Cú Chuarán mac Dúngaile (died
708
__NOTOC__
Year 708 ( DCCVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 708 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era b ...
) was a
Dál nAraidi
Dál nAraidi (; "Araide's part") or Dál Araide, sometimes Latinised as Dalaradia or Anglicised as Dalaray,Boyd, Hugh AlexanderIrish Dalriada ''The Glynns: Journal of The Glens of Antrim Historical Society''. Volume 76 (1978). was a Cruthin kin ...
king of
Ulaid
Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or Ulaidh (Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include Ulidia, which is the Latin form of Ulaid, and in ...
, an over-kingdom in medieval
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. He was the son of
Dúngal Eilni mac Scandail
Dúngal Eilni mac Scandail (died 681) was a Dál nAraidi king of the Cruthin. He ascended to this position some time after 668. He was the son of Scandal mac Bécce (died 646), a previous king.
In the 6th and 7th centuries the Dál nAraidi were ...
(died
681) and brother of
Ailill mac Dúngaile Eilni
Aillil mac Dúngaile Eilni (died 690) was a Dál nAraidi king of the Cruthin in Ulaid, an over-kingdom in medieval Ireland. He was the son of Dúngal Eilni mac Scandail (died 681), a previous king. He ruled from 682-690.
In the 6th and 7th centur ...
(died 690), previous
kings of Dál nAraidi
The Kings of Dál nAraidi were rulers of one of the main kingdoms of Ulster and competed with the Dál Fiatach for the overlordship of Ulaid.
The dynasty resided at Ráith Mór, east of Antrim in the Mag Line area and emerged as the dominant group ...
In the 6th and 7th centuries the Dál nAraidi were part of a confederation of
Cruthin
The Cruthin (; mga, Cruithnig or ; ga, label=Modern Irish, Cruithne ) were a people of early medieval Ireland. Their heartland was in Ulster and included parts of the present-day counties of Antrim, Down and Londonderry. They are also said ...
tribes in Ulaid and were the dominant members. Cú Chuarán belonged to a branch of this family settled in
Eilne
Eilne, also spelt as Eilni, alias Mag nEilne, was a medieval Irish Cruthin petty-kingdom in the over-kingdom of Ulaid. It lay between the River Bann and River Bush, and was centered on Magh nEilne, the "plain of Eilne", spanning north-east County ...
, a plain between the Bann and Bush rivers in modern-day
County Antrim
County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. This plain had been conquered by the Dál nAraidi by the middle of the seventh century.
He would have become king of Dál nAraidi on death of Áed Aired (died
698
__NOTOC__
Year 698 ( DCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 698 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar ...
) ruling from 698 to 708 and king of Ulaid upon abdication of
Bécc Bairrche mac Blathmaic
Bécc Bairrche mac Blathmaic (died 718) was king of Ulaid from 692 to 707 from the Dál Fiatach clan. He was the son of Blathmac mac Máel Cobha (died 670), a previous king. His byname Bairrche refers to the region of the Mourne Mountains in sout ...
in
707 of the
Dál Fiatach
Dál Fiatach was a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic dynastic-grouping and the name of their territory in the north-east of Ireland during the Middle Ages. It was part of the over-kingdom of Ulaid, and they were its main ruling dynasty for most of Ulaid's ...
ruling from 707 to 708. The ''Annals of Ulster'' call him king of the Cruthin. The king lists and other annals though also give him the title king of Ulaid.
Cú Chuarán led an attack on the Irish lands of Dál Riata in northeast County Antrim. The Irish lands of Dál Riata were under attack by the Dál nAraidi since the
battle of Magh Rath
The Battle of Moira, also known as the Battle of Magh Rath, was fought in the summer of 637 by the High King of Ireland, Domnall II, against his foster son Congal Cáech, King of Ulaid, supported by his ally Domnall Brecc, King of Dál Riata. T ...
. He was killed by Scanlán Finn húa Rebáin a member of the Dál nAraidi and the kingship reverted to the Dál Fiatach.
[Mac Niocaill, pg.115]
Notes
References
* ''Annals of Ulster'' a
a
University College Cork* Byrne, Francis John (2001), ''Irish Kings and High-Kings'', Dublin: Four Courts Press,
* Gearoid Mac Niocaill (1972), ''Ireland before the Vikings'', Dublin: Gill and Macmillan
* Charles-Edwards, T. M. (2000), ''Early Christian Ireland'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
External links
a
University College Cork
Kings of Ulster
Kings of Dál nAraidi
708 deaths
7th-century Irish monarchs
8th-century Irish monarchs
People from County Armagh
Year of birth unknown
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