Clann Cholmáin is the dynasty descended from Colmán Már mac Diarmato, son of

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 storie ...

. Part of the

Southern Uí Néill The Southern Uí Néill ( ga, Uí Néill an Deiscirt, IPA: �iːˈnʲeːl̪ʲˈanˠˈdʲɛʃcəɾˠtʲ were that branch of the Uí Néill dynasty that invaded and settled in the Kingdom of Mide and its associated kingdoms. In the initial decades t ...

— they were the kings of Mide (Meath) — they traced their descent to

Niall Noígiallach 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 his son

Conall Cremthainne Conall Cremthainne (died 480), also called Conall Err Breg, was an Irish king. He was the son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, and one of the progenitors of the Uí Néill dynasty. He is the first king of Uisnech in Mide from the Uí Néill mention ...

. Related dynasties descended through Conall Cremthainne and Diarmait mac Cerbaill included the

Síl nÁedo Sláine Síl nÁedo Sláine () are the descendants of Áed Sláine (Áed mac Diarmato), son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Part of the Southern Uí Néill—they were the kings of Brega—they claimed descent from Niall Noígiallach and his son Conall ...

, the

kings of Brega The Kings of Brega were rulers of Brega, a petty kingdom north of Dublin in medieval Ireland. Overview Brega took its name from ' ('), meaning "fine plain", in modern County Meath, County Louth and County Dublin, Ireland. They formed part of th ...

, descended from Colmán Már's youngest brother

Áed Sláine Áed mac Diarmato (died 604), called Áed Sláine (Áed of Slane), was the son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Legendary stories exist of Áed's birth. Saint Columba is said to have prophesied his death. His descendants, the Síl nÁedo Sláine—t ...

, and the less important Clann Cholmáin Bicc (or the Caílle Follamain), descendants of the middle brother, Colmán Bec. The

Kings of Uisnech The Kings of Uisnech were of the Uí Néill and one of its major southern branches, the Clann Cholmáin. The Hill of Uisnech is located in what is now County Westmeath, and was in early historic Ireland considered as the area where all five provinc ...

, among others, belonged to Clann Cholmáin. Important kings of Clann Cholmáin include: *

Domnall Midi Domhnall Mac Murchada (born c. 700, died 20 November 763), called Domnall Midi (Donald of Meath), was High King of Ireland. He belonged to the Clann Cholmáin branch of the Uí Néill. Clann Cholmáin's pre-eminence among the southern Uí Néill, ...

(died

763 Year 763 ( DCCLXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 763 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became ...

), *

Donnchad Midi mac Domnaill Donnchad mac Domnaill (733 – 6 February 797), called Donnchad Midi, was High King of Ireland. His father, Domnall Midi, had been the first Uí Néill High King from the south-central Clann Cholmáin based in modern County Westmeath and weste ...

(died 797), * Máel Sechnaill mac Maíl Ruanaid (died

862 __NOTOC__ Year 862 ( DCCCLXII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * The Varangians (called Rus'), under the leadership of Rurik, a Viking chie ...

), *

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 wa ...

(died

916 __NOTOC__ Year 916 ( CMXVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Sicilian Berbers in Agrigento revolt and depose the independent Emir Ahmed ibn Kh ...

), *

Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill ( ga, Maolsheachlann mac Domhnaill), also called Máel Sechnaill Mór or Máel Sechnaill II (949 – 2 September 1022), was a King of Mide and High King of Ireland. His great victory at the Battle of Tara aga ...

(died 1022).

Bibliography

* Byrne, Francis John, ''Irish Kings and High-Kings.'' Batsford, London, 1973. * ''Nebulae discutiuntur? The emergencer of Clann Cholmain, sixth-eighth centuries'', Ailbhe Mac Shamhrain, in ''Seanchas: Studies in Early and Medieval Irish Archaeology'', History and Literature in Honour of

Francis John Byrne Francis John Byrne (1934 – 30 December 2017) was an Irish historian. Born in Shanghai where his father, a Dundalk man, captained a ship on the Yellow River, Byrne was evacuated with his mother to Australia on the outbreak of World War II. ...

, ed. Alfred P. Smyth, pp. 83–97,

Four Courts Press Four Courts Press is an independent Irish academic publishing house, with its office at Malpas Street, Dublin 8, Ireland. Founded in 1970 by Michael Adams, who died in February 2009, its early publications were primarily theological, notably t ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, 2000.

External links

O'Melaghlin family pedigree
at Library Ireland {{DEFAULTSORT:Clann Cholmain Uí Néill Gaels

See also

Bibliography

Further reading

External links