page_title: East Breifne
section_title: O'Reilly's money
hierarchical_section_title: East Breifne / Society / Commerce / O'Reilly's money
caption_attribution_description: English: Image of O'Reilly's Money
context_page_description: The Kingdom of East Breifne or Breifne O'Reilly was an historic kingdom of Ireland roughly corresponding to County Cavan that existed from 1256 to 1607. It took its present boundaries in 1579 when East Breifne was renamed Cavan, after Cavan town, and shired into Ulster. Originally part of the older Kingdom of Breifne, East Breifne came into existence following a protracted war between the ruling O'Rourke clan and the ascendant O'Reillys which culminated in the division of the kingdom in 1256. The Kingdom was ruled by the dynasty of the Ó Raghallaigh and lasted until the early 17th century.
context_section_description: Uniquely amongst the Irish kingdoms, where money was uncommonly used and bartering was the primary means of trade, the O'Reilly developed their own currency and minted their own coinage. This currency has been historically called "O'Reilly's money", or "Reillys", referring to the coins themselves. East Breifne was long considered the only Gaelic kingdom with its own currency and a developed centralized economy; however, it is today known that the economy of Tyrconnell was equally (if not more) elaborate. Nonetheless, the currency of the O'Reillys remains unmatched in Ireland in terms of circulation and existing examples.
  The coins were first minted following the introduction of English coins to Dublin by Henry IV in the early 15th century. The original East Breifnian coins, minted at Cavan, borrowed heavily from these in terms of design. As a result, East Breifne became notorious for harbouring coiners who would melt down English coins, which were made of pure silver, and coat base metal replica coins in said silver. The blame for the explicit destruction of English coins was placed on the O'Reillys. Two acts of Parliament in 1447 and 1456 outlawed the production and usage of "Reilly's silver" which at the time "increase[d] from one day to another". Given that the vast majority of counterfeit coins uncovered by archaeologists were found in the Cavan-Meath and Cavan-Fermanagh border area, its very likely that the O'Reilly kings condoned this practice, and possibly engaged in it. In the late 16th century it was revealed that Brian O'Rourke, king of neighboring West Breifne, had for decades paid unjust rent to the Governor of Connaught using counterfeit coins.
caption: "O'Reilly's money"
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