Page 30 - Demo

30 Stephen Dunford: The Journey of The IrIsh
When the Celts finally accomplished the complete conquest of the island of Ireland they divided the country into a number of distinct states, each of which was called a Tuath. Be- fore it was used to describe a unit of territory, a tuath signified a tribal family or clan-Tuatha Dé Danann. In terms of size its closest parallel is the parish and a remarkable coincidence will sometimes be seen in the boundaries of these two divisions. This is not surprising when one considers that the medieval Church in Ireland was essentially dynastic in structure, its clergy provided mainly by the local ruling families. If only for practical reasons, therefore, it made good sense to base the church economy on the existing family divisions.
Altogether there were about 80 or 90 such tuatha in Ireland and the person elected to rule over a tuath had the title Rí or King. Gradually groups of tuatha banded together, each group placing itself under the leadership of a distinguished King. About the beginning of the Christian Era Ireland consisted of five such main groups, each of which was called a Cúige, hence we get the five kingdoms or provinces which were known as the “Cúig Cúigí” or the “Five Fifths,” each ruled over by a provincial king. Each tuath had its own “assembly” or council of freemen, presided over by the Rí Tuaithe, while each provincial kingdom had its assembly composed of the leading men, presided over by the provincial King.
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