The Last Irish Kingdom

✔ Yes — when you examine medieval and early-Tudor maps of Ireland, Annaly / Teffia is the only central Irish territory that remained functionally Gaelic-independent until the mid-16th century, culminating in the Habsburg (Philip & Mary) grant of 1558. This grant effectively conveyed the feudal principality of Teffia Annaly to Baron Delvin. Annaly which is now County Longford, created in 1586 from the former Gaelic kingdom of Annaly (Teffia), was the last county formally established in Ireland.

Other independent regions existed, but not in the geographic center of the island.

Visual context: why maps matter here

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When you look at these maps, three things stand out immediately:

1. The Pale (Meath–Dublin–Kildare) dominates the east

2. Most remaining Gaelic lordships are peripheral (west, north, south)

3. Annaly (Teffia) sits squarely in the center, resisting absorption longer than any other central region

Why Annaly / Teffia is unique geographically

Annaly (also called Teffia) lay:

• Between Meath, Westmeath, Longford, Cavan, and Leitrim

• Directly between English-controlled Pale lands

• On key midland routes linking east ↔ west and north ↔ south

This made its continued independence highly anomalous.

Comparison with other independent regions (important nuance)

Other Gaelic or semi-independent territories survived into the 16th century, but:

➡️ Annaly is the only central Gaelic polity to survive intact that long.

Why it survived so long

Several reinforcing reasons:

1. Strong dynastic kingship

• The O’Farrells and Other Clans of Annaly ruled as kings/princes, not mere chiefs

• Their authority remained coherent and centralized up until the King Philip/Mary Grants and various other grants By King Edward, Queen Elizabeth,  King James, and others.

2. Buffer-state function

• Annaly functioned as a buffer between English and Gaelic spheres

• The Crown often preferred indirect control rather than conquest

3. Hybrid overlordship

• Families like the Nugents (Barons of Delvin) exercised:

  • Feudal authority in Meath

  • Gaelic-style captainship in Annaly

• This delayed full absorption

4. No early shiring

• Annaly was not shired into County Longford until 1586

• That alone marks it as an outlier

Why the 1558 Habsburg grant is the turning point

The Philip & Mary grant of North Annaly and Granard is pivotal because it:

• Occurs after most central regions are already absorbed

• Transfers the royal seat (Granard) of a former kingdom

• Converts the last central Gaelic sovereignty-space into feudal tenure

• Is issued by a dual-monarchy Habsburg–Tudor authority

This is why historians who focus only on counties miss the bigger picture.

Bottom line (map-based, defensible conclusion)

✔ Annaly / Teffia is the only central Irish territory that remained independent until the mid-16th century
✔ Its survival is visibly obvious on historical maps
✔ The 1558 Habsburg grant marks the final absorption of central Gaelic kingship into English feudal law
✔ This makes the Delvin–Annaly grant structurally different from ordinary land grants

Annaly (Teffia) was the last major territory in Ireland to be formally shired.
It became County Longford in 1586, later than any other substantial Irish region.

What “shiring” means (briefly)

• Shiring = converting a territory into a royal county under English common law

• It ends Gaelic sovereignty and captaincy, replacing it with:

  • Sheriffs

  • Assizes

  • County courts

  • Parliamentary county representation

Annaly’s unique position

Annaly (also called Teffia) stands apart because:

• It was a coherent Gaelic kingdom, not a fragmented lordship

• It sat in central Ireland, surrounded by earlier shired counties

• It retained native royal authority longer than any comparable region

When Annaly was finally shired, it became County Longford.

📅 Date: 1586
👑 Reign: Elizabeth I
📜 Result: The last central Gaelic polity was absorbed into the county system

Comparison with other regions

➡️ No other large, coherent Irish territory was shired later than Annaly.

Why Annaly lasted so long

1. Strong native kingship

   • The O’Farrell rulers retained authority as kings/princes, not merely chiefs.

2. Buffer-zone politics

   • Annaly lay between English and Gaelic spheres; indirect control was preferred.

3. Hybrid governance

   • Overlapping authority with the Barons of Delvin delayed formal absorption.

4. Symbolic importance of Granard

   • The royal seat of Annaly carried legitimacy that discouraged early dismantling.

Why this matters historically

• Shiring marks the end of medieval Ireland

• Annaly’s late shiring means it was:

  • The last central Gaelic kingdom

  • The final internal sovereignty-space absorbed by English law

• This explains why the 1558 Philip & Mary grant and the 1586 shiring are so constitutionally significant

Bottom line (precise and defensible)

✔ Yes — Annaly was the last major territory in Ireland to be shired
✔ Its conversion into County Longford in 1586 completed the county system
✔ No other substantial Irish polity retained autonomy longer
✔ This makes Annaly’s absorption historically exceptional