New Historical Civilizations!!!

[Ranika]

Eahmain Macha was the colloquial name of the city the fortress was constructed in. The formal name of the city was so long people felt it unnecessary to say it, and the fortress was so impressive it was easier to remember. It was the palace of the high king, and an impressive fortification. In its prime, it's estimated that it could probably stop a cannonball in its walls; pretty impressive considering it was mainly made of wood and packed dirt with a little stone. The high king's office only held direct control over two regions; Eahmain Macha (and the city around it), and the hill of Teamhaidh (Teamhair/Tara), since it was the coronation hill of the king. Otherwise, all other issues were done through subservient sub-kings (which, at one point, broke apart from one another, forming the more recognizable fractured Ireland, though the ghost of the high kingship remained for centuries).

Chariots were used as a status symbol in the form of a 'taxi', yes, but the Volunts and their under tribes (like the Ulaidi and such) in modern Ulster fought in chariots in the same manner as Britons, as did some of the Kintaris and Bolgia (Belgic Celts in modern Connacht; from them come 'Firbolgs', from the name for particularly vicious Bolgia warriors called Fer Bolgia).

Dún na nGall is one place; it's mentioned in the epic of Troidhan. Troidhan (the conqueror of Mann) needed heavy cavalry, so he asked the Gauls for assistance (since they were actual Gauls, not Goidils of Gallic extraction). The Gauls sent for aide from the mainland and got him some better cavalry (since most Goidilic cavalry was more for skirmishing and harassing than shock). The place wasn't just home to the 'Gauls' we recognize, but also housed small communities of Brigantes, Belgae, and Cruithne (hence the foreigner connotations).

The Goidils had their own private colonies along the coasts of Gaul and Britain; just trade things really. Likewise, Britons and Gauls (and even Romans, later, though they may have just been following the British tradition) had trade centers/forts in Ireland, to conduct peacable trade. Used forts though, usually, because, even when the Goidils were united under one king (and not just in title like during the dark ages, but actually united), there were problems in Ireland (as there were in most places), with thieves, bandits, and all manner of upstarts. The necessity to have a good fortification capable of withstanding at least a minor attack was apparent.