Around 800 CE, Ireland had many small kingdoms, tuatha, under a Gaelic system with no central state.
Over 100 existed, each led by a rí túaithe, varying from 80–150 due to shifting borders.
Above them, rí ruirech ruled clusters, with dynasties like Uí Néill (north) or Eóganachta (Munster) as rí cóicid.
The ard rí at Tara was symbolic, per texts like the Annals of Ulster. Uí Néill (split into Cenél Conaill and Cenél nEógain), Connachta (west), Laigin (east), and Munster’s Eóganachta were key, with Dál Riata linking to Scotland.
Kings used cattle wealth and Brehon Law, while monasteries like Armagh grew powerful.
Norse raids hit coasts by 800, but inland kingdoms held.
This kin-based system lasted until Viking and Norman shifts.
