Áed mac Echach Tirmcharna (died 575) was a King of

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

from the

Uí Briúin The Uí Briúin were a royal dynasty of Connacht. Their eponymous apical ancestor was Brión, son of Eochaid Mugmedon and Mongfind, and an elder half brother of Niall of the Nine Hostages. They formed part of the Connachta, along with the U ...

branch of the

Connachta The Connachta are a group of medieval Irish dynasties who claimed descent from the legendary High King Conn Cétchathach (Conn of the Hundred Battles). The modern western province of Connacht (Irish ''Cúige Chonnacht'', province, literally "f ...

. He was the son of Echu Tirmcharna mac Fergusso (died ca. 556). He came to the throne in the year 557 and ruled until 575. The slaying of one of his sons was the cause of a war with the high-king

Diarmait mac Cerbaill Diarmait mac Cerbaill (died ) 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. While many later stor ...

(died 563).

Geoffrey Keating Geoffrey Keating ( ga, Seathrún Céitinn; c. 1569 – c. 1644) was a 17th-century historian. He was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, and is buried in Tubrid Graveyard in the parish of Ballylooby-Duhill. He became an Irish Catholic priest and a ...

states that Diarmait held a feast at Tara at which Áed's son Curnán mac Áedo (died 559) slew a nobleman. Curnán then put himself under the protection of Forguss and Domnall mac Muichertaig of the

Cenél nEógain Cenél is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Cenél Conaill, the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Conall Gulban, son of Niall Noígiallach defined by oral and recorded history *Cenél nEógain (in English, Cenel Eogan) is ...

of the northern

Uí Néill The Uí Néill (Irish pronunciation: ; meaning "descendants of Niall") are Irish dynasties who claim descent from Niall Noígíallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages), a historical King of Tara who died c. 405. They are generally divided into the ...

who placed him under the protection of their kinsman Saint

Columba Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is toda ...

. However Diarmait had Curnán executed for violating laws of Tara in 559. According to the ''Annals of the Four Masters'', Curnán was torn from the hands of Columba. As a result Columba organized a confederacy of the northern Uí Néill including the

Cenél Conaill Cenél is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Cenél Conaill, the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Conall Gulban, son of Niall Noígiallach defined by oral and recorded history *Cenél nEógain (in English, Cenel Eogan) is ...

with Áed of Connacht against Diarmait. In 560 the Battle of Cúl Dreimne (in County Sligo) was fought by this alliance against Diarmait. The ''Annals of the Four Masters'' mention that the prayers of Columba prevailed over the druids of Diarmait and he was defeated. T.M. Charles-Edwards places this battle in later Cenel Caipre Droma Cliab territory in the region between the Northern Uí Néill and the Connachta stating that Diarmait was on the offensive and tried to cut the allies off. He also states that the true cause of this battle was probably a dispute over the succession to Diarmait.

Byrne ' Byrne (also O'Byrne) is an Irish surname. It is derived from the Gaelic ''Ó Broin'' or ''Ó Beirn''. There are two Irish surnames which have Byrne as their English spelling; the most common comes from Ó Broin, which refers to the Leinster-b ...

doubts the legitimacy of the early Uí Briúin genealogies and even goes so far as to doubt that these early kings of Connacht were even of the Uí Briúin. He cites the reference in the annals to the death of Áed in 575 who is said to be killed by the Uí Briúin and to a reference in the ''

Annals of Innisfallen Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between ann ...

'' that he gave Enach Dúin (

Annaghdown Annaghdown ( ga, Eanach Dhúin, ) is a civil parish in County Galway, Ireland. It takes its name from ''Eanach Dhúin'', Irish for "the marsh of the fort". It lies around Annaghdown Bay, an inlet of Lough Corrib. Villages in the civil parish in ...

Lough Corrib Lough Corrib ( ; ) is a lake in the west of Ireland. The River Corrib or Galway River connects the lake to the sea at Galway. It is the largest lake within the Republic of Ireland and the second largest on the island of Ireland (after Lough Nea ...

) to Saint

Brendan Brendan may refer to: People * Saint Brendan the Navigator (c. 484 – c. 577) was an Irish monastic saint. * Saint Brendan of Birr (died 573), Abbot of Birr in Co. Offaly, contemporaneous with the above * Brendan (given name), a masculine given na ...

of Clonfert. He doubts that a ruler from the Mag nAí region would be able to make this gift. However, Hubert Knox believed the Uí Briúin in fact originated near Annaghdown, which would explain this situation. Charles-Edwards on the other hand believes that the Uí Briúin were set up in Connacht by Diarmait mac Cerbaill as a balance to the

Uí Fiachrach The Uí Fiachrach () were a royal dynasty who originated in, and whose descendants later ruled, the ''coicead'' or ''fifth'' of Connacht (a western province of Ireland) at different times from the mid-first millennium onwards. They claimed descent ...

before Áed joined the alliance against him.Charles-Edwards, page 510 He was succeeded by his son

Uatu mac Áedo Uatu (), often simply known as the Watcher, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in ''The Fantastic Four'' #13 (April 1963). He is a member of ...

(died 600).

Notes

References

*''Annals of Tigernach'' *''Annals of the Four Masters'' *''Annals of Innisfallen'' *G. Keating, ''History of Ireland'' *T.M. Charles-Edwards, ''Early Christian Ireland'' *Francis J. Byrne, ''Irish Kings and High-Kings'' *''The Chronology of the Irish Annals'', Daniel P. McCarthy

External links

CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts
a
University College Cork
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aed Mac Echach 575 deaths Kings of Connacht People from County Roscommon 6th-century Irish monarchs Year of birth unknown

Notes

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References

External links