Partraige

The Partraige ([ˈpart̪ɾəɣʲe], Anglicised as Partry, Partree) were a people of early historic Ireland.

Several attested branches were found in Ireland, including the following:

• Partraige Cera ('Partraige of [Lough] Carra') - located at the northern end of Lough Mask (Loch Mask) and the region of Lough Carra (Loch Corrib), County Mayo.
• Partraige in Laca ('Partraige of the Lake') - at and around Cong, County Mayo, which borders Lough Corrib.
• Partraige in tSlebe ('Partraige of the Mountains') - covering the area from Croagh Patrick to Lough Corrib, all of south-west Mayo
• Partraige Beca ('Little Partraige') - located at Crossakell, south of Kells, County Meath.

All appear to have been of fortuatha status, perhaps indicating a more ancient presence in their territories than the more historically prominent groups to whom they were subject in the early mediaeval period. Francis John Byrne has suggested that the Partraige may have been "a remnant of a pre-Celtic population, akin perhaps to the Illyrian tribe commemorated in the Bavarian resort of Garmish-Partenkirchen." He also suggests that the Fir Umaill found in Clew Bay (later the Uí Briúin) probably were a later branch.

In the later mediaeval period, the Connacht branches of the Patraige all came under the domination of the Anglo-Norman Joyce family, giving rise to the so-called Joyce Country. They have given their name to the district of Partry.