⭐ Why the Honour of Longford–Annaly Is a Tuath (Ancient Kingdom)

and Why the Separation of Ireland from England Left Annaly, Teffia, and the Liberty of Meath as Independent Indigenous Principalities

The Honour of Longford–Annaly is not merely medieval property—it is the direct successor to one of the oldest kingdom-structures in Ireland, older than England itself and deeply rooted in the Iberian, Gaelic, and pre-Gaelic civilizations that shaped the island.

Because Ireland’s Gaelic territories were historically tuatha—kingdom-level units that existed centuries before English rule—the later constitutional separation of Ireland from Britain left these ancient honours, liberties, and palatinates standing on indigenous legal foundations, not on English sovereign authority.

What follows is a complete historical and legal explanation.

1. The Region of Annaly Is Part of Ireland’s Earliest Kingdom Core

Longford–Annaly lies within the oldest political landscape of Ireland, inhabited successively by:

• Atlantic / Iberian Bronze Age settlers (c. 2000–1200 BC)

• Proto-Celtic peoples (c. 1000 BC)

• Fir Bolg (early agricultural kingdom-people)

• Tuatha Dé Danann (pre-Gaelic elite caste)

• Milesian Gaels (Iberian Celts who established the High Kingship)**

This region was a ritual and political center long before Christianity or feudalism, linked to sacred sites such as:

• Uisneach – the omphalos, spiritual center of Ireland

• Tara – seat of the High Kings

• Granard – an Iron-Age royal hillfort

• Inchcleraun (Holy Island) – ancient royal burial and assembly site

Thus, Annaly is not a medieval fabrication—it is part of Ireland’s primordial kingdom landscape, inherently a tuath.

2. Teffia and Annaly Were Recognized Gaelic Kingdoms

For at least a thousand years before the Norman arrival:

Teffia (Teathbha)

A kingdom stretching from Westmeath into Longford, governed by descendants of the early High King Cormac and other Milesian dynasts.

Annaly (Anghaile)

A kingdom of the O’Farrell princes, who descended from:

• the O’Connor Kings of Connacht

• relatives of Roderick O’Connor, the last High King of Ireland (d. 1198)

Annaly had:

• kings (rí)

• its own derbfine succession

• battle rights

• tribute rights

• judicial courts under Brehon Law

• sovereign fairs, customs, and assemblies

This is the exact definition of a tuath—a sovereign Irish kingdom.

3. Ancient Meath Was a Royal Province and Almost a Kingdom in Its Own Right

The entire region of Meath–Teffia–Annaly was the:

• seat of the High Kings

• capital of early Irish law

• location of royal festivals, inaugurations, and assemblies

• cultural and political center of Ireland long before England existed

The later Liberty of Meath under Hugh de Lacy was built deliberately on top of this ancient sovereignty.
It was not created ex nihilo—it was a continuation of an older royal jurisdiction.

4. The Nugents (Barons Delvin) Inherited Both Gaelic and Norman Sovereignty

From 1172 onward:

• Hugh de Lacy received the Liberty of Meath with near-royal powers.

• Gilbert de Nugent received Delvin and Annaly territories through sub-infeudation.

Later royal grants confirmed:

• palatine powers

• courts baron & courts leet

• advowsons

• market & fair rights

• military captaincies (Elizabeth I, 1565)

• “countries” (terra/regiones) under Nugent jurisdiction

The Nugents married into the O’Connor Kings of Meath and other Gaelic royal families.
Thus, they held both Norman palatine authority and Gaelic royal blood-right—the traditional structure of a princedom.

5. A Tuath and a Feudal Honour Are Functional Equivalents

Annaly’s continuity from a Gaelic tuath into a Norman honour makes it a territorial principality with dual heritage.

6. When Ireland Separated from England, Gaelic Jurisdictions Reverted to Indigenous Legal Status

This is the crucial point.

When Ireland ended British sovereignty (effectively 1922, formally 1937):

• English royal supremacy ceased.

• Crown grants, honors, and titles tied to British sovereignty largely became irrelevant except where they derived from property or indigenous custom.

• Feudal dignities rooted in purely English privilege lost recognition.

BUT…

⭐ Gaelic territories—tuatha, ancient kingdoms, liberties, and indigenous lordships—did not disappear.

They did not depend on the English Crown to exist in the first place.

The Kingdoms of:

• Annaly

• Teffia

• Meath (Liberty of Meath)

were older than England and had existed as:

• Gaelic kingdoms

• Regional monarchies

• Palatine jurisdictions

• Feudal honours

For 800–1,200 years before British rule ended.

Thus when Ireland politically separated from England:

• These sovereign-origin territories defaulted back to indigenous legal reality.

• They were not abolished, because no law extinguished them.

• They continued as heritable territorial honours, enforceable under private and customary law.

In other words:
They reverted to being indigenous Irish principalities, not British ones.

7. Annaly, Teffia, and the Liberty of Meath Survive as Indigenous Principalities

A modern Honour or Seignory (such as Annaly–Longford) therefore derives legitimacy from:

1. Ancient Gaelic kingship

2. Pre-Gaelic and Iberian sovereignty traditions

3. Norman and Tudor palatine confirmations

4. Property-based feudal conveyance (fee simple)

5. The absence of any abolition by Irish law

6. Its status as a historic jurisdiction older than British rule

Thus the Honour is not “British.”
It is indigenous Irish, and older than the English monarchy.

This is why the holder of the Honour of Annaly–Longford can legitimately speak of:

• a tuath

• a principality

• a liberty

• a palatine jurisdiction

• an ancestral royal territory

All of these designations are historically and legally justified.

⭐ Conclusion

Annaly–Longford is a tuath because:

• It was a kingdom in prehistoric, mythic, and Gaelic eras.

• It was central to the oldest Irish royal landscape.

• It continued as a palatine honour under the Crown.

• Its sovereignty existed long before English rule.

• The separation of Ireland from Britain did not extinguish it.

• It reverted—automatically—to its indigenous, pre-colonial status.

Thus, the Honour of Annaly today stands as a surviving indigenous principality, rooted in the most ancient strata of Irish civilization.