gives a seemingly idealized division of kingdoms. The island is traditionally divided into five provinces or "fifths" (Old Irish , Modern Irish ), four of which survive today: (Ulster, modern Irish ) in the north, (Connacht) in the west, (Munster, modern Irish ) in the south west, and (Leinster, modern Irish ) in the south east. The fifth kingdom, (whose name has survived in the modern counties of Meath and Westmeath, modern Irish and ) in the centre/east, ceased to exist in the Middle Ages. At various points in history there existed a High King of Ireland, who ruled over the other kings as suzerain, much like the British High Kings and Anglo-Saxon Bretwalda. There also existed Kings of Tara who did not rule all of Ireland but were recognised as holding positions of authority over the other kings. These two titles were not mutually exclusive and were often held by the same individual. Each of the kings of these kingdoms (titled or 'king of over-kings') was himself an over-king of several regional kings (titled or ), who in turn ruled over several , whose rulers held the title or . The territories and hierarchy of all of these constantly shifted as old dynasties died and new ones formed, and as lower kings took higher positions. Many of these survived as later Irish baronies. Several of the regional kings were at various points independent of their provincial over-king and indeed rivalled them in power and territory. was originally part of Connacht but much of it lay in what is today Ulster. It later split into East and West Bréifne. (Oriel) and (also known as the Northern Uí Néill, in contrast to the Southern Uí Néill who ruled ; or , both meaning "the North"; ; and Tyrone/) were nominally part of . (Ossory) was originally part of , but lay between and and was controlled by both at various points. Dál Riata was also an Irish (sub-)kingdom, which mostly lay in modern Argyll and Bute in Scotland but originated in and initially extended into north-eastern Ireland and was (nominally) subject to . In the 12th century Munster was split into two smaller over-kingdoms: (Desmond, literally South Munster) and (Thomond, literally North Munster). In addition to the Irish petty kingdoms, there was a Norse presence on the island from the 9th century. They conquered Dublin, where they established the Kingdom of