West Connacht (; Modern Irish: Iar Connacht) was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Galway, particularly the area known more commonly today as Connemara. The kingdom represented the core homeland of the Connachta's Uí Briúin Seóla kindred and although they ruled, there were smaller groups of other Gaels in the area, such as the Delbhna Tir Dha Locha and the Conmhaícne Mara. It existed from 1051 onwards, after the Ó Conchobhair, Kings of Connacht, pushed the Ó Flaithbheartaigh to the West of Lough Corrib, from their original territory of Maigh Seóla. Iar Connacht remained a subordinate túath of Connacht, until the 13th century, after which it was more independent. Galway upon its founding was originally governed by the Ó Flaithbheartaigh of Iar Connacht, but with the rise of the Clanricarde Burkes, a Norman family, it was captured in 1232. Around this time much of Connacht, in general, fell to the Burkes. Galway's Norman oligarchy later achieved a quasi-independent status to carry out its trade, but there always lingered the threat of it being reconquered by the Gaelic Ó Flaithbheartaigh, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries. The Normans placed a sign on the gate of the city saying, "From the Ferocious O'Flahertys, O Lord deliver us". History Coastal túath of Connacht Iar Connacht (West Connacht) came into being during the 1050s, under the kingship of Amhalgaidh mac Cathal, from the Ó Flaithbheartaigh. This clan had originated as part of the Connachta, specifically the Uí Briúin Seóla kindred and were also known as the Muintir Murchada, claiming descent from Murchadh mac Maenach. They were kings of Maigh Seóla from the 9th century onward, the plain lying on the eastern side of Lough Corrib (Tuam to Athenry to Maree) and owed fealty to the kings of Connacht. Maigh Seóla was a rich and fertile land and during the kingship of Áed in Gai Bernaig there was a conflict over it, between the kings of Connacht and the Muintir Murchada. The Ó Conchobhair got the better of the conflict and the subsequent descendants of Amhalgaidh mac Cathal gradually began relocating west of Lough Corrib into Iar Connacht (what is today more commonly known as Connemara). Prior to the aforementioned events, the lands to the West of Lough Corrib were under the Delbhna Tir Dha Locha and the Conmhaícne Mara; these two groups were distinct from the Connachta in general.