Gangani (Ireland)
The Gangani (Γαγγανοι) were a people of ancient Ireland who are referred to in Ptolemy's 2nd-century Geography as living in the south-west of the island, probably near the mouth of the River Shannon, between the Auteini to the north and the Uellabori to the south.[1][2]
There appears to have been a people of the same name in north-west Wales, as Ptolemy calls the Llŷn Peninsula the "promontory of the Gangani" (Γαγγανὤν ἄκρον).[3][4] The Gangani (the name would seem to link to the modern Welsh cangen, "branch, bough") were a war-ready tribe and skilled seafarers who lived in hillforts. The most spectacular of these, Tre'r Ceiri, stood 450m above sea level on the slopes of Yr Eifl in Gwynedd.[5]
See also
[edit]- Conganchnes mac Dedad, a name of perhaps some relation. Cú Roí, Conganchnes' nephew, was based in Irish legend not far from the Gangani.
References
[edit]- ^ Ptolemy, Geography 2.1
- ^ Philip Freeman, Ireland and the Classical World, University of Texas Press, 2001, pp. 73-74
- ^ T. F. O'Rahilly, Early Irish History and Mythology, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1946, p. 2, 10
- ^ Barry Cunliffe, Iron Age Communities in Britain, Routledge, 2005, p. 206
- ^ "History of Ancient Welsh Tribes 3: The Gangani". Welshhistories.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
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