Ailill (or Oilioll), son of
Slánoll, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a
High King of Ireland; scholars now believe these kings to be a
pseudohistorical
Pseudohistory is a form of pseudoscholarship that attempts to distort or misrepresent the historical record, often by employing methods resembling those used in scholarly historical research. The related term cryptohistory is applied to pseudohi ...
construct of the eighth century AD, a projection into the distant past of a political entity which did not become a reality until
Maelseachlainn I. He took power after killing his cousin
Berngal. He ruled for twelve, fifteen or sixteen years, according to various versions of 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 ...
'' (
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 Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Flood myt ...
'
M4003-4019
/ref> agree on sixteen) before he was killed by Sírna Sáeglach, a great grandson of Rothechtaid mac Main. The ''Lebor Gabála'' synchronises his reign with that of Deioces
Deioces ( grc, Δηιόκης), from the Old Iranian ''Dahyu-ka-'', meaning "the lands" (above, on and beneath the earth), was the founder and the first ''shah'' as well as priest of the Median Empire. His name has been mentioned in different form ...
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, ...
(694-665 BC). The chronology of Keating's ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' dates his reign to 831–815 BC, that of the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' to 1197–1181 BC.
References
Legendary High Kings of Ireland
Pseudohistory
{{Ireland-royal-stub