Cathussach mac Eterscélai (died circa 769) was a king of

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

from the

Eóganacht Áine Eóganacht Áine or Eóganacht Áine Cliach was a princely house of the Eóganachta, dynasty of Munster during the 5th–12th centuries. They took their name from the Hill of Áine ( ga, Cnoc Áine) near the present day village of Knockainy, Co ...

branch of the

Eóganachta The Eóganachta or Eoghanachta () were an Irish dynasty centred on 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 Desmond, an ...

. He was the son of

Eterscél mac Máele Umai Eterscél mac Máele Umai (d. 721) was a king of Munster from the Eóganacht Áine branch of the Eóganachta. He was the grandson of Cúán mac Amalgado (d. 641), a previous king. There is confusion in the sources between his reign and that of Ail ...

(died 721), a previous king. His branch of the Eóganachta was situated in the south-east of modern

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Munster , subdivision ...

at Cnoc Áine (Knockainy) near the monastery of

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 ...

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 ...

. In the seventh and eighth centuries, the kingship of Munster rotated among the inner circle of the Eóganachta dynasties. His death obit and reign are not mentioned in the Irish annals. According to the ''Laud Synchronisms'', he succeeded

Cathal mac Finguine Cathal mac Finguine (died 742) was an Irish King of Munster or Cashel, and effectively High King of Ireland as well. He belonged to the Eóganacht Glendamnach sept of the dominant Eóganachta kin-group whose members dominated Munster from the 7 ...

(died 742) of the

Eóganacht Glendamnach Eóganacht Glendamnach were a branch of the Eóganachta, the ruling dynasty of Munster during the 5th-10th centuries. They took their name from Glendamnach (Glanworth, County Cork). They were descended from Óengus mac Nad Froích (died 489), the ...

branch in 742 and reigned for 27 years. This would give a reign date of 742-769. Cathussach is not mentioned in relation to events that would have taken place in his reign in Munster and he is only known from the king lists. In the region of Cliú (eastern Co. Limerick and parts of Co. Tipperary), the

Uí Fidgenti The Uí Fidgenti, Fidgeinti, Fidgheinte, Fidugeinte, Fidgente, or Fidgeinte ( or ;In the pronunciation, the -d- is silent, and the -g- becomes a glide, producing what might be anglicized ''Feeyenti'' or ''Feeyenta''. "descendants of, or of the ...

of Limerick fought a battle in 744, in which their king Conchobar was slain. Cathussach's branch of the family bordered on Cliú, but it is not known if the battle was fought by him or by the minor tribes of this region resisting Uí Fidgenti subjugation. In the region of

Thomond Thomond (Classical Irish: ; Modern Irish: ), also known as the kingdom of Limerick, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Clare and County Limerick, as well as parts of County Tipperary around Nenag ...

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

, 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 ...

destroyed the

Corco Mruad Corcomroe () is a barony in County Clare, Ireland. It is the southern half of the Gaelic '' tuath'' of ''Corco Modhruadh''. Legal context Baronies were created after the Norman invasion of Ireland as divisions of counties and were used the adm ...

in 744 and the Uí Fidgenti fought a battle with the Corco Mruad and the

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 Duibne ...

in 763. Local power politics here were caused by the vacuum left by the decline of the Ui Fiachrach Aidhne of

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

. In 747 the Battle of Carn Ailche (possibly Carnelly, County Clare) is recorded as having occurred amongst the men of Munster, in other words, a civil war. In this battle a member of the

Eóganacht Locha Léin __NOTOC__ Eóganacht Locha Léin or Uí Cairpre Luachra were a branch of the ruling Eóganachta of Munster. Their territory was in Iarmuman or West Munster. Luachair (Lúachra) is the old name of a large district on the borders of Co Cork, Kerry an ...

, Coirpre, son of Cú Dínaisc, was slain. This branch of the Eóganachta ruled in west Munster (

Iarmumu Iarmhumhain (older spellings: Iarmuman, Iarmumu or Iarluachair) was a Kingdom in the early Christian period of Ireland in west Munster. Its ruling dynasty was related to the main ruling dynasty of Munster known as the Eóganachta. Its ruling branc ...

) and were semi-independent of the Kings at Cashel. Another civil battle occurred in 757, the Battle of Cenn Fabrat (near Seefin Mountain, Co. Limerick) where Bobdgal, the superior of Mungairit (

Mungret Abbey Mungret Abbey is a medieval friary and National Monument located near Mungret in County Limerick, Ireland. Location Mungret Abbey is located immediately west of Dooradoyle and northeast of Mungret College, southwest of Limerick city centre, to ...

, an abbey near Limerick), was slain.''Annals of Ulster'' 757.5 The victors are not named making it difficult to determine the power struggles at this time. However, it is known that the rotation among the inner circle of the Eóganachta was broken in the next reign.

Notes

References

* ''Annals of Ulster'' a
CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts
a
University College Cork
* Byrne, Francis John (2001), Irish Kings and High-Kings, Dublin: Four Courts Press, * ''Laud Synchronisms'' a

a
University College Cork

External links

a
University College Cork
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cathussach Mac Eterscelai Kings of Munster 760s deaths 8th-century Irish monarchs Year of birth unknown