From kings to warlords

Brian was the last but one Ó Dubhda

O'Dowd

O'Dowd is an uncommon Irish surname. Many modern variants of the O'Dowd surname exist. The prefix has been widely retained, O'Dowd being more usual than Dowd. Other modern variants are Dawdy, Dowdy, O'Dowda and Dowds, with Doody and Duddy, found around Killarney, where a branch of the Connacht...

 till Owen Caech Ó Dubhda

Owen Caech Ó Dubhda

Owen Caech Ó Dubhda, Chief of the Name and Lord of Tireragh, died 1495.Owen Caech was the son of a Ruaidhrí Ó Dubhda, though probably not the man who died as king in 1380. The Annals of the Four Masters name him as Owen Caech, the son of Rory O'Dowda, Lord of Tireragh...

 (died 1495) to be mentioned in the annals. Tadhg Riabhach Ó Dubhda

Tadhg Riabhach Ó Dubhda

Tadhg Riabhach Ó Dubhda, King of Ui Fiachrach Muaidhe, died 1432.Tadhg Riabhach is the last Ó Dubhda expressly listed as King of Ui Fiachrach Muaidhe in any contemporary or near-contemporary document. Araile do fhlathaibh Ua nDubhda says of him:...

, the previous Ó Dubhda, was the last one referred to as a king of any territory. From the mid-15th century they were referred to as The Ó Dubhda, or Lord of Tireragh (now north-west County Sligo).

Succession

The succession to the chieftainship becomes obscured, with the main source for the next hundred years, Araile do fhlathaibh Ua nDubhda, listing the length of reigns of chiefs, rather than by year. Some of these chiefs were rulers in opposition to each other, and almost none are noted in the annals. The last one listed, Cathal Dubh mac Conchabhar Ó Dubhda, appears to have lived in the 1550s, by which time the family begin to appear regularly in Irish State Papers.

Annalistic reference

Brian is only referred to in the Annals of Ulster

Annals of Ulster

The Annals of Ulster are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years between AD 431 to AD 1540. The entries up to AD 1489 were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, under his patron Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne in the...

, which says of him:

• U1446.4: Brian Ua Dubda was slain by the Tir-Amhalghaidh.

External links

• http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005C/index.html