The Southern Uí Néill and the political landscape of Lough Ennell

The significance of Clann Cholmáin domination of the medieval Irish midlands has long been recognised by scholars in a variety of fields. This paper documents the nature of that settlement in and around Lough Ennell and Lough Owel and examines the economic and political factors that may have motivated the development of this area. The Clann Cholmáin royal settlement of Cróinis/Dún na Sgiath is then situated within a larger regional and national context in which the development of the local landscape becomes a notable factor in the Uí Néill bid for the control of Ireland.