Maelsechlainn mac Tadhg Ó Cellaigh, King of Uí Maine, Chief of the Name, was a leading participant in the

Battle of Knockdoe The Battle of Knockdoe took place on 19 August 1504 at Knockdoe, in the Parish of Lackagh (Irish ''Leacach''), County Galway, between two Anglo-Irish lords— Gerald FitzGerald, Earl of Kildare, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, and Ulick Fionn B ...

, fl. 1499–1511.

Family background

Maelsechlainn is believed to have been the son of a previous king, Tadhg Caech Ó Cellaigh, who died in 1476.

Dispute with Clanricarde

Uí Maine bordered on the lordship of

Clanricarde Clanricarde (; ), also known as Mac William Uachtar (Upper Mac William) or the Galway Burkes, were a fully Gaelicised branch of the Hiberno-Norman House of Burgh who were important landowners in Ireland from the 13th to the 20th centuries. T ...

. In 1503, the then lord, Ulick Fionn Burke "gave a very great overthrow to O'Kelly at a party of the people of Conmaicne-Cuile, where a great part of the gallowglasses of both the Clann-Donnell and Clann-Sweeny were slain around their constables, and where Walter, the son of John Burke, a distinguished captain, was also slain in this conflict. According to the

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 ...

, this resulted in a battle at Beal Ath na nGarbhan:

"The defeat of Bel-atha-na-ngarbhan was given by John Burke, the son of Ulick, son of Ulick, grandson of Rickard, Tanist of Clanrickard, to O'Kelly, in which fell Walter, the son of John, son of Thomas Burke, heir to the lordship of Conmaicne, and many others of the Clann-Donnell and Clann-Dowell, were slain."

Immediately after this, Burke seized and demolished Three castles belonging to Ó Cellaigh at Garbh Dhoire (known today as Garbally Castle),

Monivea Monivea () is a village in County Galway, Ireland. It is located approximately 30 km from Galway City and 9 km from Athenry. It was formerly part of the kingdom of the Soghain of Connacht. Monivea is known for its forest, Monivea Cas ...

and Gallagh:

"Three castles belonging to O'Kelly, viz. Garbh-dhoire, Muine-an-mheadha, and Gallach, were demolished by Mac William Burke (i.e. Ulick the Third). O'Kelly, i.e. Mealsechlainn, complained to the Lord Justice (Fitzgerald) among other chiefs to acquire there support. the result of which was, defeat of Cnoc-Tuagh.

Knockdoe

In the resulting

, Ó Cellaigh fought on the side of

Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare KG (born – ), known variously as "Garret the Great" (Gearóid Mór) or "The Great Earl" (An tIarla Mór), was Ireland's premier peer. He served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1477 to 1494, and from 1496 ...

, Lord Deputy of Ireland. As many as ten thousand are believed to have participated, with fully five thousand killed, mainly on the side of Clandricarde and Toirdhealbhach Donn Ó Briain. It was one of the bloodiest battle ever fought in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Ó Cellaigh accompanied FitzGerald and lifted Burke's occupation of

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

and

Athenry Athenry (; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland, which lies east of Galway city. Some of the attractions of the medieval town are its town wall, Athenry Castle, its priory and its 13th century street-plan. The town is also well known by virt ...

Further references

The rest of Maelsechlainn's reign is obscure. The only event which indirectly refers to Uí Maine occurred in 1509, when "An army was led by O'Donnell into Lower

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 Del ...

, and brought the hostages of Lower Connacht with him to his house. On his death in 1511 he was succeeded by his son, Tadhg, who ruled for only two years. No further rulers of Uí Maine appear to descend from him.

Family background

Dispute with Clanricarde

Knockdoe

Further references

Family

Notes

References

Further reading