Dáire Drechlethan "Dáire of the Broad Face" is a

King of Tara The term Kingship of Tara () was a title of authority in ancient Ireland - the title is closely associated with the archaeological complex at the Hill of Tara. The position was considered to be of eminent authority in medieval Irish literature a ...

listed in the

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...

Baile Chuinn Chétchathaig ''Baile Chuind Chétchathaig'' (, "The Vision of Conn of the Hundred Battles") is an Old Irish list of Kings of Tara or High Kings of Ireland which survives in two 16th-century manuscripts, 23 N 10 and Egerton 88. It is the earliest such king- ...

''. His identity with any king of Tara from Irish legend remains uncertain because his epithet is unique in the surviving corpus related to Tara. However, three candidates have recently been proposed, the most likely being

Dáire Doimthech Dáire Doimthech (Dáire "poor house"), alias Dáire Sírchréchtach ("the ever-wounded"), son of Sithbolg, was a legendary King of Tara and High King of Ireland, and one of the eponymous ancestors of the proto-historical Dáirine and historical ...

, a well known king of Tara from Irish legend. His kindred, the

Dáirine The Dáirine (Dárine, Dáirfine, Dáirfhine, Dárfine, Dárinne, Dairinne), later known dynastically as the Corcu Loígde and associated, were the proto-historical rulers of Munster before the rise of the Eóganachta in the 7th century AD. They ...

Corcu Loígde The Corcu Loígde (Corcu Lóegde, Corco Luigde, Corca Laoighdhe, Laidhe), meaning Gens of the Calf Goddess, also called the Síl Lugdach meic Itha, were a kingdom centred in West County Cork who descended from the proto-historical rulers of Mun ...

, believed to be related to the

Érainn The Iverni (, ') were a people of early Ireland first mentioned in Ptolemy's 2nd century ''Geography'' as living in the extreme south-west of the island. He also locates a "city" called Ivernis (, ') in their territory, and observes that this se ...

, provided a number of powerful kings of Tara in the early period, and this could not be ignored by the

Uí Néill The Uí Néill (Irish pronunciation: ; meaning "descendants of Niall") are Irish dynasties who claim descent from Niall Noígíallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages), a historical King of Tara who died c. 405. They are generally divided into the ...

compilers of the list. A descendant (or ancestor) of Dáire Doimthech,

Mac Con Lugaid Mac Con, often known simply as Mac Con, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He belonged to the Corcu Loígde, and thus to the Dáirine. His father was Macnia mac Lugdach, and his mothe ...

moccu

Lugaid Loígde Lugaid Loígde "Lugaid of the Calf Goddess", also known as Lugaid mac Dáire, was a legendary King of Tara and High King of Ireland. He is a son of Dáire Doimthech, ancestor of the Dáirine, and gives his epithet to their principal royal sept, the ...

, is also listed in ''BCC''. Dáire Doimthech is also called Dáire Sírchréchtach or Sírdréchtach often in the tales and genealogies, where he is prominent as an ancestral figure. On the other hand, he is regarded as an ancestor deity of the Érainn by scholars following the theories of

T. F. O'Rahilly Thomas Francis O'Rahilly ( ga, Tomás Ó Rathile; 11 November 1882 – 16 November 1953)Ó Sé, Diarmuid.O'Rahilly, Thomas Francis (‘T. F.’). ''Dictionary of Irish Biography''. (ed.) James McGuire, James Quinn. Cambridge, United Kingdom: C ...

. The alternative candidates are first Dáire mac Cormaic, a son of the famous

Cormac mac Airt Cormac mac Airt, also known as Cormac ua Cuinn (grandson of Conn) or Cormac Ulfada (long beard), was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He is probably the most famous of the ancient High Kings ...

, an early ancestor of the Uí Néill. Nowhere mentioned in legend as a king of Tara, he is only proposed on the basis of ''BCC'' apparently exhibiting bias in favour of Dál Cuinn candidates. The second is Dáire Barrach son of

Cathair Mór Cathair Mór ("the great"), son of Feidhlimidh Fiorurghlas, a descendant of Conchobar Abradruad, was, according to Lebor Gabála Érenn, a High King of Ireland.Foras Feasa ar Éirinn, Section 40, page 259, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100054/t ...

, eponymous ancestor of the

Uí Bairrche Uí Bairrche (Modern Irish: ''Uí Bhairrche'', IPA: �iːˈwaːɾʲɾʲçə was an Irish kin-based group that originally held lands in the south of the ancient province of Leinster (or ''Cóiced Laigen'' "the Fifth of the Laigin"). Another south L ...

, a

Laigin The Laigin, modern spelling Laighin (), were a Gaelic population group of early Ireland. They gave their name to the Kingdom of Leinster, which in the medieval era was known in Irish as ''Cóiced Laigen'', meaning "Fifth/province of the Leinsterm ...

dynasty. Although also nowhere described as a king of Tara, it is also recognized that overlordship of the region in which it lays was won from the Laigin by the Uí Néill, and that a number of Laigin kings of Tara are probably missing from ''BCC''. At the same time this anti-Laiginian bias may make Dáire Barrach the least likely candidate. On the other hand, his son Muiredach Sníthe and grandson Móenach are listed as kings of Tara in the

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

regnal poem ''Nidu dír dermait''.Mac Shamhráin and Byrne, p. 169 But see also

Laidcenn mac Bairchid Laidcenn mac Bairchid, or Laidcenn mac Bairceda, is said to have been an early Irish language poet, whose floruit, if he existed, may have fallen in the middle of the 5th century. According to later glosses, he belonged to the Cruthin of Dál nAra ...

Notes

References

Edel Bhreathnach Edel Bhreathnach is an Irish historian and academic and former CEO of the Discovery Programme. Bhreathnach was a Tara Research Fellow for the Discovery Programme from 1992 to 2000. In 2005 she was appointed Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Mícheál � ...

and Kevin Murray, "''Baile Chuinn Chétchathaig'': Edition", in Edel Bhreathnach (ed.), ''The Kingship and Landscape of Tara''. Dublin:

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 ...

for

The Discovery Programme The Discovery Programme: Centre for Archaeology and Innovation Ireland is an all-Ireland centre for archaeology and heritage research. It was established by the Irish Government in 1991. It is a company limited by guarantee, funded mainly through ...

. 2005. pp. 73–94 *

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. Af ...

, ''Irish Kings and High Kings''. Dublin:

. 2nd revised edition, 2001. *

Thomas Charles-Edwards Thomas Mowbray Charles-Edwards (born 11 November 1943) is an emeritus academic at the University of Oxford. He formerly held the post of Jesus Professor of Celtic and is a Professorial Fellow at Jesus College. Biography He was educated at A ...

, ''Early Christian Ireland''.

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

. 2000. *

Eoin MacNeill Eoin MacNeill ( ga, Eoin Mac Néill; born John McNeill; 15 May 1867 – 15 October 1945) was an Irish scholar, Irish language enthusiast, Gaelic revivalist, nationalist and politician who served as Minister for Education from 1922 to 1925, Ce ...

, ''Celtic Ireland''. Academy Press. 1981 (reissue with new intro. and notes by

Donnchadh Ó Corráin Donnchadh Ó Corráin (28 February 1942 – 25 October 2017) was an Irish historian and Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at University College Cork. He earned his BA in history and Irish from that institution, graduating in 1964. He was a ...

of original Martin Lester Ltd edition, 1921). *

Ailbhe Mac Shamhráin Ailbhe Mac Shamhráin (31 August 1954 – 29 June 2011) was an Irish medieval historian and celticist. Career Mac Shamhráin studied at University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin. He was then a research associate at Scoil an Léinn Ch ...

and Paul Byrne, "Prosopography I: Kings named in ''Baile Chuinn Chétchathaig'' and the Airgíalla Charter Poem", in

(ed.), ''The Kingship and Landscape of Tara''. Dublin:

for

. 2005. pp. 159–224 * Gerard Murphy
"On the Dates of Two Sources Used in Thurneysen's Heldensage: I. ''Baile Chuind'' and the date of ''Cín Dromma Snechtai''"
in ''

Ériu In Irish mythology, Ériu (; modern ga, Éire ), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was the eponymous matron goddess of Ireland. The English name for Ireland comes from the name Ériu and the Germanic languages, Germani ...

16'' (1952): 145-51. includes edition and translation. * Michael A. O'Brien (ed.) with intr. by John V. Kelleher, ''Corpus genealogiarum Hiberniae''. DIAS. 1976. / partial digital edition:

(ed.)
Genealogies from Rawlinson B 502
University College, Cork
Corpus of Electronic Texts
1997. *

, ''Early Irish History and Mythology''.

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) ( ga, Institiúid Ard-Léinn Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a statutory independent research institute in Ireland. It was established in 1940 on the initiative of the Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, in Dub ...

. 1946. {{DEFAULTSORT:Daire Drechlethan Legendary High Kings of Ireland

See also

Notes

References