Uí Liatháin

The Uí Liatháin (Irish pronunciation: [iː ˈlʲiəhaːnʲ]) were an early kingdom of Munster in southern Ireland. They belonged the same kindred as the Uí Fidgenti, and the two are considered together in the earliest sources, for example The Expulsion of the Déisi (incidentally). The two have been given various origins among both the early or proto-Eóganachta and among the Érainn or Dáirine by different scholars working in a number of traditions, with no agreement ever reached or appearing reachable. It is entirely possible that they were the product of a combination of lineages from both these royal kindreds, or alternatively of another origin entirely.

Eochu Liathán ("Eochu the Grey"), son of Dáire Cerbba, is the ancestor after which the Uí Liatháin is named.

The small village of Castlelyons (Caisleán Ó Liatháin) in East County Cork preserves the name of one of their last royal seats in the High Middle Ages, as does the name of Killaliathan Church, County Limerick.

The two most powerful septs of the Uí Liatháin were the Uí Meic Caille (including the Uí Anmchada) and the Uí Thassaig (later known as the Uí Meic Tire). Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the Uí Meic Caille gave their name to the barony of Imokilly.