Madudan mac Gadhra Mór (died 1008) was the

namesake A namesake is a person, geographic location, or other entity bearing the name of another. History The word is first attested around 1635, and probably comes from the phrase "for one's name's sake", which originates in English Bible translations ...

and ancestor of the Ó Madden family. Madudan was the son of

Gadhra Mór mac Dundach Gadhra Mór mac Dundach (died 1027) was King of Síol Anmchadha and Uí Maine. Biography Gadhra Mór was one of three known sons of Dundach, chief of the region extending from Grian to Caradh. The others were Diarmaid (died 998) and Cú Conna ...

who fought at the

Battle of Clontarf The Battle of Clontarf ( ga, Cath Chluain Tarbh) took place on 23 April 1014 at Clontarf, near Dublin, on the east coast of Ireland. It pitted an army led by Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, against a Norse-Irish alliance comprising the for ...

in 1014. The Annals of Ulster describe him as Chief of

Síol Anmchadha Síol Anmchadha was a sub-kingdom or lordship of Uí Maine, and ruled by an offshoot of the Uí Maine called the Síol Anmchadha (''"the seed of Anmchadh"''), from whom the territory took its name. It was located in Connacht, Ireland. Histor ...

on the occasion of his death - killed by his brother, Cú Connacht mac Gadhra Mór (died ca. 1045) - in 1008.

Gerard Madden Gerard Madden is a native of Whitegate, County Clare, and is the author of a number of books dealing with the ancestry of Irish families, including the Maddens of County Galway. References *Holy Island, Jewel of the Lough, 1990, reprinted 19 ...

expresses some doubt about his description as chief, as his father became lord in the same year, and also about his parentage. Madudan's only known issue was

Diarmaid mac Madudan Diarmaid mac Madudan was Chief of Síol Anmchadha from 1032–1069. Biography Described as ''a rod who ruled each road'', Diarmaid was the son of Madudan mac Gadhra Mór. He led the Madden clan in a plundering raid on Clonmacnoise in 1050. Ho ...

(chief 1032–1069) whose son, Madudan Reamhar Ua Madadhan (chief 1069-1096) was the first of the

to bear the surname Ó Madadhan. In his edition of the ''Tribes and Customs of Hy-Many'', John O'Donovan quotes a prose tract written during the lifetime of Eoghan Ó Madadhan (died 1347) which calls Diarmaid ''son of the affluent Madudan, son of the fettering Gadhra.''

References

* '' O'Madáin: History of the O'Maddens of Hy-Many'',

, 2004. . People from County Galway 10th-century Irish people 11th-century Irish monarchs 1008 deaths Year of birth unknown {{Ireland-bio-stub