An Cónaidhm na dTuath Gaelach is an organization made up of independent tuatha who have chosen to come together for the purpose of furthering the Sinnsreachd movement. To oversee this work, a council of leadership was formed up of the initial four member tuatha, and has grown as more tuatha and dearbhfhinte have joined the organization. This council, an Comhairle Ríthe or the Council of Chieftains, is comprised of the ríthe, or chieftains, of each tuath. Therefore, the leadership of each member directly represents their families in the organization.
All business of ACTG is dealt with by an Comhairle Ríthe, with votes called for special matters or changes to ACTG policies or rules. There are two types of leaders that comprise an Comhairle Ríthe, the Taoiseach and the Rí. A Taoiseach is the elected leader of a dearbhfine, or extended family group that has not yet grown into a full-fledged multi-family tuath. Each taoiseach represents their fine, or kin-group, and has a single vote in an Comhairle Ríthe elections, but not in votes regarding ACTG policy changes. A Rí (Ríghan if female) is the elected leader of a tuath, a multi-family tribal entity that is a union of two or more finte. Each rí has a single vote in an Comhairle Ríthe elections, and shall have a single vote as a member of an Comhairle Ríthe in all ACTG business and policy changes.
An Comhairle Ríthe as a governing body expands as ACTG expands, and thus this list will be updated regularly. The following are basic biographies of the current members of an Comhairle Ríthe as of Samhain 2757 (October - January 2007 CE)-
An Comhairle Ríthe
Terri Carey
Terri is of Germano-Scottish descent, being from the Lunsford family on the Teutonic side and Ross on the Gaelic side. She traces her Ross-family roots back to two brothers who immigrated to Georgia from Scotland in the 19th century. She moved to Texas in 1980 where she would eventually go on to help found Clann na Fhaoil-Choin. Originally started as a Celtic pagan group founded by Jon Keyes, Terri and the other members of the group grew more focussed on creating a family-based Celtic tribe based in traditional Gaelic culture. Clann na Fhaoil-Choin became one of the first tuatha to identify as Sinnsreachd, and is credited with coining the term used to describe our way of life. It was one of the founding members of the Cáirdean Ceilteach Ameireaga, the first organization of Sinnsreachd tuatha, and was one of the founding tuatha of ACTG. Terri was elected to the position of Tanaisde, second to the righ in charge of the reformed tuath, and Jon Keyes became the righ. In time, Jon Keyes, swamped with his work as a film director, stepped down as righ and Terri was elected to replace him. In 2003, Terri gave birth to her first child, a lovely daughter that has kept her busy ever since.
Breandán Ó Ciarraí
Raised in Alaska by a variety of folks from the Ó Ciardha family, Breandán Ó Ciarraí learned a great deal about Gaelic familial customs from his kin. He learned about proper morals and ethics that are important to the Gael- courage, honour, integrity, independent spirit, and personal responsibility- as well as family customs from his mother. From others around him he learned the tales of the Gaelic people, and spent much of his childhood trying to learn all that he could about where his people had come from. Through his studies, and books such as Gods and Fighting Men, and The Hounds of the Morrigan, he learned of our Gods and Ancestors, albeit crudely, and found that these Gods and customs clicked. At an age where most children are virtually unaware of religion, he was making prayers to An Dagda, Danu, Lugh, and other Gods of the Gael. While he was not formally trained in the religious beliefs of the ancestors by his parents, by the age of ten he had fully embraced his first and only faith, that which would come to be known as Sinnsreachd.
Breandán founded what would become Tuath na Ciarraide with his siblings in 1989, and was elected rí in 1995 after completing a term in the Army. He has served as the chief of Tuath na Ciarraide ever since, and was one of the four founders of An Cónaidhm na dTuath Gaelach. In 1996 he founded the first tuath-based business, Medieval Antiquities (now Ancient Accents), and has since founded two more- Black Eagle Security Services and the research-and-development group Paladin Integrated Armour Technologies, both of which he runs full time. He has just recently completed a re-enlistment term for the National Guard and is engaged to be married.
Pádraig Mac Iain
Born in Australia and moving to Western Australia by age eleven, Pádraig comes to Sinnsreachd through one of the stranger roads of any of our leadership. Through his parents, he developed an interest in the occult at an early age, but rather than delve into it as a practice, he studied it from an objective perspective. Thus, while he learned a great deal about the occult, it never clicked as the faith of his heart. His interest in the occult combined with his interest in Gaelic culture, leading Pádraig through many incarnations from occultist to Asatruar to neo-druid, and eventually to Sinnsreachd where he became one of the founders of ACTG. Pádraig lives in Perth, Western Australia, and his was the first Australian Sinnsreachd tuath, Clann Eoghanachta.
Pádraig founded one of the first tuath-based businesses of ACTG, the band Nimheil, as well as a new record label, Uncomfortable Records. His interests in the occult, noir aesthetics, and traditional Gaelic culture and legend all influence his music, but the latter has been having an increasing influence in his recent songs. Pádraig works as an IT specialist as well as his musical projects, and is the father of a nine year old son who is being raised within the Sinnsreachd way to succeed his father.
Séan Máirtín
Born into a military family in Indiana, Seán Máirtín was raised without any specific culture or religion. However, early exposure to other cultures allowed Seán to appreciate the lack of one in his life. At an early age he became fascinated with Irish culture and customs, mostly due to the apparent coincidence of his naming. A voracious reader, he soon found that books dealing with the Gaelic ideals of family and honor struck a chord with him. Living in Kansas by his teens, Seán was firmly committed to the secular concepts, and was beginning to discover the Gods of the Gael. Firmly wedded to the Sinnsreachd way, he nevertheless held on to a devout skepticism until it took direct divine intervention for the much-needed belief to come to him.
He married in 1998, and shortly thereafter he and his wife began to look for a tuath in the Wichita area. Unable to locate a suitable group of families, Séan and his family, along with close friends, founded the Tuath na Gaoth Aneas in 2006, named so in honor of the Kaw nation which once held the land the fledgling tuath now inhabits. Seán was voted rí and is proud to serve his tuath and the greater community. He is currently an instructor of Computer Programming at a regional trade college and is married with four children.
Séan Ó Caermichel
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Dáire Hobbs
Born in Missouri, Dáire Hobbs moved to Virginia as a young boy. Unlike the traditional upbringing, he was raised from earliest memory to follow New Age practices. However, as a child his mother's newfound interest in Catholicism started him on a long journey to find a religion that truly called to him. Starting in adolescence and extending into his early thirties, his religious explorations ran the gamut from Christianity to neo-paganism, and virtually everything in between, but none of these faiths clicked. As his family and his desire for tradition and identity grew, his search led him closer and closer to a more culturally focused religious expression. The search eventually led him to Sinnsreachd and he felt the spiritual and cultural “click” that told him that he was finally home.
Dáire served almost ten years in the Army as a Radio and Cryptographic Equipment Repairer assigned to Karlsruhe, Germany and Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He now works for a major telecommunications company and is one of the ACTG’s web designers and IT volunteers. He is married and father of seven. His family began following Sinnsreachd in October 2005, officially becoming Dearbhfine Dáiraide in January 2007.
