Cenn Fáelad mac Blathmaic (died 675) followed his father

Blathmac mac Áedo Sláine Blathmac (died 665) was a son of Áed Sláine. According to the Irish annals, he was High King of Ireland. Sons of Áed Sláine Blathmac's father Áed Sláine was a son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill, the apical ancestor of the southern branches of ...

(d. 665) and his brother

Sechnassach Sechnassach mac Blathmaic (died 671) followed his father Blathmac mac Áedo Sláine (died 665) and uncle Diarmait mac Áedo Sláine (died 665) as High King of Ireland and King of Brega. He belonged to the Síl nÁedo Sláine kindred of the sout ...

(d. 671) as

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 an ...

and king of

Brega Brega , also known as ''Mersa Brega'' or ''Marsa al-Brega'' ( ar, مرسى البريقة , i.e. "Brega Seaport"), is a complex of several smaller towns, industry installations and education establishments situated in Libya on the Gulf of Sidra ...

. He belonged to the

Síl nÁedo Sláine Síl nÁedo Sláine () are the descendants of Áed Sláine (Áed mac Diarmato), son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Part of the Southern Uí Néill—they were the kings of Brega—they claimed descent from Niall Noígiallach and his son Cona ...

kindred of the southern

Uí Néill The Uí Néill (Irish pronunciation: ; meaning "descendants of Niall") are Irish dynasties who claim descent from Niall Noígíallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages), a historical King of Tara who died c. 405. They are generally divided into t ...

which took its name from his grandfather

Áed Sláine Áed mac Diarmato (died 604), called Áed Sláine (Áed of Slane), was the son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Legendary stories exist of Áed's birth. Saint Columba is said to have prophesied his death. His descendants, the Síl nÁedo Sláine—th ...

(died 604). He was killed, probably in an ambush during a royal circuit of Ireland, near Lough Derg, by his first cousin, rival, and eventual successor,

Fínsnechta Fledach Fínsnechta Fledach mac Dúnchada (died 695) was High King of Ireland. Fínsnechta belonged to the southern Síl nÁedo Sláine sept of the Uí Néill and was King of Brega, in modern County Meath, Ireland. He was a grandson of Áed Sláine. His ...

(died 695). The ''Fragmentary Annals of Ireland'' say of this:

The soldiers from the west of the land closed about Fínnachta; Cenn Fáelad's kingship was shorn from him—great its propriety.

While the ''

Baile Chuinn Chétchathaig ''Baile Chuind Chétchathaig'' (, "The Vision of Conn of the Hundred Battles") is an Old Irish list of Kings of Tara or High Kings of Ireland which survives in two 16th-century manuscripts, 23 N 10 and Egerton 88. It is the earliest such king-li ...

'', compiled in the reign of Fínsnechta, does not include Cenn Fáelad among its High Kings, the

Chronicle of Ireland The Chronicle of Ireland ( ga, Croinic na hÉireann) is the modern name for a hypothesized collection of ecclesiastical annals recording events in Ireland from 432 to 911 AD. Several surviving annals share events in the same sequence and wording ...

, on which other

Irish annals A number of Irish annals, of which the earliest was the Chronicle of Ireland, were compiled up to and shortly after the end of the 17th century. Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days. Over ...

were founded, named him as a High King. The omission of Cenn Faelad from this king list may be deliberate as it was compiled in the reign of his killer Fínsnechta Fledach.T.M. Charles-Edwards, ''Early Christian Ireland'', pg.492 His descendants the Uí Chinn Fháelad sept played no major role.

Notes

References

* Byrne, Francis John, ''Irish Kings and High-Kings.'' Batsford, London, 1973. * Charles-Edwards, T. M. (2000), ''Early Christian Ireland'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, * * ''Annals of Ulster'' a
CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts
a
University College Cork
* ''Fragmentary Annals of Ireland'' a

a
University College Cork
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cenn Faelad Mac Blathmaic 675 deaths High Kings of Ireland Kings of Brega 7th-century Irish monarchs Year of birth unknown