Some of the known Celtic tribes in Britain
and Ireland were as follows:
The Atrebates
(Bear People and Red Kings) were an important tribe in Southern England and the
group
The Belgae settled various
places in eastern and Southern England.
The Brigantes/
Pretani (Cow Goddess People) were an important tribe in northern England
and the south-east corner of
Ireland. The Brigantes
lived between Tyne and Humber by Hadrian's Wall. The wall fortified the Roman
Empire against the tribes of Scotland to the north and separating the Selgovae
tribe and the Brigantes.
The Caereni who inhabited the north edge of Britain
where pictstone inscriptions were discovered.
The Caledonians
inhabited parts of present-day Scotland. The Caledonian confederation may have
once included the magna region among Hwicce. By 210 however, the Caledonians had
re-formed their alliance with the Maeatae. Caledonia
is a historical settlement of Pictland from which the earliest Celtic language
is less distinct than the placenames from their tribes.
The Cantiaci
lived in the area of present-day Kent and give the
county its name.
The Coritani (Black Oat People) also called Corieltauvi
inhabited the east midlands and Leicester. The east
midlands may have once extended to the Isle of Ely and among Cambridge.
The
Cornovii (Horned God of
Rebirth People) who inhabited the very north edge of Britain. The land of the
Cornovii evolves in Dumnonia as Cornish with many Latin names in the succession
of Dumnonian kings.
The Darini
lived in Uladh of North Ireland and the
western portion of Scotland, these became known as Scotti, Uí
Labhradha.
The Déisi/Dalcassi
(Nuturing People) of Vale of Glamorgan:Ynys Echru-Ynis Echni: Flat Holm Island,
Steep Holm Island, Lundy, Tusker Rock,Ynys y Barri: Barry Island, Ramsey, Sully
Island, Ynys Cantwr, Ynys Gwelltog, Ynys Eilun, Pont yr Eilun, Gateholm, Middleholm,
Skokeholm Skomer, Skulmer.
The Demetae
(Sacred Red Goddess People) who lived on Cardigan, St. Catherine’s Island, St.
Margaret’s Island, Inys Pyr: Caldey
The Dobunni
(People of the Abyss) lived in the Cotswolds and the Severn valley and the southwest.
East of the Severn
was included by the Romans in their Britannia Prima, the part west of the Severn
in their Britannia Secunda, and the whole of it eventually in their Flavia Cæsariensis.From
the later Middle Ages Bampton was bypassed both by the chief north-south routes,
and by east-west ones between London and the Cotswolds
The Dumnonii
(also Damnonii) (People
of the Abyss) occupied what are now Devon,
Cornwall, Somerset, Dalriada
Strathclyde, and Connacht.
The ancient Laigin or Dumnoniigroup moved from the western region of Normandy
as the Roman built up pressure on Gaul about 100 B.C.
The Durotriges
(Water Dwellers) inhabited Dorset
and south Wiltshire.
The Iceni/Magniceni,
(Clear Water People) who under Boudica rebelled against the Roman rule of ancient
East Anglia.
The
Iverni who lived in
the County Cork area and gave their name to
Ireland. It was the Greek seafarer Pytheas, who as early as 300 BC refers to the
islands Pretanikai Nesoi (meaning "Pretanic Islands"), which Scott claims is based
on the native name for Britain Ynis Prydain, which literally means Picts' Island.
Before Gaelic dialects evolved in Ireland, some allege that the inhabitants spoke
Ivernic, particularly in Munster. It receives its name from a Gallo-Belgic group
known as the Iverni (later Érainn), attested
in Ptolemy's 2nd century Geography.
The Manapii/
Morini (Sea Ones) lived south of what is now known as Dublin,
gave their name to Fermanagh and cognate
with the Manapia
from the Isle of
Man. In Co Fermanagh, where the name Monaghan is numerous, the family are
thought to be part of the original inhabitants of the area, the
Fir Manach, from whom the county gets its name. Their base was in the district
of Lurg. From here the Monaghan name migrated into the adjoining
counties of Monaghan and Derry.