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CHAPTER XIV
IRISH CHRISTIANITY IN WALES
I. Power of the Gael in Britain. 2. Wales Less Enduringly Irish than
Scotland. 3. Irish Foundations in Wales. 4. Irish Intellectual Intercourse
with Britain. 5. Ireland's Imperial Status and the Council
of Constance.
IRISH
i. POWER OF THE GAEL IN BRITAIN
noblemen and their families often owned two
territories or estates, one in Ireland and the other in
west Britain, visiting and living in each by turns.
The heads of Irish clans often crossed over to receive the
tributes due to them from their British possessions. This
is made clear from the ancient work of Cormac, son of
Culinan, already referred to, from which it appears that
so extensive were the settlements of the Gael in Britain
that the Irish territory beyond the channel was almost
equal in extent to Ireland itself, and Irish princes parceled
out the land of Britain, taking each one his share,
building up strong forts and noble habitations, so that
not less did the Irishman dwell on the east coasts of the
sea than in Ireland. This record, overlooked by most
historians and absolutely unknown, like most Irish rec-
ords, to the average English historian, is referred to by
O'Donovan as "one of the most curious and important"
preserved relating to early Irish and British history. 1
It
was after visiting his family and friends in their estates
in Wales that Cairbre Muse, son of Conaire, brought the
first lap-dog into Ireland, it would seem from the same
i Battle of Magh Rath, Pub. I. A. S., 339.
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