Maigh Seóla

Maigh Seóla (Irish pronunciation: [mˠəi ˈʃoːl̪ˠə]), also known as Hy Briuin Seola, was the territory that included land along the east shore of Lough Corrib in County Galway, Ireland. It was bounded to the east by the Uí Maine vassal kingdom of Soghain and extended roughly from what is now Clarinbridge in the south to Knockmaa Hill in the north. Its rulers belonged to the Uí Briúin Seóla and are sometimes found in the annals under the title "King of Uí Briúin" and "King of South Connacht". The earliest identifiable kings belonged to the line that became the Clann Cosgraigh. However in later times the line which would become the Muintir Murchada, under the O'Flaherty chiefs, monopolized the kingship.

Early peoples and kingdoms of Ireland, c.800

The Muintir Murchada were based at Loch Cime (later called Lough Hackett) until forced west of Lough Corrib during the de Burgo led English invasion of Connacht in the 13th century. According to the 17th-century historian Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh, Maigh Seóla was considered part of Iar Connacht prior to the 13th-century Anglo-Norman invasion of Connacht. After the de Burgo / Burke family became established in Maigh Seola the territorial term Iar Connacht was only used to denote the territory of the O'Flahertys west of Lough Corrib and Lough Mask.

In English, the plain of Maigh Seóla is also known as Moyola.[1]