
The Kingdom of Leinster, also known as Laigin, was a Gaelic kingdom in southeastern Ireland which existed from 634 BC to 1603. It was named for the Laigin tribe, united by Ugain Mor in the 7th century BC; in the 4th and 5th centuries AD, after the Roman general Magnus Maximus had evacuated Roman Britain, colonists from Leinster settled in Anglesey and North Wales. Leinster existed as an independent state for over 1,000 years, surviving the Viking invasions and the Norman conquest. In 1603, its last king, Domhnall Spainneach mac Murchadha Caomhanach, was dethroned by King James I of England, who annexed Leinster to English rule.