Máel mac Donngaile (died 859), known as Máel Gualae, was a
King of Munster
The kings of Munster ( ga, Rí Mumhan), ruled from the establishment of Munster during the Irish Iron Age, until the High Middle Ages. According to Gaelic traditional history, laid out in works such as the '' Book of Invasions'', the earliest ...
from the
Eóganacht Chaisil
Eóganacht Chaisil were a branch of the Eóganachta, the ruling dynasty of Munster between the 5th and 10th centuries. They took their name from Cashel (County Tipperary) which was the capital of the early Catholic kingdom of Munster. They were d ...
branch of the
Eoganachta, the ruling dynasty of Munster. He was of the Clann Faílbe sept of this branch and a grandson of
Tnúthgal mac Donngaile (died 820), whom some sources name as King of Munster and brother of
Áilgenán mac Donngaile
Áilgenán mac Donngaile (died 853) was a King of Munster from the Eóganacht Chaisil
Eóganacht Chaisil were a branch of the Eóganachta, the ruling dynasty of Munster between the 5th and 10th centuries. They took their name from Cashel (Count ...
(died 853), also King of Munster. His branch of the ruling dynasty had their lands in the
Cashel area of modern
County Tipperary
County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...
. He reigned from 856 to 859.
After the death of Áilgenán in 853 there was an interregnum until the succession of his brother Máel Gualae in 856. The Danes had arrived in Ireland in 849 and took control of Dublin in 851. The dispersed Norse went off to plunder different areas of Ireland and a rivalry began between these two Viking groups with Irish kings using this rivalry in their own conflicts. A number of men in Munster joined up with these Norse and were known as ''Gall Gaedil'' ("foreign Gaels").
Cerball mac Dúnlainge
Cerball mac Dúnlainge (patronymic sometimes spelled ''Dúngaile'', ) (died 888) was king of Ossory in south-east Ireland. The kingdom of Ossory (''Osraige'') occupied roughly the area of modern County Kilkenny and western County Laois and lay b ...
(died 888), King of
Osraige
Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of t ...
aligned himself with the Danes versus the Norse to become the most powerful ruler in southern Ireland during this period.
During the interregnum, the
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 ...
Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid
Máel Sechnaill mac Máel Ruanaida (Modern Irish: ''Maolsheachlann Mac Maolruanaidh''), also known as Máel Sechnaill I, anglicised as Malachy MacMulrooney (died 27 November 862) was High King of Ireland. The Annals of Ulster use the Old Irish ti ...
(died 862) of
Clann Cholmáin
Clann Cholmáin is the dynasty descended from Colmán Már mac Diarmato, son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Part of the Southern Uí Néill — they were the kings of Mide (Meath) — they traced their descent to Niall Noígiallach and his s ...
led an expedition into Munster in 854 as far as the borders of the
Déisi
The ''Déisi'' were a socially powerful class of peoples from Ireland that settled in Wales and western England between the ancient and early medieval period. The various peoples listed under the heading ''déis'' shared the same status in Gaeli ...
in Tipperary County and took hostages from Munster. The ''
Fragmentary Annals of Ireland
The ''Fragmentary Annals of Ireland'' or ''Three Fragments'' are a Middle Irish combination of chronicles from various Irish annals and narrative history. They were compiled in the kingdom of Osraige, probably in the lifetime of Donnchad mac Gilla ...
'' claim that Cerball, brother-in-law of the high king, was sent by the high king into Munster as well to claim the hostages. According to the ''
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 ...
'', the Norse had instigated the opposition to the high king in Munster. The high king appeared again at Cashel to take hostages from Munster in 856, probably at the time of the accession of Máel Gualae.
The Norse activities in Munster were a disruptive influence and around 855 the men of Munster appealed to Cerball of Osraige for aid against the Norse. Cerball arrived with a force of Danes under a leader named Horm and they surrounded the Norse and massacred them. In 856 a Norse force slew Gormán son of Lonán, heir designate of Cashel, at
Loch Cenn. In 857 Cerball and his Danish allies,
Amlaíb Conung
Amlaíb Conung ( non, Óláfr ; died c. 874) was a Viking leader in Ireland and Scotland in the mid-late ninth century. He was the son of the king of Lochlann, identified in the non-contemporary ''Fragmentary Annals of Ireland'' as Gofraid, and br ...
and Ímar, won a victory over the Norse and Gall Gaeill under Kettil "The Fair" in the Munster territory of Arad Tíre in northern Tipperary.
In 858 Máel Sechnaill led a large muster of the men of Ireland into Munster to exact hostages. This time Cerball was his enemy as well as 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 ...
men had complained to the high king of him. The forces of Cerball and Máel Gualae had been stationed at Belach Gabrán in southern Osraige, possibly at
Goresbridge
Goresbridge () is a small village located in the east of County Kilkenny, in the province of Leinster, Ireland. Goresbridge is named after a 1756 bridge, built by Colonel Ralph Gore, which provides a crossing of the River Barrow between County ...
on the
River Barrow
The Barrow ( ga, An Bhearú) is a river in Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers, and at 192 km (120 mi), the second-longest ri ...
, to oppose the High King's army, but this took an unexpected route and their forces were divided. The High King inflicted a shattering defeat on the forces of Máel Gualae at the Battle of Carn Lugdoch (near modern
Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
, mapsize = 220px
, pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe
, pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe
, pushpin_relief = 1
, coordinates ...
) and the King of the Déisi, Máel Crón mac Muiredaig, was slain. The High King remained at
Emly
Emly or Emlybeg () is a village in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Clanwilliam. It is also an Ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly.
It is situated on the R515 ...
for a month raiding all of Munster as far as the sea in Desmond. He took hostages from all the lands of Munster. Many of the Norse-Gaels were slain by the High King's army. The defeat of the Munstermen led Cerball to also submit and give hostages to the high king.
The next year however in 859 Cerball again defied Máel Sechnaill and with his Danish allies led an expedition into
Mide
Meath (; Old Irish: ''Mide'' ; spelt ''Mí'' in Modern Irish) was a kingdom in Ireland from the 1st to the 12th century AD. Its name means "middle," denoting its location in the middle of the island.
At its greatest extent, it included all of ...
. This led to a royal conference at Ráith Aeda Meic Bric (modern
Rahugh
Rahugh or ''Ráith Aeda Meic Bric'' is an early Christian site founded by Áed mac Bricc (also referred to as Saint Hugh of Rahugh) in the 6th century, inside a ráth or ringfort. The site, located about 8 km north of Tullamore along the L10 ...
,
County Westmeath
"Noble above nobility"
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state, Country
, subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland
, subdivision_type1 = Provinces o ...
) with the High King, the kingdom of Cerball was made directly subject to the high king and separated from Munster. Máel Gualae accepted this transfer of authority. That same year Máel Gualae was captured by the Norsemen who stoned him to death
[AU 859.4, M 857.8]
His son
Dub Lachtna mac Máele Gualae (died 895) was also a King of Munster.
Notes
References
* ''Annals of Innisfallen'' a
CELT: Corpus of Electronic Textsa
University College Cork* ''Annals of Ulster'' a
a
University College Cork* Byrne, Francis John (2001), Irish Kings and High-Kings, Dublin: Four Courts Press,
* ''Fragmentary Annals of Ireland'' a
a
University College Cork* ''Annals of the Four Masters'' a
a
University College Cork* ''Chronicum Scotorum'' a
a
University College Cork
External links
a
University College Cork
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maele Gualae mac Donngaile
Kings of Munster
859 deaths
9th-century Irish monarchs
Year of birth unknown
Deaths by stoning