Conchobar mac Taidg Mór (died 882) was a

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 ...

from the

Uí Briúin The Uí Briúin were a royal dynasty of Connacht. Their eponymous apical ancestor was Brión, son of Eochaid Mugmedon and Mongfind, and an elder half brother of Niall of the Nine Hostages. They formed part of the Connachta, along with the U ...

branch of the Connachta. He was the grandson of

Muirgius mac Tommaltaig Muirgius mac Tommaltaig (died 815) was a King of Connacht from the Uí Briúin branch of the Connachta. He was the great-grandson of Indrechtach mac Muiredaig Muillethan (died 723), a previous king. The death of his father Tommaltach mac Murgail ( ...

(died 815), a previous king. His father Tadg Mór (died 810) had been slain fighting in Muirgius' wars versus the minor tribes of

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

. He was of the Síl Muiredaig sept of the

. The

Ó Conchobhair Ó, ó ( o-acute) is a letter in the Czech, Emilian-Romagnol, Faroese, Hungarian, Icelandic, Kashubian, Polish, Slovak, and Sorbian languages. This letter also appears in the Afrikaans, Catalan, Dutch, Irish, Nynorsk, Bokmål, Occitan, Po ...

septs of

are named for him.

Biography

The exact dates of his reign are uncertain. 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 ...

'' king-list he is given a reign of 27 years which would synchronise to a reign of circa 855 to 882 The death of a co-ruler Mugron mac Máele Cothaid is mentioned in 872. Connacht was subject to 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 ...

during this period. In 860 the men of Connacht participated in the expedition of the high king

Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid Máel Sechnaill mac Máel Ruanaida (Modern Irish: ''Maolsheachlann Mac Maolruanaidh''), also known as Máel Sechnaill I, anglicised as Malachy MacMulrooney (died 27 November 862) was High King of Ireland. The Annals of Ulster use the Old Irish ...

(died 862) of

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 s ...

against the northern Ui Neill. They halted at Mag Dumai, near Armagh, where their camp was attacked but they beat this attack off and the expedition ended without a clear victor. In 863 the new high king

Áed Findliath Áed mac Néill (died 879), called Áed Findliath ("fair-grey Áed"; Modern Irish: ''Aodh Fionnadhliath'') to distinguish him from his paternal grandfather Áed Oirdnide, was king of Ailech and High King of Ireland. He was also called Áed Olac ...

(died 879) 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 ...

made an expedition into Connacht to impose his authority. Conchobar fought as an ally of the high king Áed Findliath against

Flann mac Conaing Flann is both an English surname and an Irish masculine given name, but has also been used as a feminine given name. It might refer to: * Flann Fína mac Ossu, another name for King Aldfrith of Northumbria (died 704 or 705) * Flann mac Lonáin (d ...

(died 868),

King 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 ...

, and his Viking allies at the Battle of Cell Ua nDaigri in 868. Despite being outnumbered, they won the victory. Conchobar's vassal king, Mannachan, lord of Ui Briuin Na Sinna slew Flann; of which was said:

"Great the triumph for Mannachan, for the hero of fierce valour, to have the head of the son of Conaing in his hand, to exhibit it before the face of the son of Tadhg."

The ''

Fragmentary Annals of Ireland The ''Fragmentary Annals of Ireland'' or ''Three Fragments'' are a Middle Irish combination of chronicles from various Irish annals and narrative history. They were compiled in the kingdom of Osraige, probably in the lifetime of Donnchad mac Gil ...

'' record a Norse raid through Connacht on their way to

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

in 867 but they were ambushed and defeated by the Connachtmen. In 873 Connacht was attacked by Dúnchad mac Duib-dá-Bairenn (died 888),

King of Munster The kings of Munster ( ga, Rí Mumhan), ruled from the establishment of Munster during the Irish Iron Age, until the High Middle Ages. According to Gaelic traditional history, laid out in works such as the '' Book of Invasions'', the earliest ...

and

Cerball mac Dúnlainge Cerball mac Dúnlainge (patronymic sometimes spelled ''Dúngaile'', ) (died 888) was king of Ossory in south-east Ireland. The kingdom of Ossory (''Osraige'') occupied roughly the area of modern County Kilkenny and western County Laois and lay b ...

(died 888),

king of Osraige The kings of Osraige (alternately spelled ''Osraighe'' and Anglicised as ''Ossory'') reigned over the medieval Irish kingdom of Osraige from the first or second century AD until the late twelfth century. Osraige was a semi-provincial kingdom in s ...

. The heir to Connacht, Abán son of Cinaed was killed with fire by Sochlachán son of Diarmait in 867 and in 872 his apparent co-ruler Mugron mac Máele Cothaid died. Conchobar himself died at an old age in 882, according to the annals.''Annals of Ulster'' AU 882.7. Conchobar had married Ailbe, daughter of the high king Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid. Conchobar's sons Áed mac Conchobair (died 888),

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) and

Cathal mac Conchobair Cathal mac Conchobair (died 925) was King of Connacht. Family background Cathal was the third son of Conchobar mac Taidg Mór (died 882) to rule Connacht, following his older brother Áed mac Conchobair (died 888) and youngest brother Tadg mac ...

(died 925) were all Kings of Connacht. Cathal's descendants were known as the Ua Conchobair (modern O'Connor), the descendants of Conchobar. Another son was named Máel Cluiche (died 913).

Notes

References

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External links

CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts
a
University College Cork
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conchobar Mac Taidg Mor Kings of Connacht 882 deaths 9th-century Irish monarchs O'Conor dynasty Year of birth unknown