The Síl Conairi (Sil Chonairi, Conaire) or "Seed of Conaire" were those

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 ...

septs of the legendary Clanna Dedad descended from the monarch

Conaire Mór Conaire Mór (the great), son of Eterscél, was, according to mediaeval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland sometime during the 1st century BC or 1st century AD. His mother was Mess Búachalla, who was either the daugh ...

, son of

Eterscél Mór Eterscél Mór ("the great"), Son of Eogan MacAilella, grandson of Ailill Anglonnach MacIar, great grandson of Íar mac Dedad, a descendant of Óengus Tuirmech Temrach, of the Érainn of Munster was, according to mediaeval Irish legend and hist ...

, a descendant of Deda mac Sin, namely the

Dál Riata Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaels, Gaelic Monarchy, kingdom that encompassed the Inner Hebrides, western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North ...

, Múscraige, Corcu Duibne, and

Corcu Baiscinn The Corcu Baiscind were an early Érainn people or kingdom of what is now southern County Clare in Munster. They descended from Cairpre Baschaín, son of Conaire Cóem, a High King of Ireland. Closely related were the Múscraige and Corcu Dui ...

. The Dál Riata, presumably settling in far northeastern

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

in the prehistoric period, would famously go on to contribute to the founding of the

Kingdom of Alba The Kingdom of Alba (; ) was the Kingdom of Scotland between the deaths of Donald II in 900 and of Alexander III in 1286. The latter's death led indirectly to an invasion of Scotland by Edward I of England in 1296 and the First War of Scotti ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and be responsible for the

Gaelicisation Gaelicisation, or Gaelicization, is the act or process of making something Gaels, Gaelic or gaining characteristics of the ''Gaels'', a sub-branch of Celticisation. The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group, traditionally viewed as having spread fro ...

of that country. The most celebrated Royal Family of Scotland, the

House of Dunkeld The House of Dunkeld (in or "of the Caledonians") is a historiographical and genealogical construct to illustrate the clear succession of Scottish kings from 1034 to 1040 and from 1058 to 1286. The line is also variously referred to by historian ...

, described themselves as the "seed of Conaire Mór" as late as the twelfth century. Conaire Mór is thus an ancestor of the modern

British royal family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

through the House of Dunkeld. According to tradition, the last king in the 'direct' male line from the Clanna Dedad and Síl Conairi was

Alexander III of Scotland Alexander III (; Modern Gaelic: ; 4 September 1241 – 19 March 1286) was King of Alba (Scotland) from 1249 until his death. He concluded the Treaty of Perth, by which Scotland acquired sovereignty over the Western Isles and the Isle of Man. ...

(d. 19 March 1286). Although an earlier, prehistoric Gaelic presence in Scotland has long been noted by scholars, two early Kings of the Picts suggested to be from the Dál Riata, and who may have been instrumental in the (further) Gaelicisation of

Pictland The Picts were a group of peoples in what is now Scotland north of the Firth of Forth, in the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and details of their culture can be gleaned from early medieval texts and Pictish stones. The name appears in ...

, were Bridei IV of the Picts and his brother

Nechtan mac Der-Ilei Naiton son of Der-Ilei (; died 732), also called Naiton son of Dargart (), was king of the Picts between 706–724 and between 728–729. He succeeded his brother Bridei IV in 706. He is associated with significant religious reforms in Pictlan ...

. The remaining Síl Conairi would settle and/or remain in

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

, where, although retaining their distinctive identity, they would be overshadowed at first by their

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 M ...

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 ...

kinsmen, but later reject them in favour of the

Eóganachta The Eóganachta (Modern , ) were an Irish dynasty centred on Rock of Cashel, Cashel which dominated southern Ireland (namely the Kingdom of Munster) from the 6/7th to the 10th centuries, and following that, in a restricted form, the Kingdom of De ...

and be instrumental in the rise to power of that dynasty. The Múscraige became the chief vassals and facilitators for the Eóganachta and their mesne king was regarded as more or less equal in status to the three or four regional kings under the

Cashel Cashel (an Anglicised form of the Irish language word ''Caiseal'', meaning "stone fort") may refer to: Places in Ireland *Cashel, County Tipperary **The Rock of Cashel, an ancient, hilltop fortress complex for which Cashel is named ** Archbishop ...

overlordship. A late and unexpected

king of Munster The kings of Munster () ruled the Kingdom of Munster in Ireland from its establishment 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 earli ...

from the Múscraige was Flaithbertach mac Inmainén (d. 944). The Corcu Duibne are renowned for their

ogham Ogham (also ogam and ogom, , Modern Irish: ; , later ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish language ( scholastic ...

inscriptions, with over one third of all Irish inscriptions found in their region. Both they and the Corcu Baiscinn were renowned as sailors. The latter were eventually absorbed into the Kingdom of Thomond under the

O'Brien dynasty The O'Brien dynasty (; ; genitive ''Uí Bhriain'' ) was an Irish Clan and noble house of Munster, founded in the 10th century by Brian Boru of the Dál gCais (Dalcassians). After becoming King of Munster, through conquest he established hims ...

. The birth, life, and fall of Conaire Mór are recounted in the epic tale ''

Togail Bruidne Dá Derga ''Togail Bruidne Dá Derga'' (''The Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel'') is an Irish tale belonging to the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. It survives in three Old Irish, Old and Middle Irish recensions, it is part of the Lebor na hUidre, Book ...

''. Two distantly related tales of more interest to genealogists are '' De Síl Chonairi Móir'' and ''De Maccaib Conaire''.Lucius Gwynn
"De Maccaib Conaire"
in ''

Ériu In Irish mythology, Ériu (; ), 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, Germanic (Old Norse or ...

6'' (1912): 144–53
Summary by Dan M. Wiley
In these he is confused with his descendant or double

Conaire Cóem Conaire Cóem ("the beautiful"), son of Mug Láma, son of Coirpre Crou-Chend, son of Coirpre Firmaora, son of Conaire Mór, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, the 111th High King of Ireland. He came to power on the ...

, father of Na Trí Coirpri "The Three Cairbres", namely Coirpre Músc, a quo the Múscraige and Corcu Duibne, Coirpre Baschaín, a quo the Corcu Baiscinn, and Coirpre Rígfhota (Riata), a quo the Dál Riata.

The Three Cairbres

Notes

References

* John Bannerman, ''Studies in the History of Dalriada''. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press. 1974 *

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 � ...

(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 ...

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. *

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. A ...

, ''Irish Kings and High-Kings''.

. 2nd revised edition, 2001. * Hector Munro Chadwick, ''Early Scotland: the Picts, the Scots and the Welsh of southern Scotland''.

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

. 1949. * Margaret E. Dobbs,
Side-lights on the Táin age and other studies
'. Dundalk: WM. Tempest. 1917. * Thomas Charles-Edwards, ''Early Christian Ireland''.

. 2000. *

Eoin MacNeill Eoin MacNeill (; 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, Ceann Comhairle of D ...

"Early Irish Population Groups: their nomenclature, classification and chronology"
in ''Proceedings of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...

"Notes on Irish Ogham Inscriptions"
in ''Proceedings of the

''. 1909. pp. 329–70 *

Kuno Meyer Kuno Meyer (20 December 1858 – 11 October 1919) was a German scholar, distinguished in the field of Celtic philology and literature. His pro-German stance at the start of World War I in the United States was a source of controversy. His brothe ...

(ed.)
"The Laud Genealogies and Tribal Histories"
in '' Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 8'' (1912): 291–338. * Michael A. O'Brien (ed.) with intro. by John V. Kelleher, ''Corpus genealogiarum Hiberniae''. DIAS. 1976. / partial digital edition:

Donnchadh Ó Corráin Donnchadh Ó Corráin (28 February 1942 – 25 October 2017) was an Republic of Ireland, Irish historian and professor emeritus of medieval history at University College Cork. He earned his BA in history and Irish from UCC, graduating in 1964. ...

(ed.)
Genealogies from Rawlinson B 502

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

Corpus of Electronic Texts
1997. * T. F. O'Rahilly, ''Early Irish History and Mythology''.

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) () is a statutory independent research institute in Dublin, Ireland. It was established, under the Institute For Advanced Studies Act 1940, by the government of the then Taoiseach, Éamon de Vale ...

. 1946. *

Julius Pokorny Julius Pokorny (12 June 1887 – 8 April 1970) was an Austrian-Czech linguist and scholar of the Celtic languages and of Celtic studies, particularly of the Irish language, and a supporter of Irish nationalism. He held academic posts in Austrian ...

"Beiträge zur ältesten Geschichte Irlands (3. Érainn, Dári(n)ne und die Iverni und Darini des Ptolomäus)"
in '' Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 12'' (1918): 323–57. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sil Conairi Historical Celtic peoples Érainn Scottish monarchs Scottish clans Tribes of ancient Ireland

The Three Cairbres

See also

Notes

References