Cathal mac Conchobair (died 925) was
King of Connacht
The Kings of Connacht were rulers of the ''cóiced'' (variously translated as portion, fifth, province) of Connacht, which lies west of the River Shannon, Ireland. However, the name only became applied to it in the early medieval era, being name ...
.
Family background
Cathal was the third son of
Conchobar mac Taidg Mór
Conchobar mac Taidg Mór (died 882) was a King of Connacht from the Uí Briúin branch of the Connachta. He was the grandson of Muirgius mac Tommaltaig (died 815), a previous king. His father Tadg Mór (died 810) had been slain fighting in Muirgiu ...
(died 882) to rule Connacht, following his older brother
Áed mac Conchobair
Áed mac Conchobair (died 888) was a King of Connacht from the Uí Briúin branch of the Connachta. He was the son of Conchobar mac Taidg Mór (died 882), the previous king and was the first of his three sons to rule in succession. He was of the ...
(died 888) and youngest brother
Tadg mac Conchobair
Tadg mac Conchobair (died 900) was a King of Connacht from the Uí Briúin branch of the Connachta. He was the son of Conchobar mac Taidg Mór (died 882), a previous king, the second of his three sons to rule in succession, succeeding his brothe ...
(died 900). There may have been a fourth brother, Máel Cluiche mac Conchobair, who died in battle in 913.
They belonged to the Síl Muiredaig branch of
Uí Briúin Ai kindred. The Uí Briúin Ai claimed descent from Brion, an older brother of
Niall of the Nine Hostages
Niall ''Noígíallach'' (; Old Irish "having nine hostages"), or Niall of the Nine Hostages, was a legendary, semi-historical Irish king who was the ancestor of the Uí Néill dynasties that dominated Ireland from the 6th to the 10th centuries. ...
, and the kingship of Connacht alternated irregularly between the Síl Muiredaig and the Síl Cathail branches of the kindred. By Cathal's time, the Síl Cathail were all but excluded from the succession.
King of Connacht
On becoming king, Cathal was faced with a demand from
Flann Sinna
Flann Sinna ( lit. ''Flann of the Shannon''; Irish: ''Flann na Sionainne''; 84725 May 916), also known as Flann mac Máel Sechnaill, was the son of Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid of Clann Cholmáin, a branch of the Southern Uí Néill. He was ...
(died 916), the
High King of Ireland
High King of Ireland ( ga, Ardrí na hÉireann ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and later sometimes assigned ana ...
, for acknowledgement of his authority. This was agreed in a meeting at
Clonmacnoise
Clonmacnoise (Irish: ''Cluain Mhic Nóis'') is a ruined monastery situated in County Offaly in Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone, founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán, a young man from Rathcroghan, County Roscommon. Until the 9th ce ...
in 900, and Cathal is found frequently fighting alongside and on behalf of Flann.
The Munster Wars
War broke out between the high king and the King of Munster,
Cormac mac Cuilennáin
Cormac mac Cuilennáin (died 13 September 908) was an Irish bishop and the king of Munster from 902 until his death at the Battle of Bellaghmoon. He was killed in Leinster.
Cormac was regarded as a saintly figure after his death, and his shrine ...
(died 908) and Cathal became caught up in this as an ally of Flann Sinna. In 907, the forces of Munster campaigned against the Connachta as far as Mag nAí (in central modern County Roscommon) and the
Ui Neill and took the hostages of Connacht. These forces included a naval force operating on the Shannon. In 908, however, the forces of the high king which included Cathal defeated and crushed the forces of Munster at the
Battle of Bellaghmoon
The Battle of Ballaghmoon ( ga, Cath Bealaigh Mughna) took place on 13 September 908 at Ballaghmoon, near Castledermot in the south of modern County Kildare. It pitted the forces of Cormac mac Cuilennáin, king of Munster against an alliance com ...
in Mag Ailbe (Ballaghmoon, in northern modern County Carlow) and Cormac was slain.
Connacht invaded
In 913,
Niall Glúndub
Niall Glúndub mac Áeda (Modern Irish: ''Niall Glúndubh mac Aodha'', "Niall Black-Knee, son of Áed"; died 14 September 919) was a 10th-century Irish king of the Cenél nEógain and High King of Ireland. Many Irish kin groups were members of the ...
(died 919) 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 Ui Neill began to make his bid to be recognized as heir to the high Kingship. He invaded Connacht and defeated the men of North Connacht (Uí Amalgada and the men of Umall). Cathal's brother was slain in this affair. Niall became high king in 916.
Defeat of Donnchad Donn
The next high king
Donnchad Donn
Donnchad Donn mac Flainn (''Duncan of the Brown Hair, son of Flann'') (died 944) was High King of Ireland and King of Mide. He belonged to Clann Cholmáin, a branch of the southern Uí Néill.
Origins
Donnchad was the son of High King Flann Sin ...
(died 944) of Meath invaded Connacht in 922.
[CS 922] His forces were however defeated in the wilderness of Áth Luain (Athlone). Whether this was the usual attempt of a new high king to impose his authority on Connacht or directed against the intense Viking activity on the Shannon at this time is not mentioned. The King of Aidne, Mael son of Duí had been killed by Vikings that year
Death of the Tainist of Connacht
The death of Cathal's heir is mentioned in the annals in 923. According to ''The Annals of Ulster'' this was Máel Cluiche who was treacherously killed, however his death is mentioned in 913 in this annal. ''The Annals of the Four Masters'' give his heir the name Indrechtach and state he was another son of Conchobar. This same Indrechtach was found operating a fleet with the men of Meath on Loch Derg clearing out the Munster fleet from the Shannon.
Death and succession
Cathal died in 925 in penitence.
[AU 925.5] Cathal was succeed on his death by his son Tadg in Túir (died 956), who was succeeded in his turn by Fergal ua Ruairc (died 967) of the rising Uí Briúin Bréifne branch of the Uí Briúin.
Notes
References
* ''Annals of Ulster'' a
a
University College Cork* ''Annals of the Four Masters'' a
a
University College Cork* ''Chronicum Scotorum'' a
a
University College Cork* Byrne, Francis John (2001), ''Irish Kings and High-Kings'', Dublin: Four Courts Press,
*Ó Corráin, Donnchad (1972), ''Ireland Before the Normans'', Dublin: Gill and Macmillan
External links
a
University College Cork
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cathal Mac Conchobair
Kings of Connacht
925 deaths
People from County Roscommon
O'Conor dynasty
Year of birth unknown
10th-century kings of Connacht