kingdom · British Isles

Kingdom of Tethba

500 CE – 1200 CE (approx.)

A midland Irish kingdom spanning Longford and Westmeath, held by branches of the southern Ui Neill and later by the O'Farrells and O'Quinns.

Origins

Tethba appears in the earliest Irish annals as a territory in the Irish midlands, divided by the River Inny into northern and southern parts. Its rulers in the early medieval period came from Cairpre and Maine, sons of Niall of the Nine Hostages, making it part of the southern Ui Neill world centred on Mide.

Rule and society

Tethba was a small overkingship of several local peoples, often subordinate to the kings of Mide. Monasteries such as Ardagh and Clonmacnoise's daughter houses stood in or near its lands. In the 11th and 12th centuries local families, the Ui Cuinn and the Ui Fergail, rose to power in the northern part, later known as Annaly.

Decline and legacy

After the Norman invasion much of southern Tethba was granted to Hugh de Lacy within the Lordship of Meath. Annaly survived under the O'Farrells until the 16th century, when it became County Longford.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of Tethba. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-tethba
MLA
“Kingdom of Tethba.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-tethba. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of Tethba.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-tethba.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of Tethba’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-tethba (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻