Gíallchad, the son of
Ailill Olcháin, son of
Sírna Sáeglach, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, the 37th
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 ...
. Gíallchad took power after killing his predecessor, and the son of his grandfather's killer,
Elim Olfínechta, in the battle of Comair Trí nUisce. He is said to have taken one out of every five men of
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
hostage. Gíallchad reigned for nine years, before being killed by Elim's son
Art Imlech
Art Imlech, ("having an edge or border" or "bordering on a lake or marsh") son of Elim Olfínechta, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland, who took power after killing his predecessor, and his fat ...
at Mag Muaide. 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 ...
'' synchronises his reign with that of
Phraortes of the
Medes
The Medes (Old Persian: ; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were an ancient Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media between western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, the ...
(665–633 BC). The chronology of
Geoffrey Keating's ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' dates his reign to 786–777 BC, that of the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' to 1023–1014 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 ...
'
M4177-4186
/ref>
Gíallchad's son was Nuadu Finn Fáil
Nuadu Finn Fáil (Nuadu the Fair of ''Fál'' - a poetic name for Ireland), son of Gíallchad, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland, who took power after he killed his predecessor, and his father' ...
.
References
Legendary High Kings of Ireland
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