archchief

plural archchiefs · alternative arch-chief

1. rareA supreme, primary leader of any organization.

   Upon the division of ancient Meath into counties and baronies this country of the Foxes was placed in the King's County and called the barony of Kilcoursey. The Foxes I were originally the archchiefs of all the Teffia, and subject only to O Maoileachlainn, who was king of Clann Cholmàin.

   1957, Paul Walsh, The Placenames of Westmeath, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, page 90

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   The inhabitants bore the generic name of Kinel-Owen, and had at this period branched off into various families, who were all tributary to one archchief, who was sometimes of the family of MacLoughlin, sometimes of that of O’Neill, and, in one or two instances, of that of O'Flaherty, now Laverty, descended from Aedh Allan, who was one of the sixteen monarchs of the Kinel-Owen race.

   1848, United States National Transportation Safety Board, The Gentleman's Magazine 1848-10: Volume 30, Open Court Publishing Company, page 52

   In the fourth century the southern half of this territory of Teffia was granted by the Monarch Niall of the Nine Hostages, to his son Maine, from whom it is sometimes, but not frequently, called Tir-Maine of Meath, and among whose descendants it was afterwards subdivided into petty territories, the lords of which were tributary to the archchief, who was looked upon as the representative of Maine, though not always of the senior branch of his descendants. North Teffia was divided from South Teffia by the River Eithne, now the Inny, and was granted in the fourth century to Carbry, the brother of Maine.

   1856, Michael O'Clery, Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland, Hodges, Smith and Company, page 156