Cathal mac Ruaidhri (died 1043) was King of

Maigh Seóla Maigh Seóla (), also known as Hy Briuin Seola, was the territory that included land along the east shore of Lough Corrib in County Galway, Ireland. It was bounded to the east by the Uí Maine vassal kingdom of Soghain and extended roughly fr ...

Iar Connacht West Connacht ( ga, Iarthar Chonnachta; Modern Irish: ''Iar Connacht'') was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Galway, particularly the area known more commonly today as Connemara. The kingdom represent ...

Biography

Cathal was the great-grandson of Flaithbheartach mac Eimhin, the eponym of the

Ua Flaithbertaig UA, U-A, Ua, uA, or ua may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Unearthed Arcana'', a Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook * '' Unknown Armies'', a role playing game * '' Urban Assault'', a first-person shooter and real-time strategy computer g ...

chiefs and fourth great-grandson of

Murchadh mac Maenach Murchadh mac Maenach (died 896) was King of Maigh Seóla. Biography Murchadh is one of the earliest-attested kings of his region. He is noteworthy as the person who gave his name to the Muintir Murchada, a dynasty whose leading family later ...

, the namesake of the

Muintir Murchada Muintir Murchada was the name of an Irish territory which derived its name from the ruling dynasty, who were in turn a branch of the Uí Briúin. The name was derived from Murchadh mac Maenach, King of Uí Briúin Seóla, who died 891. Overview ...

. The year after he became king, the annals record that "Cathal, son of Ruaidhri, lord of West Connaught, went on his pilgrimage to Ard-Macha (

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

)." He appears to have died there in 1043. He was succeeded by his son, Amhalgaidh.

References

* ''West or H-Iar Connaught''

Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh Roderick O'Flaherty ( ga, Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh; 1629–1718 or 1716) was an Irish historian. Biography He was born in County Galway and inherited Moycullen Castle and estate. O'Flaherty was the last ''de jure'' Lord of Iar Connacht, a ...

, 1684 (published 1846, ed.

James Hardiman James Hardiman (1782–1855), also known as Séamus Ó hArgadáin, was a librarian at Queen's College, Galway. Hardiman is best remembered for his '' History of the Town and County of Galway'' (1820) and '' Irish Minstrelsy'' (1831), one of the f ...

). * ''Origin of the Surname O'Flaherty'', Anthony Matthews, Dublin, 1968, p.40. * ''Irish Kings and High-Kings'', Francis John Byrne (2001), Dublin: Four Courts Press, * ''Annals of Ulster'' a
CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts
a
University College Cork
* Byrne, Francis John (2001), Irish Kings and High-Kings, Dublin: Four Courts Press, {{DEFAULTSORT:Cathal mac Ruaidhri People from County Galway 1043 deaths 11th-century Irish monarchs Year of birth unknown