More about the Gleeson bloodline. Gleeson / Ó Glasáin were Munster royalty way back. The Gleeson Kings ruled the Uí Liatháin Kingdom.
Uí Liatháin was one of the major kingdoms of early Christian Munster. Their territory covered the baronies of Barrymore and Kinnataloon in Co. Cork, plus Imokilly.
Records call them “great lords and sometimes kings”. Specifically, O’Glaisin / Gleeson are listed as chiefs of Hy-MacCaille – now the barony of Imokilly, Co. Cork.
Royal ancestry
They were closely related to Crimthann mac Fidaig, the legendary 4th century King of Munster and High King of Ireland.
Royal seats
One of their last royal seats was Castlelyons – Caisleán Ó Liatháin – in East Cork. The name literally means “Castle of the O’Liatháin”.
Beyond Ireland
Uí Liatháin weren’t just in Cork. Irish sources say they had colonies in Wales and Cornwall. Historian John Morris notes.
A modern Gleeson is a leading expert on Gleeson kingship. Dr. Patrick Gleeson wrote Landscapes of Kingship in Early Medieval Ireland and does fieldwork at the Rock of Cashel.