The Cenél Loairn, the descendants of
Loarn mac Eirc, controlled parts of northern
Argyll
Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland.
Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...
around the
Firth of Lorne
The Firth of Lorn or Lorne ( gd, An Linne Latharnach) is the inlet of the sea between the south-east coast of the Isle of Mull and the mainland of Scotland. It includes a number of islands, and is noted for the variety of wildlife habitats that ...
, most probably centred in
Lorne but perhaps including the islands of
Mull and
Colonsay
Colonsay (; gd, Colbhasa; sco, Colonsay) is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, located north of Islay and south of Mull. The ancestral home of Clan Macfie and the Colonsay branch of Clan MacNeil, it is in the council area of Arg ...
,
Morvern
Morvern, historically also spelt Morven, is a peninsula and traditional district in the Highlands, on the west coast of Scotland. It lies south of the districts of Ardgour and Sunart, and is bounded on the north by Loch Sunart and Glen Tarbe ...
and
Ardnamurchan
Ardnamurchan (, gd, Àird nam Murchan: headland of the great seas) is a peninsula in the ward management area of Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, noted for being very unspoiled and undisturbed. Its remoteness is accentuated by the main acces ...
. The boundary to the east was the Druim Alban mountain ridge that separated Dál Riata from Pictland. The chief places of the kingdom appear to have been at
Dun Ollaigh, near
Oban
Oban ( ; ' in Scottish Gaelic meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, t ...
and
Dunadd near
Crinan. The chief religious site may have been on
Lismore, later the seat of the High Medieval
bishop of Argyll
The Bishop of Argyll or Bishop of Lismore was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Argyll, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. It was created in 1200, when the western half of the territory of the Bishopric of Dunkeld was formed into t ...
.
Descendants of Loarn
Several
kings of Dál Riata were members of the Cenél Loairn, and thus claimed descent from Loarn :
*
Ferchar Fota
*
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.
He was a son of Ferchar Fota. He is given the epithet the Good in the ''Duan Alb ...
*
Selbach mac Ferchair
*
Dúngal mac Selbaig
Dúngal mac Selbaig was king of Dál Riata. His reign can best be placed in the years 723 to 726, beginning with the abdication of his father, Selbach mac Ferchair, who entered a monastery, and ending with the rise of Eochaid mac Echdach of the Ce ...
*
Muiredach mac Ainbcellaig
In High Medieval times the
Mormaers of Moray claimed descent from Loarn:
*
Findláech mac RuaidrÃ
*
Máel Coluim mac Máil Brigti
*
Gille Coemgáin mac Máil Brigti
*
Mac Bethad mac Findláich (also
king of Alba
The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thought to have gr ...
)
*
Lulach mac Gille Coemgáin (also king of Alba)
*
Máel Snechtai mac Lulaich
*
Óengus
Notes
References
*
Bannerman, John, ''Studies in the History of Dalriada.'' Scottish Academic Press, Edinburgh, 1974.
*
Pestano,Dane, ''King Arthur in Irish Pseudo-Historical Tradition - An Introduction.'' Dark Age Arthurian Books, 2011.
*
Broun, Dauvit, ''The Irish Identity of the Kingdom of the Scots in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries.'' Boydell, Woodbridge, 1999.
* Menzies, Gordon (ed) (1971) ''Who are the Scots: A search for the origins of the Scottish nation''. BBC.
*
Woolf, Alex, ''From Pictland to Alba, 789-1070'' Edinburgh University Press, 2007.
{{Authority control
Kings of Dál Riata
Medieval Gaels from Scotland