Province of Leinster

County Westmeath

Known as The Lake County. For Lough Ree, Ennell, Owel and Derravaragh, the last of which is where the Children of Lir were said to have spent the first three hundred years of their nine hundred as swans.

Did you know? The Hill of Uisneach was the mythic centre of Ireland, where all five provinces met at the Catstone and the great Bealtaine fires were lit — answered by fires on hills across the island.

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Through the ages — who held Westmeath

8,000 BC – 4,001 BC Mesolithic hunter-gatherers The First Irish

4,000 BC – 2,501 BC Neolithic farming communities The Tomb Builders

2,500 BC – 501 BC Bronze Age Ireland The Age of Gold & Bronze

500 BC – AD 99 Iron Age Ireland The Iron Age

AD 100 – AD 399 Eblani Ptolemy's Ireland

AD 400 – 1168 Mide (Kingdom of Meath) The Five Fifths Patrick & the Rise of the Uí Néill Saints & Scholars The Viking Storm Norse Cities & the Rise of Brian Kings with Opposition

1169 – 1333 Anglo-Norman Lordship of Ireland The Norman Invasion High Tide of the Colony

1334 – 1541 The English Pale The Gaelic Resurgence The Kildare Ascendancy

1542 – 1607 Kingdom of Ireland (Tudor crown) The Tudor Conquest

1608 – 1640 Kingdom of Ireland The Plantation of Ulster

1641 – 1652 Confederate Ireland Confederate Ireland & Cromwell

1653 – 1800 Kingdom of Ireland Ascendancy Ireland

1801 – 1915 United Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland The Act of Union An Gorta Mór — The Great Famine Land & Liberty

1916 – 1921 Irish Republic (declared, contested) The Revolution

1922 – 1936 Irish Free State Partition — Free State & Northern Ireland

1937 – 1948 Ireland (Éire) Éire

1949 – 2026 Republic of Ireland The Republic & the Troubles Peace & the New Ireland

Clans & surnames of Westmeath

Coffey Ó Cobhthaigh Gaelic learned family · “descendant of Cobhthach, 'victorious'” Daly Ó Dálaigh Gaelic learned family · “descendant of Dálach, 'of the assembly'” Dillon Diolún Norman · “from de Leon” Geoghegan Mag Eochagáin Gaelic sept · “son of Eochagán, from Eochaidh — a name built on each, 'horse'” Higgins Ó hUiginn Gaelic learned family · “descendant of Uiginn — 'the Viking'” McLoughlin Mac Lochlainn Gaelic dynasty · “son of Lochlann, 'the Norse-lander'” Nugent Nuinseann Norman · “from Nogent in France” Scully Ó Scolaidhe Gaelic sept · “descendant of the scholar”

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On the ground in Westmeath

Bealin High Cross · high cross
12 castles · Athlone Castle, Ballinlough Castle, Castlelost Castle, Clonyn Castle, Killua Castle and more

Every pin is placed by its documented coordinates. All the monuments of Ireland →

Quick answers

What is the Irish name for County Westmeath?

An Iarmhí. Westmeath is one of the 12 counties of Leinster (Cúige Laighean).

Who ruled County Westmeath in the Middle Ages?

Around 1014 it was held by Mide (Kingdom of Meath); by 1450, The English Pale. The full era-by-era chronology is on this page.

What surnames come from County Westmeath?

Names historically associated with Westmeath include Coffey, Daly, Dillon, Geoghegan, Higgins, McLoughlin, Nugent, Scully.

Trace your ancestors in Westmeath

Free, from the holding institutions. How to begin: the six-step guide → · Spotted an error on this page? Suggest a correction.