great stone fort of Dún Aonghasa, on Inis Mór is most prominently associated with Aengus. Adhar gave his name to the plain here, and the mound is his possible tomb. From its name, Aenach (mod. Ir. Aonach) Muighe Adhair, it was a place of assembly.
(Oenach, modern Irish Aonach, was retained in the rural vocabulary into modern times. Loosing most of its formal functions it came to describe street fairs where animals and merchandise were bought and sold).
‘The iraghts, or gatherings at the mound Moy Eir (Magh Adhair) were originally the O’Brien’s traditional tribal gathering place, known in Irish as an tulach tinóil, or hill of gathering, where oireachtais or parleys were held. Later the title Oenach was applied to the assembly and the various activities held there. It was a common feature of most tribal landscapes. It is estimated ‘that between 600 and 1,500 assembly sites existed at any time.’ Only later did it take on the role of royal inauguration site, at which the formal ceremonies were performed. Oireachta/assemblies continued until 1838, but in a diminished capacity from the end of the sixteenth century. No tribal laws were enacted and no new edicts were issued after the sixteenth century. Fairs and commerce continued but in a less formal way. Being Irish, sports, including feats of strength and races, especially horse racing, still went on.
‘They were still very faintly remembered by old people in 1890 as having died out in the Famine years, with so much of the social brightness of the people. I may note that this place —the reputed seat of Adhar, a Firblog prince, about the beginning of our era — became the place of inauguration of the native princes of Thomond from before 877, and continued down, (in one form or another) to at least 1570… The name Magh Adhair (phonetically Moy Eir) at first covered the whole central plain of east Clare, but steadily shrank to that of a small tribal territory, and then, in 1584 and 1655, to the two townlands of Corbally and Toonagh (Tuanagh-moyree). By 1838 it was attached only to two fields,— ‘Moyross, or Moyree parks,’—in the former, and is now confined to a single field, ‘Moyars Park,’ and to the ‘rath’ or mound in Toonagh, across the brook. Notices of inaugurations are numerous from 1275 to 1311, and occur sporadically from 877 onwards.’
A UNESCO paper spoke of inauguration sites stating that ‘They are located in largely intact pastoral landscapes, which have contributed to the retention of a unique sense of place, spirit and feeling.’ This is true of Magh Adhair, woven into the landscape of East Clare. Scrutinizing the remaining ceremonial landscape, many of its features offer clues as to the function of the site. First up is its location – it is in the lands of the Mac Namara’s, members of Clann Chuileáin, descendants of the Ui gCaisin and vassals to the Uí Bhriain dynasty.
The Dál gCais sept first came to prominence in the year 935, as mentioned in the Annals of Inisfallen. As an inauguration site, Magh Adair is a little unusual in that many similar sites are on high ground, offering a view of the sept’s territories. However, views from the summit of the mound offer glimpses of Slievebarnagh, Knocknaphunta and Woodcock Hill to the east.
‘Chiefs were inaugurated at the Oenach of Magh Adair down to the reign of Edward II (1307-1327), and very possibly to that of Elizabeth (1558 to 1603). Assemblies called Oireachta gathered there yearly to the time of the great Famine in 1844.’ After the collapse of the Gaelic order in the 17th century the tulach tinóil lost its purpose and centrality. Most sites were abandoned and forgotten. Throughout Ireland the remains of dozens of assembly/inauguration sites lie idle, no longer visited and in some instances, no longer recognized.
Location: Centred deep in Mac Conamara lands, beside Hell River and within view of the triple-walled ringfort, this was the perfect location for the Ua Briain inauguration site. The central mound on which the key ceremonies were performed has a short ramp at the west side, leading to the earthen platform at the top of the flat-topped summit, 6 m (20 ft) tall, with its diameter ranging from 26 m (85 ft) to 30.5 m (100 feet). Around it can still be seen a bank, in places 1.6 m (5.2 ft) high, and a 3 m (10 ft) wide ditch. The summit, unable to cater for many bodies was first and foremost the ‘throne mound’, accommodating the royal Ua Briain candidate and his official inaugurator Mac Con Namara. O’ Brien sat in the designated inauguration ‘chair’ or else he stood, placing his foot in an imprint in the stone, as part of the ritual.
To the west of the mound at about 25 metres, are the remains of a cairn, immediately outside the fosse hedge. This may have been a viewing platform for dignitaries or a stage from which ceremonies were directed. Behind it lies the stream, Abhainn an Ifrinn/Hell River that separates the western field that once most likely had a role in the ceremonies. The stream delineates the modern ritual boundary.
On a rise in the field, southwest of the brook, lies one remaining stone of some antiquity.
The naming of the stream as Hell River is also likely significant. Several inauguration sites have a subterranean feature such as a cave or stream. Cruachain,/Rath Croaghan, home of Maeve in Tulsk, County Roscommon, for example, has its famous underground chamber, Uaimh na gCait, accessed by clambering down an earth tunnel.
To the north of the Magh Adhair mound, towards the front of the ceremonial space, is a bullaun/basin stone. Further east, there is Craggnakeeroge, an augmented ridge that curves around the mound area. Almost an amphitheatre, this tiered section served as a platform for those tuath members attending ceremonies.
‘Although some features have eroded since Westropp’s turn-of-the-century measurements, he would recognize today the flat-topped mound, 6 m (20 ft) tall, with its diameter on top ranging from 26 m (85 ft) to 30.5 m (100 feet). Around it can still be seen a bank, in places 1.6 m (5.2 ft) high and a 3 m (10 ft) wide ditch. A sloping causeway, now somewhat damaged, leads across the bank and onto the earthen platform. Its sides are faced with rough stone, now in poor repair. To the west and adjacent to the mound lies a cairn, shaded by bushes, about one third the size of the mound and slightly lower in height. It is about 25 metres from the mound, bordering Hell River. On the opposite bank of the river in the field is a pillar stone, 1.9 m (6.3 ft) high, more or less in alignment with the principal mound and the causeway. The shattered base of a second pillar is located close to the standing stone.
About these, T.J.Westopp wrote in the 19th century: ‘Beyond the stream were two pillars; one had been broken, time out of mind; the other a coarse slab of limestone, is 6 feet 3 inches high, 3 feet wide, and 10 inches thick.’ The shattered base of a second pillar is located along the same axis.’
At the mound, the causeway, its sides faced with rough stone, gives access to the platform above on ceremonial occasions.
Around the mound is a fosse with the basic remains of a low earthen wall that may have served as a separation feature between the ceremonial internal space and the public area outside.
Early history:
In 976 Brian Boroimhe was inaugurated as king of Thomond on the death of his elder brother Mathgamain mac Cennétig.
In the internecine clashes of the Gaelic Irish tribes, Magh Adhair, as the totemic home of the Dalcassians, was raided by opponents.
In 877 Flan Sunagh of the Uí Néill tribe, set up a chessboard on their inauguration mound and challenged one of his chiefs to a game of chess. This provocation infuriated the Dalcassians so that Lorcan, their king, mounted a fierce attack, destroyed the Ard Righ’s gaming table, and left him lost in the wood, “worn out with cold, hunger, and fighting.”
Again in 982 Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill of the Uí Néill, on a scorched earth campaign in Thomond, stormed Magh Adhair and destroyed the bile, the sacred inauguration tree “after it had been dug from the earth, with its roots.”
A new bile was planted for the Magh Adhair inauguration ritual, but the annals report that this tree too was cut down a couple of generations after Brian Boroimhe, when Aed O’Connor, King of Connaught, ravaged the site in 1051.
There were numerous inaugurations at Magh Adhair up the late sixteenth century. The historical account of the Uí Bhriain dynasty is gleaned from the Catherim Thoirdhealbhaigh (Triumphs of Torlough) written by Séan Ruaidhrí Mac Craith in Irish in the 14th century, who was the family historian. The account spans from 1194 to 1318 and notes seven inaugurations of Uí Bhriains that took place at Magh Adhair between 1242 and 1313.
We have a brief description of the inauguration of Conor O’ Brien in 1242: ‘After Donogh Cairbeach O’Brien had exchanged this mortal life for the happiness of angels with the victory of Unction and Penance, a Chieftain of (from) every tribe, a leader of every people, and a commander from every sept assembled around his son Conor at Moy-Eyre to inaugurate him King in the place of his good father. It was the noble pillar of numerous hosts Sioda (Sheedy Mac Namara) who first proclaimed him (Chief or King of his people) and the rest of the Chiefs expressed their consent immediately after.’
The final blow to the O’ Brien’s at their hallowed ceremonial site came in 1395 when they found themselves no longer a match for their Anglo-Norman rivals.
During Christmas 1394 Brian O’ Brien, Prince of Thomond, with other Irish leaders was obliged to swear fealty to Richard II at Dublin Castle. In March 1395 in the fields of the great ceremonial centre of Magh Adhair, the place where he had received his power according to Irish custom, O’Brien, in the presence of Thomas Earl of Nottingham, restated his pledge. The ruler and ‘other Irishmen who came to the said Lord Thomas from a wooded place distant about two staves, where many armed Irishmen were gathered together’ gave their allegiance to the English crown.
This slow diminishment of power led to Murchadh Carrach Ó Briain in a legal act of ‘surrender and regrant’ yielding his realm of the Kingdom of Ireland in 1543 and instead accepting the titles English granted titles of Baron Inchiquin and Earl of Thomond.
2014 was the one thousandth anniversary of the death of Brian Boroimhe, the most famous of the Dalcassian O’ Brien’s. He was Árd Righe, , the last high king of Ireland, ‘Emperor of the Irish’, who died at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. He is still a folk figure to this day, with his family colours of saffron and blue adorning the county Gaelic teams. 2014 came and went. At Magh Adhair there was no new signage, no much-needed car park, no explorative excavations, no attempt to conserve a critical national monument. In short, no nothing.
Today Magh Adhair, is without a formal protective presence. No information board relates the history of the location. Access is limited and only available to the nimble-footed. The site continues to be privately owned as far as I can determine. Being part of a working farm, animals are moving freely around the area. No fault of the farmer who works the land here. At least the animals manage to keep the grass low and prevent brambles overtaking the site.
So, what Happened on Inauguration Day?
Note: There are no precise records remaining of the proceedings at the Magh Adhair mound or of any of the Dál gCais inaugurations, except a brief reference in the 14th century. What we do have is a large body of information from Gaelic Ireland, where similar ceremonies were performed between the ninth and sixteenth centuries by the various tuatha. There is a high degree of uniformity in the accounts in that they took place at an open-air site, usually concentrating on a mound or large cairn, often close to the inaugurators hostel, with the second in succession (Tanaiste) presiding over the ceremony. Present were the subordinate chieftains, the local clergy, acting as coarbs and large numbers of the local tribe.
Using this information, the current landscape and our remaining historic accounts, I have attempted to create what may (or may not) have been the typical inauguration ceremony of an Ua Briain/O’ Brien at Magh Adhair up to the end of the sixteenth century – it’s very much a speculative approach but I have strictly followed known accounts. There are a few minor rituals from the inaugurations I have excluded for brevity. What remains is a patchwork of pieces brought together to produce what should be close to a once typical inauguration day at Toonagh. However, the precise sequence of events may not be correct.
Professor Michael Herity analysed several historically designated royal sites to determine what features they shared. He noted that each had ring-barrows, others had cairns or standing stones. He also noted literary sources that celebrate these sites as cemeteries. The mound and circular enclosure structure is almost exclusively found at royal sites. Less frequent features include sacred trees (bileadha), stone chairs, inauguration stones, stone basins, and churches.
The new O’Brien candidate was elected by tanistry. In other words, he was chosen for his ability to lead the clan. In this system, the appointed candidate would receive titles and lands on merit, and not necessarily the first born as in the progenitor system. The Mac Con Mara’s (modern Mac Namara’s) on whose land the Magh Adhair site stood were vassals of the Ua Briain– Dalcassians. The hostel of the Ua Briain’s was in Ennis, somewhere close to what is now Clonroad, whereas the triple-walled ring fort and home of the Mac Con Namara’s lies about 500 metres to the south-west of the mound, in Cahercalla. This was the starting point for the inauguration ceremonies.
Here the Ua Briain designate would prepare for his inauguration. Dressed in white or in some instances, wearing light body armour of leather, he would mount his horse and make his way along the processional route from Cahercalla fort to Magh Adhair. He was accompanied by a Mac Conmara as second in command, who would act as the inaugurator in the ceremony.
There are still some standing stones on the reputed route, with one significant ‘pillar’ stone towards the end of the march. This lies west of Hell River and opposite the small cairn close to the mound. The individuals awaiting the ceremony on the cairn were first to see the approaching royal procession. There is a slight slope in the field at the river, leading to a shallow ford, just north of the cairn. It is possible that the procession crossed here onto the central Magh Adhair ritual space.
The arrival of the O’ Brien designate in the inauguration field would have been a high point in the ceremony. Here was the next Ua Briain, all dressed in white on his splendid charger. Behind him, hanging back a few paces, was his vassal and Tánaiste, the Mac Conmara, about to ratify him as An Righe. Having crossed the stream, the party probably moved across the front of the mound, pausing at the bullaun stone to receive a splash of water and a blessing from a senior coarb, one of several priests present. Onwards then, passing the main gathering of followers on the Craggnakeeroge ridge, part of the natural amphitheatre that served the mound.
By tradition, the procession would always keep moving deiseal – sun wise, to draw the good luck from the land. TJ Westropp’s sketch from 1891 (Fig. 9.0) shows that the fosse at the foot of the mound served to create a deliberate separation between the ceremonial and public spaces. The royal parade would approach from the east flank and pause at the area between the cairn and the mound. The cairn here offered an excellent vantage point, which may have been reserved for privileged guests. In the fosse at the foot of the ramp stood three of the O’Brien’s chosen warriors guarding the approach. They were there to ensure that no-one got onto the platform without permission.
The processional riders dismounted and after acknowledging those present climbed onto the platform using the ramp. It is possible that a low palisade encircled the mound summit. As the dignitaries came into view they would be enthusiastically greeted by fellow tribe members on the ridge, in the park (faiche) and to the west. In the large ceremonial fields that then existed, followers of the O’ Brien would number several hundreds.
On the platform might have been one or several tribal sacred trees – biles, (‘bil-les’), most likely Ash or Hazel. There may also been a leacht or large stone on which the regal candidate would sit. The notion here was that the O’Brien always sat higher than anyone else. These inauguration-stones were not fashioned in any elaborate way by tribal supporters, other than to surreptitiously add a shallow ‘footprint’ on the stone to meet the needs of the ceremony. The inauguration stones were considered venerable. Some of the oldest ones contain faint rock art reaching back to the Neolithic or prints hollowed into the stone, in which the royal candidate would rest his foot.
No identifiable inauguration-stone remains at Magh Adair. In the very few excavations of other mounds that have occurred, large stones were uncovered that may have once been inauguration seats? Who knows what a test excavation at Toonagh might throw up? Elsewhere we have a brief mention of the creation of a seat to ensure that the candidate was raised above those attending. A passage reads ‘A heap of stones was erected in the form of a pyramid, on the top of which the young chieftain was plac’d, his friends and followers standing in a circle round about him, his elevation signifying his authority over them, and their standing below their subjection to him. One of his principal friends delivered into his hands the sword worn by his father, and there was a white rod delivered to him…’.
The Inauguration Stone of the Clandeboye O’Neills of Tyrone. Now in the village of Cadamstown, County Offaly.
The Inauguration Stone of the O’Conors, Kings of Connacht, located outside Clonalis House in Castlerea, Roscommon.
As the ceremony continued and the Ua Briain was on the mound platform, visible to his followers on Craggnakeeroge ridge and in the park (faiche), he would be enthusiastically greeted by fellow tribe members. Seated on the ancestral stone he faced north. After a pause, he would rise from his throne seat and solemnly turn sun wise (deiseal) three times, or alternatively his vassal Mac Conmara would move around him three times. This was described by author Katherine Simms as the ‘cosmical rotation’. and was possibly more nuanced than we now appreciate. It was also an opportunity for the king-elect to view his territory.
As a high point in the ceremony the Ua Briain would then be offered the all-important symbol of sovereignty by Mac Conmara. This was the slat na ríghe (the king’s rod), a branch cut from the sacred tree/bile. It was straight and white to symbolise truth and justice.
A phrase sometimes used to describe these inauguration ceremonies was ‘bainis Righe’ – the King’s wedding. The notion was that the candidate married the land and it was his duty thereafter to honour and protect it. In many Gaelic writings of the time the health of the land was reflected in the health of the king and indeed vice versa.
Through a declaration delivered by the sept’s file or ollamh, the tribal members were now reminded of the worthiness of the nominated candidate, pointing out his achievements and reciting Ua Briain genealogical sources to demonstrate his legitimacy to his title of Ríghe, possibly followed by a praise-poem in his honour. When finished, the Mac Conmara inaugurator would loudly proclaim the O’ Brien candidate as the new king of the Dál Cassian’s to the acclaim of all those present.
A final act at many inaugurations was the surrender of the new king’s horse and ceremonial clothing to an ollamh or possibly the comharba/priest in the invited party. This would demonstrate the generosity of the new leader and his ability to provide material wealth to his followers.
Once the formalities were concluded, feasting, drinking and sports would begin. These might continue for days. While most of the activities took place in the fields adjacent to the inauguration mound, the Mac Conmara fort at Cahercalla provided a nexus for the activities. As well as officiating at the inauguration ceremony, the Mac Conmara’s were the principal hosts on the day, with many venerable guests. It fell to them to ensure that everything went well.
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I have viewed many inauguration sites in the country and can only say that Magh Adhair, despite its limitations, ranks high in the list of impressive Gaelic Ireland sites. Together with its archaeology, its landscape and Ua Briain associations, it has a huge story to tell. It is a venerable place that has momentarily grown silent. Perhaps we can awaken it once more ?
Michael Houlihan,
Quin Heritage Group,
3/12/2025.
