Westropp — Cisfs, Dolmens, and Pillars of Co. Clare. 449 



Eaely Divisions. 



As we intend to deal mainly with the monuments, we only touch 

 briefly on the earliest tribal arrangements, none of which may be old 

 enough to overlap even the latest dolmens. In the first century 

 Ptolemy places the Ganganoi, the Irish Siol Gengain (the Gan, 

 Oenann, and Sengan tribes) at the mouth of the Shannon. According 

 to the Dindshenchas, Sliab Collain, or Mount Callan, was in Sengann's 

 heritage.^ The Corcomroes (including Burren) and the land in the 

 south-west angle of Clare were held by the Corcamodruad and Corca- 

 bhaiscoinn tribes, with " non-Milesian" names f but the chiefs of the 

 first claimed descent from Fergus and Queen Maeve. The Martini 

 Firbolgs were settled about Kilrush. Some shadow of a settlement 

 of the still earlier TJa Cathba and Ua Corra tribes in "Western Clare 

 falls on the earliest historic tales of Thomond. History, however, can 

 claim but little behind the first fierce spring of the Dalgcais tribes from 

 their centre in Eastern County Limerick across the Shannon. The 

 Muuster Kings Lugad Meann and Conuall Eachluath had reduced 

 central Clare up to Lughid Hill, its present central bound towards 

 Galway, by a.d. 380 ; but even in the dawning of Christianity, in 

 the middle of the following century, the hilly districts of Aughty and 

 Elva were still unsubdued ; and the race of Cashel rested content 

 with cattle -tribute from Corcomroe and Corcovaskin. The legend of 

 the " Glas " cow has an echo of the contests along the fords of 

 the Fergus;^ the ''Book of Riglits " claims forts along that border 

 at what are most probably Ballykinvarga, Inchiquin Hill, Tully- 

 commaun, and perhaps Torlough Hill, and (a lasting trace of the 

 terrible final battle) forbade the King of Connaught to go to 

 " Luchid " heath in a speckled cloak. The only later disturbances 

 of the tribes were the intrusion of the Dalcassian MacMahons into 

 Corcovaskin, and the settlement of the Ui Breacain (after their 

 expulsion from their Leinster home by Walter de Ridelesford, 

 about 1180) on the coast, "between the two invers^^ (the creeks 

 of Dough and Dunbeg), to which they gave their name Ibrickuu. 



1 "Revue Celtique," 1894, pp. 317, 318. 



- See the interesting articles by Mr. J. MacNeill in " The New Ireland]' eview," 

 1906. 



3K. S. A.]., vol. XXV., p. 227. 



[41*] 



