Editing County Laois (section)

===Prehistoric===
The first people in Laois were bands of hunters and gatherers who passed through the county about 8,500 years ago{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}. They hunted in the forests that covered Laois and fished in its rivers, gathering nuts and berries to supplement their diets.<!-- They must have done more than pass through. Where did they come from? where did they go? -->

Next came Ireland's first farmers. These people of the Neolithic period (4000 to 2500 BC) cleared forests and planted crops. Their burial mounds remain in [[Clonaslee]] and Cuffsborough.

Starting around 2500 BC, the people of the Bronze Age lived in Laois. They produced weapons, tools, and golden objects. Visitors to the county can see a [[stone circle]] they left behind at Monamonry, as well as the remains of their hill forts at Clopook and Monelly. Skirk, near [[Borris-in-Ossory]], has a Bronze Age standing stone and ring fort. The body of [[Cashel Man]] indicates that ritual killing took place around 2000 BC.

The next stage is known as the pre-Christian Celtic Iron Age. For the first time, iron appeared in Ireland, showing up in the weapons used by factions who fought bloody battles for control of the land. At Ballydavis, archaeologists have discovered [[ring barrows]] that date from this time period.

The county name derives from [[Loígis]], of which the modern county is only a part. In the 11th century, its dynastic rulers adopted the surname Ua/Ó Mórdha. They claimed descent from a member of the [[Red Branch Knights]].

By the first century AD, the western third of Laois was part of the [[Kingdom of Ossory]]. The eastern part was roughly divided into seven parts, which were ruled by the Seven [[Sept]]s of [[Loígis]]:Ua/Ó Mórdha (O'More,O'Moore), O'Lalor, O'Doran, O'Dowling, O'Devoy (O'Deevy), O'Kelly and McEvoy.
[[File:Ireland900.png|thumb|Map of Ireland around 900 AD. The western third of Laois was part of the [[Kingdom of Osraige]].]]