The Dál gCais were a dynastic group of related sept

Sept

A sept is an English word for a division of a family, especially a division of a clan. The word might have its origin from Latin saeptum "enclosure, fold", or it can be an alteration of sect.The term is found in both Ireland and Scotland...

s located in north 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...

 who rose to political prominence in the 10th century AD in 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...

. They claimed descent from Cormac Cas, or Cas mac Conall Echlúath, hence the term "Dál", meaning "portion" or "share" of Cas. In later times, for reasons of political expediency, they claimed Cas was a brother of the largely mythological Éogan Mór, son of Ailill Aulom

Ailill Aulom

In Irish traditional history Ailill Ollamh , son of Mug Nuadat, was a king of the southern half of Ireland. Sabia, daughter of Conn of the Hundred Battles, was his wife. He divided the kingdom between his sons Éogan, Cormac Cas, and Cian. Éogan founded the dynasty of the Eóganachta...

, from whom the established 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...

 dynasties had earlier claimed descent. The Eóganachta were in fact properly descendants of the later 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 so both claims and perhaps both tribal names have their origins in Munster mythology.

In early historic Ireland they were an obscure group, one of many of the subject peoples of the Éoganachta. In the seventh and eighth centuries, when the overkingdom of Uí Fiachrach Aidhne

Uí Fiachrach Aidhne

Uí Fhiachrach Aidhne was a kingdom located in what is now the south of Co. Galway.-Legendary origins and geography:...

 fell into decline, they moved north and annexed Tuadmumu (Thomond

Thomond

Thomond The region of Ireland associated with the name Thomond is County Clare, County Limerick and north County Tipperary; effectively most of north Munster. The name is used by a variety of establishments and organisations located in , or associated with the region...

) or North Munster. Previously part 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...

, it became part of Munster.

Thomond was to remain the heartland of the Dál gCais and its septs; it is most especially associated with the O'Brien dynasty (Ua Briain, Ó Briain), family and descendants of the famous Brian Bóruma, 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...

 (d. 1014), who reigned as its kings from the 930s to 1543, and from 1543 to the present day as Baron Inchiquin

Baron Inchiquin

Baron Inchiquin is one of the older titles in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1543 for Murrough O'Brien, Prince of Thomond, who was descended from the great high king Brian Boru)...

. The current incumbent (18th Baron Inchiquin) is Conor O'Brien, a thirty-second generation descendant of Brian. He is also known simply as The O'Brien, and is Chief of the Name, Prince of Thomond (see his profile).

Origins

The origins of the Dál gCais are among the most controversial in Irish history.

Genetic signature

Recent studies suggest the Dál gCais have a genetic signature unique to themselves, referred to as Irish Type III. Belonging to Haplogroup R1b (Y-DNA)

Haplogroup R1b (Y-DNA)

The point of origin of R1b is thought to lie in Eurasia, most likely in Western Asia. T. Karafet et al. estimated the age of R1, the parent of R1b, as 18,500 years before present....

, this subclade R1b1a2a1a1b4h is defined by the presence of the marker R-L226/S168.

List of septs

Below is a comprehensive list of the Dalcassian septs of the Kingdom of Thomond. Some of these names are also used by other tribes in Ireland, thus not every single person with one of the names is necessarily a member of this clan, it is rather a matter of specific genealogy coupled with the location origins.

Dál gCais genealogy

Sept names in brackets, under the name of their ancestral namesake. Numerals indicates number of generations between ancestor and descendant.

Conall Echlúath
|
|
Cas
|
|_____________________
| |
| |
Caisséne Blat
(Uí Chaisséne) (Uí Blait)
| |
| |_____________________
Cáirthenn | |
| | |
6 Brénainn Bán Cáirthenn Finn
| | |
Nárgalach (Muinter Bruig) |____________
(Síl Nárgalaíg) (Ua Maol Dhómhnaigh) | |
| | |
|_________________ Óengus Eochu Ballderg
| | (Uí Óengusso) |
| | | |__________________
Corerán Marcín Rónan | |
(Uí Chellaig) (Uí Sída) | | |
(Uí Cholmáin) (Uí Rodáin) | Conall Conall Cáem
(Uí Chiunáin) _________| | |
(Uí Láega) | | | |
| | Fíán Áed
Dímma Máel Cáith | |
| (Uí Fallamain) |
| Aithirne
Róngaile |
(Uí Róngaile) |
| Cathal ?
Dubh dá Leithe |
(Uí Chormacáin) |
(Uí Loingsig) Tairdelbaig
(Uí Uainidi) (Uí Thairdelbaig)
|
_____________________________________________________________|
| | | |
| | | |
Flannán Eochu Ailgel Mathgamain
Sanctus (Uí Echach) (Uí Aingile) |
| | |
__________|__________________ Eochu Anulaun
| | | | |
| | | |______________ |
Conall Animchad Aurthuile | | Corc
(áes Cluana) | | | | |
| 6 3 Fócarta Scandlán |
4 | | Uí Magair) (Uí Scandlán) Lachtna
| (Meic Cétfada) (Uí Chuinn) (Uí Árotháin) | |
Énna (Meic Cormaic) (Uí Aichir) |
(Uí Énna) (Uí Thaidc) Lorcán
|
_______________________________________________________________|
| |
| |
Cennétig, Rí Thuath Mumain, d. 951. Coscrach
| |
| _______________________|_______________________
| | | |
| | | |
| Maine Aingid Aitheir
| | | |
| | | |
| Cathal, abbot Killaloe, Coscrach, abbot Killaloe, Ogan
| died 1013 died 1040 (Ua hOgain)
|
|____________________________________________________________
| | |
| | |
Brian, Rí Éire, d. 1014. Marcán, abbot of Terryglass, Donncuan
(Ua Briain) Inis Cealtra & Killaloe; d. 1010 |
|__________________ ______________________|_____________
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
Tadc, d. 1023 Donnchad, d. 1064. Céilchair Londgargán Cennétig Connaig
| abb.Terryglass | | |
| d.1008 | | |
Toirdhealbhach Ua Briain, High King, Annud Find Dúnadach
died 1086 issue issue issue

See also

• Irish nobility
  Irish nobility
  This article concerns the Gaelic nobility of Ireland from ancient to modern times. It only partly overlaps with Chiefs of the Name because it excludes Scotland and other discussion...
  
  
• Irish royal families
  Irish Royal Families
  The Irish Royal Families were dynasties who ruled large overkingdoms and smaller petty kingdoms on the island of Ireland over the last two millennia.-Locality:...
  
  
• Kings of Déisi Tuisceart
• 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...
  
  
• List of High Kings of Ireland
• Rock of Cashel
  Rock of Cashel
  The Rock of Cashel , also known as Cashel of the Kings and St. Patrick's Rock, is a historic site in Ireland's province of Munster, located at Cashel, South Tipperary.-History:...
  
  
• Early Medieval Ireland 800-1166
• County Clare
  County Clare
  -History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
  
  
• Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib
• Battle of Sulcoit
  Battle of Sulcoit
  The Battle of Sulcoit was an important victory for the rising Dál gCais against their enemies, the Norse of Limerick under Ivar of Limerick. The Dál gCais army was led by Mathgamain mac Cennétig with the possible assistance of his younger brother Brian Bóruma....
  
  

Further reading

• Byrne, Francis John, Irish Kings and High-Kings. Four Courts Press. 2nd edition, 2001.
• MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families: Their Names, Arms and Origins. Irish Academic Press. 4th edition, 1998.
• O'Brien, Barry, Munster at War. Cork: Mercier Press. 1971.
• Rynne, Etienne (ed.), North Munster Studies: Essays in Commemoration of Monsignor Michael Moloney. Limerick. 1967.
• Todd, James Henthorn (ed. and tr.), Cogadh Gaedhel re Gallaibh: The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill Longmans. 1867.
• "Dál gCais - Church and Dynasty", Donncha Ó Corráin,

External links

• The O'Brien Clan
• The Dalcassians of Thomond (web archive)