Ferchar Fota (died c. 697) was probably king of the Cenél Loairn of Dál Riata

Dál Riata

Dál Riata was a Gaelic overkingdom on the western coast of Scotland with some territory on the northeast coast of Ireland...

, and perhaps of all Dál Riata. His father is named as Feredach mac Fergusa and he was said to be a descendant in the 6th generation of Loarn mac Eirc

Loarn mac Eirc

Loarn mac Eirc was a legendary king of Dál Riata who may have lived in the 5th century.The Duan Albanach and the Senchus Fer n-Alban and other genealogies name Loarn's father as Erc son of Eochaid Muinremuir...

.

Ferchar is first reported in the Annals of Tigernach

Annals of Tigernach

The Annals of Tigernach is a chronicle probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin and Old and Middle Irish....

 in 678, when he led the Cenél Loairn to defeat on Tiree

Tiree

-History:Tiree is known for the 1st century BC Dùn Mòr broch, for the prehistoric carved Ringing Stone and for the birds of the Ceann a' Mhara headland....

 against "the Britons", presumably those of Alt Clut

Kingdom of Strathclyde

Strathclyde , originally Brythonic Ystrad Clud, was one of the early medieval kingdoms of the celtic people called the Britons in the Hen Ogledd, the Brythonic-speaking parts of what is now southern Scotland and northern England. The kingdom developed during the post-Roman period...

. The battle is also reported by 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...

, but Ferchar is not named. The second report of Ferchar is that of his death in 697.

Ferchar may have been king of Dál Riata from the 670s — the Duan Albanach

Duan Albanach

The Duan Albanach is a Middle Gaelic poem found with the Lebor Bretnach, a Gaelic version of the Historia Brittonum of Nennius, with extensive additional material ....

 assigns him a reign of 21 years — or he may have become king of Dál Riata only on the death of Domnall Donn

Domnall Donn

Domnall Donn was king of Dál Riata . He was a son of Conall Crandomna.His death is reported by the Annals of Ulster, but without mention of a title. He is among the kings named by the Duan Albanach, following his father and Dúnchad mac Conaing, which assigns him an improbable reign of 13 years...

 in 696.

His sons Ainbcellach

Ainbcellach mac Ferchair

Ainbcellach mac Ferchair was king of the Cenél Loairn of Dál Riata, and perhaps of all Dál Riata, from 697 until 698, when he was deposed and exiled to Ireland....

 and Selbach

Selbach mac Ferchair

Selbach mac Ferchair was king of the Cenél Loairn and of Dál Riata. Selbach's existence is well-attested as he is mentioned repeatedly in Irish annals.-Life:Selbach mac Ferchair was a son of Ferchar Fota...

 were kings of Dál Riata and his descendants included Mac Bethad mac Findláich

Macbeth of Scotland

Mac Bethad mac Findlaích was King of the Scots from 1040 until his death...

 (Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

's Macbeth

Macbeth

The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...

).

External links

• CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at University College Cork
  • The Corpus of Electronic Texts includes the Annals of Ulster, Tigernach, the Four Masters and Innisfallen, the Chronicon Scotorum, the Lebor Bretnach (which includes the Duan Albanach), Genealogies, and various Saints' Lives. Most are translated into English, or translations are in progress.