Sírlám, son of

Finn mac Blatha Finn, son of Blath, son of Labraid Condelg, son of Cairpre, son of Ollom Fotla, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He took power after he killed the previous High King, Eochu Apthach, whose di ...

, 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 ...

. He took power after killing his predecessor,

Lugaid Íardonn Lugaid Íardonn, son of Énna Derg, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. His epithet, Old Irish for "dark brown", came from the colour of his hair. He succeeded his father, who had died of pla ...

, in Ráth Clochair. His name means "long hand" or "long arm", and it is said his arms reached the ground when was standing up (compare the Irish

god In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

Lug, whose

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

''lámfada'' also means "long arm"). He ruled for thirteen years according to 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 ...

'', or sixteen according to

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 ...

and the Four Masters.''

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 ...

'
M4328-4344
/ref> He drove Lugaid's son Eochu Uairches into exile, but after twelve years overseas Eochu returned and killed him with an arrow. 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 649–633 BC, that of the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' to 872–856 BC.

References

Legendary High Kings of Ireland {{Ireland-royal-stub