Eochu (or Eochaid) Uairches, son of
Lugaid Íardonn, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a
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 ...
. After Lugaid was overthrown and killed by
Sírlám, Eochu was driven into exile overseas, but he returned after twelve years, killed Sírlám with an arrow, and took the throne. His epithet is obscure: the ''
Lebor Gabála Érenn
''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of the Taking of Ireland"), known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'', is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language intended to be a history of Ireland and the Irish fro ...
'' says he gained it because of his exile, while
Geoffrey Keating
Geoffrey Keating ( ga, Seathrún Céitinn; c. 1569 – c. 1644) was a 17th-century historian. He was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, and is buried in Tubrid Graveyard in the parish of Ballylooby-Duhill. He became an Irish Catholic priest and a ...
explains it as meaning "bare canoes", because he had canoes for a fleet, in which he and his followers used to plunder neighbouring countries. He ruled for twelve years, before he was killed by
Eochu Fíadmuine
Eochu Fíadmuine was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, joint High King of Ireland with his brother or half-brother Conaing Bececlach. They took power after killing the previous High King, Eochu Uairches. Eochu ruled ...
and
Conaing Bececlach. The ''Lebor Gabála'' synchronises his reign with that of
Artaxerxes I of Persia
Artaxerxes I (, peo, 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ἀρταξέρξης) was the fifth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, from 465 to December 424 BC. He was the third son of Xerxes I.
He may have been the " Artas ...
(465–424 BC). The chronology of Keating's ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' dates his reign to 633–621 BC, that of the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' to 856–844 BC.
['']Annals of the Four Masters
The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Deluge, dated as 2,24 ...
'
M4344
/ref>
References
Legendary High Kings of Ireland
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