Coirpre mac Néill - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Coirpre mac Néill. , also Cairbre or Cairpre, was said to be a son of Niall of the Nine Hostages

Niall of the Nine Hostages

Niall Noígíallach , or in English, Niall of the Nine Hostages, son of Eochaid Mugmedón, was an Irish king, the eponymous ancestor of the Uí Néill kindred who dominated Ireland from the 6th century to the 10th century...

. Coirpre was perhaps the leader of the conquests that established the southern 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....

in the midlands of Ireland

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...

. The record of 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...

suggests that Coirpre's successes were reattributed to Muirchertach Macc Ercae. Coirpre is portrayed as an enemy of Saint 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....

in Bishop Tirechán

Tírechán

Tírechán was a 7th century Irish bishop and biographer of Saint Patrick. Tírechán wrote his untitled memoir sometime after the death of his mentor, Ultan of Ardbraccan, in 657. The work survives in the manuscript The Book of Armagh.Tírechán's account, which J. B...

's hagiography

Hagiography

Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...

and his descendants are said to have been cursed by Patrick so that none would be 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...

. Coirpre is excluded from most lists of High Kings, but included in the earliest.

In later times Coirpre's descendants, the Cenél Coirpri, ruled over three small kingdoms—on Donegal Bay

Donegal Bay

Donegal Bay is an inlet in the northwest of Ireland. Three counties – Donegal to the north and west, Leitrim and Sligo to the south – have shorelines on the bay, which is bounded on the west by the Atlantic Ocean...

, in modern County Longford

County Longford

County Longford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford.Longford County Council is the local authority for the county...

and at the headwaters of the River Boyne

River Boyne

The River Boyne is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newbury Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows towards the Northeast through County Meath to reach the Irish Sea between Mornington, County Meath and Baltray, County Louth. Salmon...

—which may be the remains of a once much larger kingdom stretching 100 miles (160 kilometres) from Donegal Bay to the Boyne.

Sons of Conn, grandsons of Niall

The Uí Néill—the grandsons, or descendants, of Niall of the Nine Hostages—dominated the northern half of Ireland from the 7th century, and perhaps earlier. The various Uí Néill kingdoms, their allies, client kingdoms and subject tribes, comprised most of the province

Provinces of Ireland

Ireland has historically been divided into four provinces: Leinster, Ulster, Munster and Connacht. The Irish word for this territorial division, cúige, literally meaning "fifth part", indicates that there were once five; the fifth province, Meath, was incorporated into Leinster, with parts going to...

of Ulster

Ulster

Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. 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...

, all of Connacht

Connacht

Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west 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...

, and a large part of Leinster

Leinster

Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...

. Elaborate genealogies showed the descent of the various Uí Néill, while allies and favoured clients descended from Niall's brothers or other kinsmen. Along with the dominant southern kindred, the 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...

of 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...

, all these were members of the Connachta

Connachta

The Connachta are a group of medieval Irish dynasties who claimed descent from the legendary High King Conn Cétchathach...

, the descendants of Conn of the Hundred Battles

Conn of the Hundred Battles

Conn Cétchathach , son of Fedlimid Rechtmar, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland, and the ancestor of the Connachta, and, through his descendant Niall Noígiallach, the Uí Néill dynasties, which dominated Ireland in the early middle ages, and...

. However, since Uí Néill means grandsons of Niall, the Uí Néill cannot have existed before the time of Niall's grandsons, towards the middle of the 6th century.

Medieval genealogists provided Niall with a large number of sons, some of very doubtful historicity. Maine

Maine of Tethba

Maine of Tethba or Maine mac Néill was a supposed son of Niall Noigiallach. His existence is very doubtful. Writing of him in 1973, Irish historian Francis John Byrne stated his belief that:...

, ancestor of the Cenél Maini is generally presumed to be a late addition. The dates claimed for Lóegaire mac Néill

Lóegaire mac Néill

Lóegaire , also Lóeguire, is said to have been a son of Niall of the Nine Hostages. The Irish annals and king lists include him as a King of Tara or High King of Ireland. He appears as an adversary of Saint Patrick in several hagiographies...

, "great pagan Emperor of the Irish" and adversary of Saint Patrick in Muirchiu and Tirechán's 7th century lives, may make him an unlikely son of Niall. Diarmait mac Cerbaill

Diarmait mac Cerbaill

Diarmait mac Cerbaill was King of Tara or High King of Ireland. According to traditions, he was the last High King to follow the pagan rituals of inauguration, the ban-feis or marriage to goddess of the land....

, apical ancestor of the Síl nÁedo Sláine

Síl 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....

and 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...

, the leading southern branches of the Uí Néill, is presented in the genealogies as the grandson of Niall's son Conall Cremthainne

Conall Cremthainne

Conall Cremthainne , also called Conall Err Breg, was an Irish king. He was the son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, and one of the progenitors of the Uí Néill dynasty....

, but this is doubtful. As for Coirpre, he is called a son of Niall in one of the earliest surviving sources, Tirechán's life of Saint Patrick.

Conquests

Medieval Irish traditions claimed that the lands of the Uí Néill were conquered by Niall of the Nine Hostages and his sons, together with their allies. Coirpre may have led some of the earliest recorded Uí Néill conquests in the midlands. The annals appear to show that a number of victories, by Coirpre and others, or by persons unnamed, were later attributed to Macc Ercae, or to Muirchertach mac Muiredaig

Muirchertach mac Muiredaig

Muirchertach mac Muiredaig , called Mac Ercae, Muirchertach Macc Ercae and Muirchertach mac Ercae, was said to be High King of Ireland. The Irish annals contain little reliable information on his life, and the surviving record shows signs of retrospective modification...

, who may be the same person.

From north-west to south-east, there were two kingdoms named for Coirpre mac Néill in early historical times. These were Cenél Coirpi Dromma Clíab, north of Sligo

Sligo

Sligo is the county town of County Sligo in Ireland. The town is a borough and has a charter and a town mayor. It is sometimes referred to as a city, and sometimes as a town, and is the second largest urban area in Connacht...

on Donegal Bay, and Cenél Coirpri Mór, the northern half of Tethbae

Tethbae

Tethbae, also Tethba and other variants, and often anglicized Teffia, was a region of Ireland in the Middle Ages. It was divided into two distinct kingdoms, north Tethba, ruled by the Cenél Coirpri, and south Tethba, ruled by the Cenél Maini...

around Granard

Granard

Granard is a town in the north of County Longford, Ireland and has a traceable history going back to 236 A.D.. It is situated just south of the boundary between the watersheds of the Shannon and the Erne, at the point where the N55 national secondary road and the R194 regional road...

in modern County Longford

County Longford

. This alignment of territories may suggest that the kingdom of Coirpre and its satellites once extended over 100 miles across Ireland. A third Cenél Coirpri, the region around Carbury

Carbury

Carbury , also formerly spelt "Carbery", is a village in north-west County Kildare, Ireland. It is situated in the on the R402 regional road between Enfield and Edenderry, near the border with County Offaly...

and the headwaters of the River Boyne

River Boyne

in the north-west of County Kildare

County Kildare

County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...

, is of much later origins.

In a year given as 485, Coirpre was credited with a victory at Grainert, perhaps modern Granard, where the chief church of Cenél Coirpri Mór of Tethbae was in later times. In the addition, which notes that the battle was won by "Mac Ercae as some say," the annal adds that Fincath mac Garrchu

Fincath mac Garrchu

Fincath mac Garrchu was a king of Leinster. He was a member of the Dál Messin Corb dynasty's principal sub-sept, the Uí Garrchon. He was the son of the founder of this sept Garrchú mac Fothaid....

of the Dál Messin Corb, perhaps king of Leinster, was killed there. A second battle at Grainert is recorded under the year 495, repeated under 497, and here Fincath's son Fráech

Fráech mac Finchada

Fráech mac Finchada or Fróech mac Findchado was a king of Leinster. Fráech was a member of the Dál Messin Corb dynasty's principal sub-sept, the Uí Garrchon. He succeeded his father, Fincath mac Garrchu, . He ruled from 485 to 495....

is said to have been killed by Coirpre's son Eochu.

Under the year 494, duplicated under 496, the annals record a victory by Coirpre over the Leinstermen at 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:...

, in later times site of an important óenach

Óenach

The Óenach, usually translated fair or assembly, was an annual gathering in Ireland which combined features of the popular assembly and fair. As well as the entertainment, the óenach was an occasion on which kings and notables met under truce and where laws were pronounced and confirmed.The most...

, the óenach Tailten. Two further victories are reported, one under 497 at Slemain of Mide, probably near modern Mullingar

Mullingar

Mullingar is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act of 1542, proclaimed Westmeath a county, separating it from Meath. Mullingar became the administrative centre for County Westmeath...

, County Westmeath

County Westmeath

-Economy:Westmeath has a strong agricultural economy. Initially, development occurred around the major market centres of Mullingar, Moate, and Kinnegad. Athlone developed due to its military significance, and its strategic location on the main Dublin–Galway route across the River Shannon. Mullingar...

, and one under 499, at Cend Ailbe, perhaps somewhere in modern County Carlow

County Carlow

County Carlow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Carlow, which lies on the River Barrow. Carlow County Council is the local authority for the county...

.

Cenél Coirpre were associated with both Tailtiu and Granard in the earliest writings, but there is nothing in the annals to explain the link with Carbury. While the annals cannot be relied upon at such an early date, the core of their account, a war between Coirpre and his sons and Fincath and his sons, as well as the association with Tailtiu and Granard, while a tradition, is likely to be an one. Byrne

Francis John Byrne

Francis John Byrne is an Irish historian.Born in Shanghai where his father, a Dundalk man, captained a ship on the Yellow River, Byrne was evacuated with his mother to Australia on the outbreak of World War II...

, however, raises a note of caution: "It is true, however, that the names of Coirpre, Fiachu, Maine and Lóegaire continue to be used in later centuries simply to denote the kingdoms or dynasties descended from those sons of Niall, just as we find the names Benjamin

Benjamin

Benjamin was the last-born of Jacob's twelve sons, and the second and last son of Rachel in Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Benjamin. In the Biblical account, unlike Rachel's first son, Joseph, Benjamin was born in Canaan. He died in Egypt on...

, Dan

Dan (Biblical figure)

According to the Book of Genesis, Dan was the fifth son of Jacob with Bilhah. He was Bilhah's first son. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Dan. In the biblical account, Dan's mother is described as Rachel's handmaid, who becomes one of Jacob's wives...

or Juda similarly used in the Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

...".

Rewriting history

Late writings of doubtful reliability say that Coirpre's mother was Rígnach ingen Meadaib. His son Eochu appears in the annals, but not in the most comprehensive genealogical collection. Another son, Cormac, is said to be Túathal Máelgarb

Tuathal Maelgarb

Túathal mac Cormaic , called Túathal Máelgarb, was said to be a grandson of Coirpre mac Néill. He was High King of Ireland. In the earliest accounts he appears to have been regarded as the man who completed the conquest of what would later be Brega for the descendants of Niall of the Nine...

's father Cormac Cáech, although Tiréchan's account of Saint Patrick cursing Coirpre's descendants may make this a late addition. A third son, Cal, is a spurious late addition.

Apart from Coirpre himself and his putative grandson Túathal Máelgarb, no king of Cenél Coirpri is included in later lists of High Kings of Ireland. Later kings of Cenél Coirpri are mentioned 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...

and other Irish annals with some frequency, although usually only to report their deaths.

In earlier historical times, Cenél Coirpri may have been of sufficient importance to attract the attention of largely hostile writers. Tirechán's life of Patrick states that Coirpre was cursed by the saint, at Tailtiu, so that none of his descendants would be High King. The obvious omission, an explanation for the rule of Túathal Máelgarb, was corrected by later hagiographers. In the earliest surviving list, that in the Baile Chuind, Túathal appears not under his own name but as the kenning

Kenning

A kenning is a type of literary trope, specifically circumlocution, in the form of a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse and later Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon poetry...

Óengarb. Túathal Máelgarb is portrayed in a poor light by later writers dealing with the life of Diarmait mac Cerbaill

Diarmait mac Cerbaill

. Diarmait's descendants, Clann Cholmáin

Clann Cholmáin

and the Síl nÁedo Sláine

Síl nÁedo Sláine

, probably replaced the kindreds of Coirpre and Fiachu as the dominant families of the Irish midlands. Coirpre himself, while excluded from later synthetic lists of kings of Tara or High Kings of Ireland, is included in the early Baile Chuind, coming between Lóegaire and Ailill Molt

Ailill Molt

Ailill mac Nath Í , called Ailill Molt, is included in most lists of the High Kings of Ireland and is also called King of Connacht. His cognomen, molt, means "ram" but its origin is unknown....

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