Brandub mac Echach (died 605) was an Irish king of the Uí Cheinnselaig of

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

. His father,

Echu mac Muiredaig Echu mac Muiredaig (flourished mid 6th century) was a king of the Uí Cheinnselaig of South Leinster. His father, Muiredach mac Óengusa and grandfather Óengus mac Feidlimid had been kings of the Ui Cheinnselaig as well. They belonged to a bra ...

had been a king of the Ui Cheinnselaig. They belonged to a branch known as the Uí Felmeda descended from Fedelmid, son of Énnae Cennsalach. His son Óengus, grandson Muiredach, and great-grandson Eochu were all kings of the Uí Cheinnselaig. According to the ''

Book of Leinster The Book of Leinster ( mga, Lebor Laignech , LL) is a medieval Irish manuscript compiled c. 1160 and now kept in Trinity College, Dublin, under the shelfmark MS H 2.18 (cat. 1339). It was formerly known as the ''Lebor na Nuachongbála'' "Book ...

,'' Brandub succeeded Áed Cerr mac Colmáin Már (died 595) of the

Uí Dúnlainge The Uí Dúnlainge, from the Old Irish "grandsons (or descendants) of Dúnlaing", were an Irish dynasty of Leinster kings who traced their descent from Dúnlaing mac Énda Niada. He was said to be a cousin of Énnae Cennsalach, eponymous ancest ...

king of Leinster The kings of Leinster ( ga, Rí Laighín), ruled from the establishment of Leinster during the Irish Iron Age, until the 17th century Early Modern Ireland. According to Gaelic traditional history, laid out in works such as the ''Book of Invasio ...

(actually Áed Dibchine mac Senaig of the

Uí Máil Uí Máil were an Irish dynasty of Leinster. They were descended from Maine Mál, the brother of the legendary high king Cathair Mór. The Uí Máil were a dominant dynasty in Leinster competing for the kingship in the 7th century before being event ...

)

Birth saga

In the ''Rawlinson B 502 manuscript,'' dated to c. 1130, is the poem ''Gein Branduib maic Echach ocus Aedáin maic Gabráin'' (''The Birth of Brandub son of Eochu and of Aedán son of Gabrán''). This tells how

Áedán mac Gabráin Áedán mac Gabráin (pronounced in Old Irish; ga, Aodhán mac Gabhráin, lang), also written as Aedan, was a king of Dál Riata from 574 until c. 609 AD. The kingdom of Dál Riata was situated in modern Argyll and Bute, Scotland, and pa ...

Dál Riata Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaelic kingdom that encompassed the western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel. At its height in the 6th and 7th centuries, it covered what is ...

was Brandub's twin brother, exchanged at birth for one of the twin daughters of Gabrán, born the very same night, so that each family might have a son. Whether the tale is entirely fabricated, or whether it echoes a foster-relationship between Brandub and Áedán, can only be surmised. According to this story Brandub's father Echu had been expelled from the kingdom by Fáelán mac Síláin, his predecessor in the kingship of the Uí Chennselaig and had gone to live in Dál Riata at the court of Gabrán where Brandub and Aedán were fostered together. Later Echu returned to be king and brought his son with him. Afterwards, when Aedán and Brandub were both rulers, Aedán made a claim to the kingship of Ireland and invaded Leinster.

Defence of Leinster

The first mention of Brandub in the annals is as victor in the Battle of Mag Ochtair (Cloncerry, N.Kildare) over the Ui Neill in 590. In 598 Brandub defeated the Uí Néill High King Áed mac Ainmuirech of 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 ...

at the Battle of Dún Bolg (Dunboyke, Wicklow Co.) and the high king was slain, stopping the southward expansion of the Uí Néill. The ''Borúma Laigin'' (Cattle Tribute of Leinster) and the annals record that the war was caused by Brandub's killing of Áed's son Cummascach in 597 at Dún Buchat. The ''Borúma Laigin'' gives much detail of this event. Brandub had the assistance of Saint Aedan of Ferns (d. 632) who tried to obtain a truce for Brandub with the high-king. Aedan then devised a strategy of having the forces of Brandub hide in food baskets to sneak into the enemy camp. Aedan was granted Ferns after his battle for the assistance he had given Brandub. The saga also relates that the

Ulaid Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or Ulaidh (Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include Ulidia, which is the Latin form of Ulaid, and in ...

were allied to Leinster and that the king of Airgialla was slain fighting for the high king. According to later poems in the ''Book of Leinster,'' which record his "seven blows against

Brega Brega , also known as ''Mersa Brega'' or ''Marsa al-Brega'' ( ar, مرسى البريقة , i.e. "Brega Seaport"), is a complex of several smaller towns, industry installations and education establishments situated in Libya on the Gulf of Sidra, ...

" (later ruled by the Síl nÁedo Sláine), he may also have reconquered lands lost to the Uí Néill in the midlands of Ireland. This is also mentioned in the annals dated to 599. Later Uí Cheinnselaig kings, such as Diarmait mac Mail na mBo and his grandson Diarmait mac Murchada, although descended from a different line, associated Brandub's successes with their branch of the clan. In 605 Brandub suffered a defeat at the Battle of Slaebre by the Ui Neill under the high king

Áed Uaridnach Áed Uaridnach ("Áed the Warlike", or Áed mac Domnaill, "Áed son of Domnall") (died 612) was an Irish king who was High King of Ireland. He is sometimes also known as Áed Allán, a name most commonly used for the 8th-century king of the ...

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 ...

. He was then assassinated by his own kinsman and son-in-law Sarán Saebderc.

Descendants

The kindred of the Fir Thulach (in modern

County Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...

), subject to the

Clann Cholmáin Clann Cholmáin is the dynasty descended from Colmán Már mac Diarmato, son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Part of the Southern Uí Néill — they were the kings of Mide (Meath) — they traced their descent to Niall Noígiallach and his ...

in later times, traced their ancestry from Brandub, as did the Uí Felmeda (of modern

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by ...

).Byrne, pg. 142–143

Notes

References

* ''Annals of Ulster'' a
CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts
a
University College Cork
* ''Annals of Tigernach'' a

a
University College Cork
* Byrne, Francis John (2001), Irish Kings and High-Kings, Dublin: Four Courts Press, * ''Book of Leinster'',''Rig Laigin'' a

a
University College Cork

External links

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one ...

includes
Gein Branduib
(original & translation), Annals of Ulster, Annals of Tigernach, Annals of Innisfallen and others.

(archive link) {{DEFAULTSORT:Brandub Mac Echach 6th-century births 600s deaths Cycles of the Kings Kings of Leinster Kings of Uí Cheinnselaig 6th-century Irish monarchs 7th-century Irish monarchs