Kingdom of East Breifne Bréifne Uí Raghallaigh | |||||||||
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| 1256–1607 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms
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| Motto: Fortitudine et prudentia (English: With fortitude and prudence) | |||||||||
 A map of 1450 Ireland shows Breifne O'Reilly | |||||||||
| Capital | Belturbet (1256 to late 13th century) Cavan (c. 1300) | ||||||||
| Common languages | Irish English[n 1] | ||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholic | ||||||||
| Government | Elective monarchy | ||||||||
| King | |||||||||
• 1256–1257 | Conchobar Uí Raghallaigh | ||||||||
• 1603–1607 | Maolmhordha O'Reilly | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Split from Breifne | 1256 | ||||||||
• Shired | 1579 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1607 | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Ireland | ||||||||
The Kingdom of East Breifne or Breifne O'Reilly (Old Irish: Muintir-Maelmordha; Irish: Bréifne Uí Raghallaigh, IPA: [ˈbʲɾʲeːfʲnʲə iː ˈɾˠəil̪ˠiː]) was an historic kingdom of Ireland roughly corresponding to County Cavan that existed from 1256 to 1607. It took its present boundaries in 1579 when East Breifne was renamed Cavan, after Cavan town, and shired into Ulster. Originally part of the older Kingdom of Breifne, East Breifne came into existence following a protracted war between the ruling O'Rourke clan and the ascendant O'Reillys which culminated in the division of the kingdom in 1256. The Kingdom was ruled by the dynasty of the Ó Raghallaigh (O'Reilly) and lasted until the early 17th century.
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