Dáire Doimthech, alias Dáire Sírchréchtach, son of Sithbolg, was a legendary King of Tara and 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...

, and eponymous ancestor of the proto-historical 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 historical 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...

 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...

. A son of his was Lugaid Loígde

Lugaid Loígde

Lugaid Loídge "Lugaid of the Calf Goddess", also known as Lugaid mac Dáire, was a legendary King of Tara and High King of Ireland. He is a son of Dáire Doimthech, a quo the Dáirine, and gives his epithet to their principal royal sept, the Corcu Loígde...

 (a quo Corcu Loígde), an ancestor of Lugaid Mac Con

Lugaid mac Con

Lugaid Mac Con, often known simply as Mac Con, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He belonged to the Corcu Loígde, and thus to the Dáirine. His father was Macnia mac Lugdach, and his mother was Sadb ingen Chuinn, daughter of the former High...

. In the Scéla Mosauluim, Dáire Doimthech is referred to as one of the five kings of Tara from Munster, or alternatively one of five Dáires to rule at Tara.

He was almost certainly once identical with Dáire mac Dedad

Dáire mac Dedad

Dáire mac Dedad is the eponymous ancestor of the Dáirine of Munster and father of the legendary Cú Roí mac Dáire. These further associate him with the prehistoric Darini of Ulster. He is probably identical with Dáire Doimthech , an ancestor of the Corcu Loígde...

 (son of Deda mac Sin

Deda mac Sin

Deda mac Sin was a prehistoric king of the Érainn of Ireland, possibly of the 1st century BC. Variant forms or spellings include Dedu, Dedad, and Dega...

), father of Cú Roí

Cú Roí

Cú Roí mac Dáire is a king of Munster in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He is usually portrayed as a warrior with superhuman abilities and a master of disguise possessed of magical powers. His name probably means "hound of the plain/field", or more specifically, "hound of the battlefield"...

, although traditions concerning him or them appear to have diverged at an early period, following regional paths. Scholars in medieval times were aware that both were believed to be ancestors of the Dáirine. In fact in one manuscript, as Dairi Sirchrechtaig, he is listed as the father of Cú Roí, and through him an ancestor of Fiatach Finn

Fiatach Finn

Fiatach Finn mac Dáire, a distant descedant of Óengus Tuirmech Temrach, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a king of the Ulaid, later a High King of Ireland, and the eponymous ancestor of the early Medieval Ulster dynasty of the Dál Fiatach...

, a quo the Dál Fiatach

Dál Fiatach

The Dál Fiatach were a group of related dynasties located in eastern Ulster in the Early Christian and Early Medieval periods of the history of Ireland.-Description:...

 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...

, son of Fuirme mac Con Roí. T. F. O'Rahilly

T. F. O'Rahilly

Thomas Francis O'Rahilly was an Irish scholar of the Celtic languages, particularly in the fields of Historical linguistics and Irish dialects. He was a member of the Royal Irish Academy.-Biography:He was born in Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland...

 saw even less distinction between these figures, stating that "Cú Roí and Dáire are ultimately one and the same".

Eochaid Étgudach

Eochaid Étgudach

Eochaid or Eochu Étgudach or Etgedach son of Dáire Doimthech, a descendant of Lugaid mac Ítha, nephew of Míl Espáine, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland...

, a High King of Ireland, was another son of Dáire Doimthech, apparently misplaced chronologically by medieval scholars.

He is probably listed as Dáire Drechlethan

Dáire Drechlethan

Dáire Drechlethan "Dáire of the Broad Face" is a King of Tara listed in the Old Irish Baile Chuinn Chétchathaig. His identity with any king of Tara from Irish legend remains uncertain because his epithet is unique in the surviving corpus....

 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...

.

Reign

Despite his prominence as an ancestral figure, little is recalled in Irish legend of Dáire's reign. However, it appears to have been remembered as strong, and in this way is typical for the Dáirine in legend, and as they were portrayed by later historians and storytellers. A passage of poetry in the Old Irish Scéla Mosauluim is translated by Kuno Meyer

Kuno Meyer

Kuno 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:...

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