History of Clare Coast

of sorrows. The remains of the people inside the tomb have been excavated and dated to 3800 BC. Ptolemy created a map of Ireland in his Geographia with information dating from 100 AD, it is the oldest written account of the island with geographical features. Within his map Ptolemy names the Gaelic tribesinhabiting it and the areas in which they resided; in the area of Clare he identified a tribe known as the Gangani. Historians have found the tribes on the west of Ireland hardest to identify with known peoples, however Camden and O'Conor speculated a possible connection between the Gangani and the Concani, one of the eleven tribes in the confederacy of theCantabri in the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula.

During the Early Middle Ages the area was part of the Kingdom of Connacht ruled by the UíFiachrachAidhne, until it was annexed to the Kingdom of Munster to be settled by the Dalcassians in the mid-10th century. It was renamed Thomond, meaning North Munster and spawned Brian Boru during this period, perhaps the most noted High King of Ireland. From 1118 onwards the Kingdom of Thomond was in place as its own petty kingdom, ruled by the O'Brien Clan. There was some Norman influence during the 14th century due to battles with the de Clare's for control. The county's name comes from the Irish word Clár, meaning a board or plank. A board was placed across the River Fergus outside Ennis, at a place which was to become known as Clare,