Cathal mac Finguine
Encyclopedia
Cathal mac Finguine was an Irish
King of Munster
or Cashel
, and effectively High King of Ireland
as well. He belonged to the Eóganacht Glendamnach
sept of the dominant Eóganachta
kin-group whose members dominated Munster
from the 7th century to the 10th. His father, uncle, grandfather, and great-grandfather had also been kings of Cashel, so too were his son and grandson.
Cathal's conflict with the Uí Néill
kings, Fergal mac Máele Dúin
, Flaithbertach mac Loingsig
, and Áed Allán
, son of Fergal mac Máele Dúin, is reported at some length in the Irish annals
, and again northern and southern versions provide differing accounts. Cathal also appears as a character, not always portrayed sympathetically as in Aislinge Meic Con Glinne
where he is possessed by a demon of gluttony, in a number of prose
and verse
tales in the Middle Irish language.
Widely regarded as the most powerful Irish king of the first half of the 8th century, and the strongest (historical) king from Munster before Brian Bóruma, Cathal mac Finguine is believed to be the last king mentioned in the Baile Chuinn Chétchathaig
. The most expansionist historical Eóganacht king before him was Faílbe Flann mac Áedo Duib
(d. 639).
The Eóganachta kingship, which had its chief seat at Cashel
and chief church at Emly
, was the most powerful in the southern half of Ireland, while the various branches of the Uí Néill and Connachta
dominated the northern half. At this time the Uí Néill were striving to be the sole Kings of Tara
, with the succession generally alternating between the northern and southern branches of the Uí Néill, although the ancient ceremonial kingship had not long before been held by the Laigin
and Ulaid
, and more distantly the Dáirine
and Érainn. The kingship of Cashel, argued in early Munster sources, e.g. the Uraicecht Becc
, as actually the most powerful in Ireland, was founded in the middle of the 5th century by the descendants of Conall Corc
and Aimend
, the "inner circle" of the Eóganachta, who after a century and a half of able politicking had come to supersede the overlordship of the Corcu Loígde
in Munster.
For the century and a quarter until Cathal's death, the kingship of Cashel was dominated by the Eóganacht Chaisil
and Eóganacht Glendamnach
septs of the inner circle. The lands of the Glendamnach lay to the south-west of Cashel, in the middle valley of the Blackwater
. Cathal's father, Finguine mac Cathail
Con-cen-máthair(d.696), uncle, Ailill mac Cathail
(d. 701), grandfather, Cathal Cú-cen-máthair
(d. 665/666), and great-grandfather, Cathal mac Áedo
(d. 628), had been kings of Cashel.
Cathal's immediate predecessor was probably Cormac mac Ailello
of the Caisil sept, who was killed in battle against the Déisi
in 713. Eterscél mac Máele Umai
, who had been king and did not die until 721, had probably abdicated much earlier, so that Cathal was king at Cashel from around 713 onwards.
While the Uí Néill and Eóganachta were the most important kingships in Ireland, the kings of Leinster
and the kings of Connacht
were significant forces. Leinster, once a much larger region, the northern parts of which had been conquered by the Uí Néill, was the target of expansionist Uí Néill kings, and also of the Eóganachta. The contest for control of Leinster would play a major part in Cathal's reign, and indeed in relations between the Eóganachta and Uí Néill in the centuries which followed. The kings of Connacht claimed a common kinship with the Uí Néill, and were largely favourable towards them. The remaining provincial kingship, that of the kings of Ulster
, controlled a much smaller area than the later province of Ulster, largely confined to the lands north and east of Lough Neagh
, and was generally hostile to the Uí Néill. Finally, in the vast province of Munster itself there were several respectable but peripheral dynasties, such as the Uí Liatháin
(for whom see below), whose relationships with the Eóganachta were rather distant and ambiguous.
of the Uí Dúnlainge
, the king of Leinster, led his inaugural raid against Cashel. The first event to mention Cathal is in 721 when he and Murchad mac Brain attacked the lands of the southern Uí Néill. The Annals of Ulster report:"[t]he wasting of Mag Breg by Cathal son of Finnguine, and by Murchad son of Bran." Later that year, Fergal mac Máele Dúin
retaliated, not against Cathal and Munster, but against Murchad and Leinster. The Annals of Ulster report: "An invasion of the Laigin by Fergal, and the cattletribute was imposed and the hostages of the Laigin secured for Fergal son of Mael Dúin." That Fergal attacked Leinster in retaliation for the raid on Brega may mean that Cathal was, as Irwin notes, "the junior partner".
The Annals of Inisfallen
, as partisan a southern record as the Annals of Ulster are biased towards the Uí Néill, give a different and less reliable report of the events in 721:
Fergal led an Uí Néill army south into Leinster again in 722, but this time he was defeated and killed by the Leinstermen. This defeat was record in the Cath Almaine, a poem about the battle of Allen, fought on 11 December 722, the feast of Saint Finnian of Clonard
. Much of the work is devoted to the story of the faithful bard Donn Bó, but the introduction provides a late view of the war:
This truce, the poet tells, was broken by the Leinstermen:
of South Brega, whose nominal High Kingship was ended in 724 when he was killed fighting against his Síl nÁedo Sláine kinsman Cináed mac Írgalaid of North Brega, who became the new overking of the Uí Néill. Cináed retained the overlordship of the Uí Néill for less than four years, being killed in battle at Druim Corcain against the Cenél Conaill
king Flaithbertach mac Loingsig
, who took the overlordship of the Uí Néill. Flaithbertach himself reigned for only a few years before Áed Allán
of the Cenél nEógain
, son of Fergal mac Máele Dúin, fought him for the leadership of the Uí Néill, beginning in 732 and continuing through several battles until Flaithbertach abdicated and entered a monastery in 734.
With the Uí Néill kings no great threat during the reigns of Fogartach, Cináed and Flaithbertach, Cathal sought to extend his authority over Leinster. The Cath Almaine claims that the dispute arose because Fergal mac Máele Dúin had been killed in defiance of the truce he had made with Cathal.
Cathal was defeated by Áed mac Colggen
of the Uí Cheinnselaig
, then King of Leinster, in 731, and a second battle in 735 was an even greater defeat:
In 733 Cathal raided the lands of the Southern Uí Néill
, but was defeated and driven off from Tailtiu
by Domnall Midi
of Clann Cholmáin
. Cathal had more success against the neighbouring Clann Cholmáin Bicc, ruled by Fallomon mac Con Congalt
, whom he defeated at the Hill of Ward
. In 734 Cathal inflicted a defeat on the Leinstermen at Bealach Ele.
, probably neutral ground outwith the control of either king. Byrne says that it is unlikely that Cathal acknowledged Áed Allán's authority—the Uí Néill had little enough influence in the south—but if Cathal had expected some benefit from the meeting, where he perhaps acknowledged the ecclesiastical supremacy of Armagh
, he was to be disappointed. However, the clerics of Armagh may have been well satisfied as the Annals of Ulster, in the entry following that which reports the meeting of Cathal and Áed Allán, say that the law of Patrick
was in force in Ireland. The presumably means that they agreed to the special treatment of the church, its lands and its tenants, as prescribed by the law of Patrick.
a legend survives which compares her to the goddess of sovereignty. Mór was placed under an enchantment and lost her senses. She wandered Ireland for two years before she came to Cashel and the court of Fingen. Fingen eventually slept with her, and her memory returned. In the morning, Fingen gave her the Queen's robe and brooch, and put aside his current Queen, daughter of the king of the Deisi, and put Mór in her place as she was of better blood. The Metrical Dindshenchas say of Fingen mac Áedo and Mór:
When Fingen died, the story says, Mór Muman married Cathal mac Finguine. Unfortunately, the collector of this tale mistook this Cathal for his grandfather, Cathal mac Áedo Flaind. He may have married Mór Muman, but Cathal mac Finguine certainly did not.
, southern neighbors of Eóganacht Glendamnach. His mother, Gormgel, also appears to have been of the Uí Liatháin, but from a different branch.
Cathal's father was Finguine mac Cathail
, uncle Ailill mac Cathail
, grandfather Cathal Cú-cen-máthair
, and great-grandfather Cathal mac Áedo
. A son was Artrí mac Cathail
, and a grandson Tnúthgal mac Artrach
. With the exception of the last, all are reliably mentioned as kings of Cashel in the annals.
His living direct descendants, the later ruling dynasty of Eóganacht Glendamnach, descendants of Art Caemh, a great-grandson of Artrí mac Cathail, are the Ó Caiomh (O'Keeffes) of County Cork
.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
King of Munster
Kings of Munster
The name Munster is derived from the Gaelic God, Muman. The province of Munster was once divided into six regions: Tuadh Mhuman , Des Mhuman , Aur/Ur Mumhan , Iar mumhan or Iarmuman , Ernaibh Muman , and Deisi Muman...
or Cashel
Cashel, County Tipperary
Cashel is a town in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 2936 at the 2006 census. The town gives its name to the ecclesiastical province of Cashel. Additionally, the cathedra of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly was originally in the town prior to the English Reformation....
, and effectively High King of Ireland
High King of Ireland
The High Kings of Ireland were sometimes historical and sometimes legendary figures who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over the whole of Ireland. Medieval and early modern Irish literature portrays an almost unbroken sequence of High Kings, ruling from Tara over a hierarchy of...
as well. He belonged to the Eóganacht Glendamnach
Eóganacht Glendamnach
Eóganacht Glendamnach were a branch of the Eóganachta, the ruling dynasty of Munster during the 5th-10th centuries. They took their name from Glendamnach . They were descended from Óengus mac Nad Froích , the first Christian King of Munster through his son Eochaid mac Óengusa and grandson...
sept of the dominant Eóganachta
Eóganachta
The Eóganachta or Eoghanachta were an Irish dynasty centred around Cashel which dominated southern Ireland from the 6/7th to the 10th centuries, and following that, in a restricted form, the Kingdom of Desmond, and its offshoot Carbery, well into the 16th century...
kin-group whose members dominated Munster
Munster
Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...
from the 7th century to the 10th. His father, uncle, grandfather, and great-grandfather had also been kings of Cashel, so too were his son and grandson.
Cathal's conflict with the Uí Néill
Uí Néill
The Uí Néill are Irish and Scottish dynasties who claim descent from Niall Noigiallach , an historical King of Tara who died about 405....
kings, Fergal mac Máele Dúin
Fergal mac Máele Dúin
Fergal mac Máele Dúin was High King of Ireland. Fergal belonged to the Cenél nEógain sept of the northern Uí Néill. He was the son of Máel Dúin mac Máele Fithrich , a King of Ailech, and great grandson of the high king Áed Uaridnach...
, Flaithbertach mac Loingsig
Flaithbertach mac Loingsig
Flaithbertach mac Loingsig was a High King of Ireland. He was a member of the Cenél Conaill, a branch of the northern Uí Néill. He was the son of Loingsech mac Óengusso , a previous high king...
, and Áed Allán
Áed Allán
Áed Allán was an 8th century Irish king of Ailech and High King of Ireland. Áed Allán was the son of Fergal mac Máele Dúin and a member of the Cenél nEógain, a branch of the Northern Uí Néill....
, son of Fergal mac Máele Dúin, is reported at some length in the Irish annals
Irish annals
A number of Irish annals were compiled up to and shortly after the end of Gaelic Ireland in the 17th century.Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days...
, and again northern and southern versions provide differing accounts. Cathal also appears as a character, not always portrayed sympathetically as in Aislinge Meic Con Glinne
Aislinge Meic Con Glinne
Aislinge Meic Con Glinne is a Middle Irish tale of anonymous authorship, generally believed to have been written in the late 11th/early 12th century...
where he is possessed by a demon of gluttony, in a number of prose
Prose
Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...
and verse
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
tales in the Middle Irish language.
Widely regarded as the most powerful Irish king of the first half of the 8th century, and the strongest (historical) king from Munster before Brian Bóruma, Cathal mac Finguine is believed to be the last king mentioned in the Baile Chuinn Chétchathaig
Baile Chuinn Chétchathaig
Baile Chuind Chétchathaig is an Old Irish list of Kings of Tara or High Kings of Ireland which survives in two 16th century manuscripts, 23 N 10 and Egerton 88. It is the earliest such king-list known, probably dating from around 700 AD...
. The most expansionist historical Eóganacht king before him was Faílbe Flann mac Áedo Duib
Faílbe Flann mac Áedo Duib
Faílbe Flann mac Áedo Duib was a King of Munster from the Eóganacht Chaisil branch of the Eoganachta. He succeeded Cathal mac Áedo Flaind Chathrach of the Glendamnach branch in 628. He was the younger brother of a previous king Fíngen mac Áedo Duib...
(d. 639).
Background
Cashel, County Tipperary
Cashel is a town in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 2936 at the 2006 census. The town gives its name to the ecclesiastical province of Cashel. Additionally, the cathedra of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly was originally in the town prior to the English Reformation....
and chief church at Emly
Emly
Emly or Emlybeg is a village in South Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Clanwilliam. It is also an Ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly....
, was the most powerful in the southern half of Ireland, while the various branches of the Uí Néill and Connachta
Connachta
The Connachta are a group of medieval Irish dynasties who claimed descent from the legendary High King Conn Cétchathach...
dominated the northern half. At this time the Uí Néill were striving to be the sole Kings of Tara
Kings of Tara
The term King of Tara was a title of authority in ancient Ireland. The position was considered an eminent authority in medieval Irish literature and mythology, though national kingship was never a historical reality in early Ireland....
, with the succession generally alternating between the northern and southern branches of the Uí Néill, although the ancient ceremonial kingship had not long before been held by the Laigin
Laigin
The Laigin, modern spelling Laighin , were a population group of early Ireland who gave their name to the province of Leinster...
and Ulaid
Ulaid
The Ulaid or Ulaidh were a people of early Ireland who gave their name to the modern province of Ulster...
, and more distantly the Dáirine
Dáirine
The Dáirine , later known dynastically as the Corcu Loígde, were the proto-historical rulers of Munster before the rise of the Eóganachta in the 7th century AD. They appear to have derived from the Darini of Ptolemy and to have been related to the Ulaid and Dál Riata of Ulster and Scotland...
and Érainn. The kingship of Cashel, argued in early Munster sources, e.g. the Uraicecht Becc
Uraicecht Becc
Uraicecht Becc is an Old Irish legal tract on status. Of all status tracts, it has the greatest breadth in coverage, including not only commoners, kings, churchmen and poets, but also a variety of other professional groups, including judges. However, it does not go into as much detail for each...
, as actually the most powerful in Ireland, was founded in the middle of the 5th century by the descendants of Conall Corc
Conall Corc
Corc mac Luigthig, also called Conall Corc, Corc of Cashel, and Corc mac Láire, is the hero of Irish language tales which form part of the origin legend of the Eóganachta, a group of kindreds which traced their descent from Conall Corc and took their name from his ancestor Éogan Mór. The early...
and Aimend
Aimend
In Irish mythology and genealogy, Aimend is the daughter of Óengus Bolg, king of the Dáirine or Corcu Loígde. She marries Conall Corc, founder of the Eóganachta dynasties, and through him is an ancestor of the "inner circle" septs of Eóganacht Chaisil, Eóganacht Glendamnach, and Eóganacht Áine, who...
, the "inner circle" of the Eóganachta, who after a century and a half of able politicking had come to supersede the overlordship of the Corcu Loígde
Corcu Loígde
The Corcu Loígde , meaning Gens of the Calf Goddess, also called the Síl Lugdach meic Itha, were a kingdom centered in West County Cork who descended from the proto-historical rulers of Munster, the Dáirine, of whom they were the principal royal sept...
in Munster.
For the century and a quarter until Cathal's death, the kingship of Cashel was dominated by the Eóganacht Chaisil
Eóganacht Chaisil
Eóganacht Chaisil were a branch of the Eóganachta, the ruling dynasty of Munster during the 5th-10th centuries. They took their name from Cashel which was the capital of the early Christian kingdom of Munster...
and Eóganacht Glendamnach
Eóganacht Glendamnach
Eóganacht Glendamnach were a branch of the Eóganachta, the ruling dynasty of Munster during the 5th-10th centuries. They took their name from Glendamnach . They were descended from Óengus mac Nad Froích , the first Christian King of Munster through his son Eochaid mac Óengusa and grandson...
septs of the inner circle. The lands of the Glendamnach lay to the south-west of Cashel, in the middle valley of the Blackwater
Munster Blackwater
The Blackwater or Munster Blackwater is a river which flows through counties Kerry, Cork, and Waterford in Ireland. It rises in the Mullaghareirk Mountains in County Kerry and then flows in an easterly direction through County Cork, through Mallow and Fermoy...
. Cathal's father, Finguine mac Cathail
Finguine mac Cathail
Finguine mac Cathail Con-cen-máthair was a King of Munster from the Glendamnach branch of the Eoganachta. He was the son of Cathal Cú-cen-máthair mac Cathaíl . He succeeded Colgú mac Faílbe Flaind in 678....
Con-cen-máthair(d.696), uncle, Ailill mac Cathail
Ailill mac Cathail
Ailill mac Cathail Con-cen-máthair was a King of Munster from the Glendamnach branch of the Eoganachta. He was the son of Cathal Cú-cen-máthair mac Cathaíl and brother of his predecessor Finguine mac Cathail Con-cen-máthair Ailill mac Cathail Con-cen-máthair (died 701) was a King of Munster from...
(d. 701), grandfather, Cathal Cú-cen-máthair
Cathal Cú-cen-máthair
Cathal Cú-cen-máthair mac Cathaíl , often known as Cú-cen-máthair, was an Irish King of Munster from around 661 until his death. He was a son of Cathal mac Áedo Flaind Chathrach and belonged to the Glendamnach sept of the Eóganachta dynasty...
(d. 665/666), and great-grandfather, Cathal mac Áedo
Cathal mac Áedo
Cathal mac Áedo Flaind Chathrach was a King of Cashel in Munster from the Glendamnach sept of the Eoganachta. He was the son of Áed Fland Cathrach and grandson of Coirpre Cromm mac Crimthainn a previous king of Cashel...
(d. 628), had been kings of Cashel.
Cathal's immediate predecessor was probably Cormac mac Ailello
Cormac mac Ailello
Cormac mac Ailello was a king of Munster from the Eóganacht Chaisil branch of the Eoganachta and the Cenél Fíngin sept of this branch. He was the grandson of Máenach mac Fíngin a previous king. He succeeded Eterscél mac Máele Umai in 702 who had abdicated.The annals report that Cormac fought...
of the Caisil sept, who was killed in battle against the Déisi
Déisi
The Déisi were a class of peoples in ancient and medieval Ireland. The term is Old Irish, and derives from the word déis, meaning "vassal" or "subject"; in its original sense, it designated groups who were vassals or rent-payers to a landowner. Later, it became a proper name for certain septs and...
in 713. Eterscél mac Máele Umai
Eterscél mac Máele Umai
Eterscél mac Máele Umai was a king of Munster from the Eóganacht Áine branch of the Eóganachta. He was the grandson of Cúán mac Amalgado , a previous king....
, who had been king and did not die until 721, had probably abdicated much earlier, so that Cathal was king at Cashel from around 713 onwards.
While the Uí Néill and Eóganachta were the most important kingships in Ireland, the kings of Leinster
Kings of Leinster
The following is a provisional list of the kings of Leinster who ruled the Irish kingdom of Leinster up to 1632 with the death of Domhnall Spainnach MacMurrough-Kavanagh, the last legitimately inaugurated head of the MacMurrough Kavanagh royal line...
and the kings of Connacht
Kings of Connacht
The Kings of Connacht were rulers of the cóiced of Connacht, which lies west of the River Shannon, Ireland. However, the name only became applied to it in the early medieval era, being named after The Connachta.The old name for the province was Cóiced Ol nEchmacht . Ptolemy's map of c. 150 AD...
were significant forces. Leinster, once a much larger region, the northern parts of which had been conquered by the Uí Néill, was the target of expansionist Uí Néill kings, and also of the Eóganachta. The contest for control of Leinster would play a major part in Cathal's reign, and indeed in relations between the Eóganachta and Uí Néill in the centuries which followed. The kings of Connacht claimed a common kinship with the Uí Néill, and were largely favourable towards them. The remaining provincial kingship, that of the kings of Ulster
Kings of Ulster
The Kings of Ulster were of the Ulaid, and up till about AD 450, ruled as over-kings of the ancient cóiced of Ulster. Ptolemy's map shows them as the Voluntii and adjacent Darini. They were joined in the kingship by the later attested Cruithne...
, controlled a much smaller area than the later province of Ulster, largely confined to the lands north and east of Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh, sometimes Loch Neagh, is a large freshwater lake in Northern Ireland. Its name comes .-Geography:With an area of , it is the largest lake in the British Isles and ranks among the forty largest lakes of Europe. Located twenty miles to the west of Belfast, it is approximately twenty...
, and was generally hostile to the Uí Néill. Finally, in the vast province of Munster itself there were several respectable but peripheral dynasties, such as the Uí Liatháin
Uí Liatháin
The Uí Liatháin were an early kingdom of Munster in southern Ireland. They belonged the same kindred as the Uí Fidgenti, and the two are considered together in the earliest sources, for example The Expulsion of the Déisi...
(for whom see below), whose relationships with the Eóganachta were rather distant and ambiguous.
Early reign
The earliest record concerning Cathal, although it does not explicitly name him, is in 715 when Murchad mac Brain MutMurchad mac Brain Mut
Murchad mac Brain Mut was a King of Leinster from the Uí Dúnlainge branch of the Laigin. He was the son of Bran Mut mac Conaill , a previous king. He ruled from 715 to 727.- His reign :...
of the Uí Dúnlainge
Uí Dúnlainge
The Uí Dúnlainge, from the Old Irish "grandsons of Dúnlaing", were an Irish dynasty of Leinster kings who traced their descent from Dúnlaing mac Énda Niada. He was said to be a cousin of Énnae Cennsalach, eponymous ancestor of the rival Uí Chennselaig....
, the king of Leinster, led his inaugural raid against Cashel. The first event to mention Cathal is in 721 when he and Murchad mac Brain attacked the lands of the southern Uí Néill. The Annals of Ulster report:"[t]he wasting of Mag Breg by Cathal son of Finnguine, and by Murchad son of Bran." Later that year, Fergal mac Máele Dúin
Fergal mac Máele Dúin
Fergal mac Máele Dúin was High King of Ireland. Fergal belonged to the Cenél nEógain sept of the northern Uí Néill. He was the son of Máel Dúin mac Máele Fithrich , a King of Ailech, and great grandson of the high king Áed Uaridnach...
retaliated, not against Cathal and Munster, but against Murchad and Leinster. The Annals of Ulster report: "An invasion of the Laigin by Fergal, and the cattletribute was imposed and the hostages of the Laigin secured for Fergal son of Mael Dúin." That Fergal attacked Leinster in retaliation for the raid on Brega may mean that Cathal was, as Irwin notes, "the junior partner".
The Annals of Inisfallen
Annals of Inisfallen
The Annals of Inisfallen are a chronicle of the medieval history of Ireland. There are more than 2,500 entries spanning the years between AD 433 and AD 1450, but it is believed to have been written between the 12th and 15th centuries...
, as partisan a southern record as the Annals of Ulster are biased towards the Uí Néill, give a different and less reliable report of the events in 721:
The harrying of Brega by Cathal son of Finnguine, king of Mumu, and after that he and Ferga son of Mael Dúin, king of Temuir [Tara], made peace; and Ferga submitted to Cathal. For these were the five kings of the Munstermen who ruled Ireland after the [introduction of the] Faith, viz. Aengus son of Nad FraíchÓengus mac Nad FroíchÓengus mac Nad Froích was an Eoganachta and the first Christian king of Munster. He was the son of Nad Froich mac Cuirc by Faochan, a British lady...
, and his son, i.e. Eochaid who ruled Ireland for seventeen years, and Cathal, son of Finnguine, and Feidlimid, son of Crimthann, and Brian, son of CennétigBrian BoruBrian Bóruma mac Cennétig, , , was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill. Building on the achievements of his father, Cennétig mac Lorcain, and especially his elder brother, Mathgamain, Brian first made himself King of Munster, then subjugated...
.
Fergal led an Uí Néill army south into Leinster again in 722, but this time he was defeated and killed by the Leinstermen. This defeat was record in the Cath Almaine, a poem about the battle of Allen, fought on 11 December 722, the feast of Saint Finnian of Clonard
Finnian of Clonard
Saint Finnian of Clonard , or Finian, 'Fionán' or 'Fionnán' in Irish, was one of the early Irish monastic saints, who founded Clonard Abbey in modern-day County Meath. The Twelve Apostles of Ireland studied under him...
. Much of the work is devoted to the story of the faithful bard Donn Bó, but the introduction provides a late view of the war:
For a long time there was great warfare between Cathal son of Findguine, king of Leth Mogha, and Fergal son of Máel Duin, king of Leth Cuinn. Fergal son of Mael Duin raided Leinster in order to injure Cathal son of Findguine; so Cathal son of Findguine wasted the whole of Magh Bregh [the plain of Brega], until they made peace and truce.
This truce, the poet tells, was broken by the Leinstermen:
The Leinstermen had delivered this battle of Allen in the absence of Cathal mac Finguini, and Cathal was grieved that the battle was fought while he himself was away. They heard of Cathal's grudge against them, so this was the counsel they framed, to carry to Cathal Fergal's head as a trophy of the action.
Cathal and Flaithbertach mac Loingsig
On the death of Fergal, the Uí Néill kingship of Tara passed to Fogartach mac Néill of the Síl nÁedo SláineSíl nÁedo Sláine
Síl nÁedo Sláine is the name of the descendants of Áed Sláine , son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Part of the Southern Uí Néill—they were the kings of Brega—they claimed descent from Niall Noígiallach and his son Conall Cremthainne....
of South Brega, whose nominal High Kingship was ended in 724 when he was killed fighting against his Síl nÁedo Sláine kinsman Cináed mac Írgalaid of North Brega, who became the new overking of the Uí Néill. Cináed retained the overlordship of the Uí Néill for less than four years, being killed in battle at Druim Corcain against the Cenél Conaill
Cenél Conaill
The Cenél Conaill is the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Conall Gulban, son of Niall Noígiallach defined by oral and recorded history. They were also known in Scotland as the Kindred of Saint Columba....
king Flaithbertach mac Loingsig
Flaithbertach mac Loingsig
Flaithbertach mac Loingsig was a High King of Ireland. He was a member of the Cenél Conaill, a branch of the northern Uí Néill. He was the son of Loingsech mac Óengusso , a previous high king...
, who took the overlordship of the Uí Néill. Flaithbertach himself reigned for only a few years before Áed Allán
Áed Allán
Áed Allán was an 8th century Irish king of Ailech and High King of Ireland. Áed Allán was the son of Fergal mac Máele Dúin and a member of the Cenél nEógain, a branch of the Northern Uí Néill....
of the Cenél nEógain
Cenél nEógain
Cenél nEóġain is the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Eógan mac Néill , son of Niall Noígiallach who founded the kingdom of Tír Eoghain in the 5th century...
, son of Fergal mac Máele Dúin, fought him for the leadership of the Uí Néill, beginning in 732 and continuing through several battles until Flaithbertach abdicated and entered a monastery in 734.
With the Uí Néill kings no great threat during the reigns of Fogartach, Cináed and Flaithbertach, Cathal sought to extend his authority over Leinster. The Cath Almaine claims that the dispute arose because Fergal mac Máele Dúin had been killed in defiance of the truce he had made with Cathal.
Cathal was defeated by Áed mac Colggen
Áed mac Colggen
Áed mac Colggen was a king of the Uí Cheinnselaig of Leinster. Some sources incorrectly make him joint king of Leinster with Bran Becc mac Murchado, but it appears that Áed was main ruler of Leinster in 738 His father Colcú mac Bressail was called king of Ard Ladrann at his death obit in the...
of the Uí Cheinnselaig
Uí Cheinnselaig
The Uí Ceinnselaig , from the Old Irish "grandsons of Cennsalach", are an Irish dynasty of Leinster who trace their descent from Énnae Cennsalach, a supposed contemporary of Niall of the Nine Hostages...
, then King of Leinster, in 731, and a second battle in 735 was an even greater defeat:
A battle between Mumu and Laigin, in which many of the Laigin and well nigh countless Munstermen perished; Cellach son of Faelchar, king of OsraigeKings of OsraigeThe Kings of Osraige reigned over Osraige, which was largely a buffer state between Leinster and Munster, in Ireland. Its southern border were the Suir and Barrow rivers, though it originally extended to the sea and its rulers had some influence over the Norse kings of Waterford...
, fell therein, but Cathal son of Finnguine, king of Mumu, escaped.
In 733 Cathal raided the lands of the Southern Uí Néill
Southern Uí Néill
The Southern Uí Néill or Uí Néill Deisceart were that branch of the Uí Néill dynasty that invaded and settled in the Kingdom of Mide and its associated kingdoms....
, but was defeated and driven off from Tailtiu
Tailtiu
Tailtiu or Tailltiu is the name of a presumed goddess from Irish mythology. Telltown in County Meath, was named for her.-In Irish mythology:...
by Domnall Midi
Domnall Midi
Domhnall Mac Murchada , called Domnall Midi , was High King of Ireland. He belonged to the Clann Cholmáin branch of the Uí Néill...
of Clann Cholmáin
Clann Cholmáin
Clann Cholmáin is the name of the dynasty descended from Colmán Mór , son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Part of the Southern Uí Néill — they were the kings of Mide — they traced their descent to Niall Noígiallach and his son Conall Cremthainne.Related dynasties descended through Conall...
. Cathal had more success against the neighbouring Clann Cholmáin Bicc, ruled by Fallomon mac Con Congalt
Fallomon mac Con Congalt
Fallomon mac Con Congalt , also written Follaman mac Con Congelt, was King of Mide, a kingdom of the Uí Néill in central Ireland in modern County Westmeath and County Meath.-Background:...
, whom he defeated at the Hill of Ward
Hill of Ward
The Hill of Ward, also known as the Hill of Tlachtga, is a hill in County Meath, Ireland. During medieval times it was the site of great festivals, including one at which winter fires were lit at Samhain, the precursor of the modern Halloween...
. In 734 Cathal inflicted a defeat on the Leinstermen at Bealach Ele.
Cathal and Áed Allán
In 737, Áed Allán met with Cathal at TerryglassTerryglass
Terryglass is a village in North Tipperary, Ireland. The village is located on the R493 regional road on the north-eastern shore of Lough Derg near where the River Shannon enters the Lough. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Ormond Lower. It is also an Ecclesiastical parish in the...
, probably neutral ground outwith the control of either king. Byrne says that it is unlikely that Cathal acknowledged Áed Allán's authority—the Uí Néill had little enough influence in the south—but if Cathal had expected some benefit from the meeting, where he perhaps acknowledged the ecclesiastical supremacy of Armagh
Armagh
Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...
, he was to be disappointed. However, the clerics of Armagh may have been well satisfied as the Annals of Ulster, in the entry following that which reports the meeting of Cathal and Áed Allán, say that the law of Patrick
Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick was a Romano-Briton and Christian missionary, who is the most generally recognized patron saint of Ireland or the Apostle of Ireland, although Brigid of Kildare and Colmcille are also formally patron saints....
was in force in Ireland. The presumably means that they agreed to the special treatment of the church, its lands and its tenants, as prescribed by the law of Patrick.
Mór Muman
Of Mór MumanMór Muman
Mór Muman , also written Mór Mumhan or Mór Mumain, is stated to have been a daughter of Áed Bennán, sometime King of Munster, but may in fact represent a euhemerised sovereignty goddess, particularly associated with the Eóganachta.The Irish language tale Mór Muman 7 Aided Cuanach meic Ailchine Mór...
a legend survives which compares her to the goddess of sovereignty. Mór was placed under an enchantment and lost her senses. She wandered Ireland for two years before she came to Cashel and the court of Fingen. Fingen eventually slept with her, and her memory returned. In the morning, Fingen gave her the Queen's robe and brooch, and put aside his current Queen, daughter of the king of the Deisi, and put Mór in her place as she was of better blood. The Metrical Dindshenchas say of Fingen mac Áedo and Mór:
Best of the women of Inis Fail
is Mór daughter of Áed Bennan.
Better is Fingen than any hero
that drives about Femen.
When Fingen died, the story says, Mór Muman married Cathal mac Finguine. Unfortunately, the collector of this tale mistook this Cathal for his grandfather, Cathal mac Áedo Flaind. He may have married Mór Muman, but Cathal mac Finguine certainly did not.
Family and descendants
The historical wife of Cathal was the celebrated Caillech, a princess of the Uí LiatháinUí Liatháin
The Uí Liatháin were an early kingdom of Munster in southern Ireland. They belonged the same kindred as the Uí Fidgenti, and the two are considered together in the earliest sources, for example The Expulsion of the Déisi...
, southern neighbors of Eóganacht Glendamnach. His mother, Gormgel, also appears to have been of the Uí Liatháin, but from a different branch.
Cathal's father was Finguine mac Cathail
Finguine mac Cathail
Finguine mac Cathail Con-cen-máthair was a King of Munster from the Glendamnach branch of the Eoganachta. He was the son of Cathal Cú-cen-máthair mac Cathaíl . He succeeded Colgú mac Faílbe Flaind in 678....
, uncle Ailill mac Cathail
Ailill mac Cathail
Ailill mac Cathail Con-cen-máthair was a King of Munster from the Glendamnach branch of the Eoganachta. He was the son of Cathal Cú-cen-máthair mac Cathaíl and brother of his predecessor Finguine mac Cathail Con-cen-máthair Ailill mac Cathail Con-cen-máthair (died 701) was a King of Munster from...
, grandfather Cathal Cú-cen-máthair
Cathal Cú-cen-máthair
Cathal Cú-cen-máthair mac Cathaíl , often known as Cú-cen-máthair, was an Irish King of Munster from around 661 until his death. He was a son of Cathal mac Áedo Flaind Chathrach and belonged to the Glendamnach sept of the Eóganachta dynasty...
, and great-grandfather Cathal mac Áedo
Cathal mac Áedo
Cathal mac Áedo Flaind Chathrach was a King of Cashel in Munster from the Glendamnach sept of the Eoganachta. He was the son of Áed Fland Cathrach and grandson of Coirpre Cromm mac Crimthainn a previous king of Cashel...
. A son was Artrí mac Cathail
Artrí mac Cathail
Artrí mac Cathail was a King of Munster from the Glendamnach branch of the Eoganachta. He was the son of Cathal mac Finguine , a previous king. He reigned from 793 to 820....
, and a grandson Tnúthgal mac Artrach
Tnúthgal mac Artrach
Tnúthgal mac Artrach or Tuathal mac Artroig was a supposed King of Munster from the Glendamnach branch of the Eoganachta. He was the son of Artrí mac Cathail , also King of Munster....
. With the exception of the last, all are reliably mentioned as kings of Cashel in the annals.
His living direct descendants, the later ruling dynasty of Eóganacht Glendamnach, descendants of Art Caemh, a great-grandson of Artrí mac Cathail, are the Ó Caiomh (O'Keeffes) of County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
.
External links
- CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at University College Cork The Corpus of Electronic Texts includes the Annals of Ulster and the Four Masters, the Chronicon Scotorum and the Book of Leinster as well as Genealogies, the Metrical Dindshenchas and various Saints' Lives. Most are translated into English, or translations are in progress.
- The Battle of Allen trans. Whitley Stokes (Irish texts at CELT)
- The Vision of Mac Con Glinne trans. Kuno MeyerKuno MeyerKuno Meyer was a German scholar, distinguished in the field of Celtic philology and literature. His pro-German stance at the start of World War I while traveling in the United States was a source of controversy.-Biography:...
(Irish text at CELT)