Selbach mac Ferchair (died 730) was king of the Cenél Loairn and of

Dál Riata Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaelic kingdom that encompassed the western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel. At its height in the 6th and 7th centuries, it covered what is n ...

. Selbach's existence is well-attested as he is mentioned repeatedly in Irish annals.

Life

Selbach mac Ferchair was a son of

Ferchar Fota Ferchar Fota (''Ferchar the Tall'') (died c. 697) was probably king of the Cenél Loairn of Dál Riata, and perhaps of all Dál Riata. His father is named as Feredach mac Fergusa and he was said to be a descendant in the 6th generation of Loarn mac ...

. He ruled as king of the Cenél Loairn from around 698 until his abdication in 723, but it may be that he was undisputed ruler of Dál Riata only in the final years of his reign. He is known to have had two sons, Dúngal and Feredach. Selbach's father, brother, son and nephew are included among the predecessors of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada (Malcolm III) of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

in the ''

Duan Albanach The Duan Albanach (Song of the Scots) is a Middle Gaelic poem. Written during the reign of Mael Coluim III, who ruled between 1058 and 1093, it is found in a variety of Irish sources, and the usual version comes from the '' Book of Lecan'' and ' ...

'' praise poem, but Selbach is not. This may be a form of ''

Damnatio memoriae is a modern Latin phrase meaning "condemnation of memory", indicating that a person is to be excluded from official accounts. Depending on the extent, it can be a case of historical negationism. There are and have been many routes to , includi ...

''. Although Selbach is first mentioned after the death of

Fiannamail ua Dúnchado Fiannamail ua Dúnchado was a king of Dál Riata (modern-day western Scotland and Northern Ireland) at the end of the 7th century. Little can be said with certainty other than the recording of his death in 700AD, where he is listed as having been ...

(died 700), it seems likely that he had deposed his brother Ainbcellach in 698. In 701 he destroyed Dún Olaigh, but whether this was in a war against Ainbcellach, against a king of the rival Cenél nGabráin, or some other enemies, is unknown. A number of battles involving Dál Riada are recorded in the time of Selbach, a defeat in ''Glen Lemnae'' in 704, and victories over the

Britons British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mod ...

at ''Lorg Ecclet'' in 711 and again at "the rock called ''Minuirc''" in 717, but Selbach is not named in these reports. In 712 Selbach besieged ''Aberte'' (

Dunaverty Dunaverty Castle is located at Southend at the southern end of the Kintyre peninsula in western Scotland. The site was once a fort belonging to the Clan Donald (MacDonald). Little remains of the castle, although the site is protected as a sched ...

, near Southend, Kintyre, in the lands of the Cenél nGabráin) and rebuilt Dún Olaigh in 714. In September 719 Selbach fought against his brother Ainbcellach at ''Finnglen'' (perhaps near

Loch Fyne Loch Fyne ( gd, Loch Fìne, ; meaning "Loch of the Vine/Wine"), is a sea loch off the Firth of Clyde and forms part of the coast of the Cowal peninsula. Located on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It extends inland from the Soun ...

). Ainbcellach was killed in the battle. A month later he faced the Cenél nGabráin, led by their king

Dúnchad Bec Dúnchad Bec was king of Kintyre (in Dál Riata) in the early 8th century. Dúnchad Bec is too late to have been included in the Senchus Fer n-Alban, which includes kings to the first half of the 7th century. He is also unknown to later genealogie ...

, also called king of ''Cenn Tíre'' (

Kintyre Kintyre ( gd, Cinn Tìre, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East and West Loch Tarbert in the north. The region immediately nor ...

), in a sea battle off ''Ard Nesbi''. Selbach was defeated, but Dúnchad Bec died in 721, which may have left Selbach as the unchallenged king of Dál Riata. In 723 Selbach abdicated and retired to a monastery, at which time one annalist calls him lord of Dál Riada. He was probably succeeded by his son Dungal, who was replaced by Eochaid mac Echdach in 726. Selbach is found in 727 fighting against the supporters of Eochaid at ''Irros Foichnae''.

External links

Annals of Ulster
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferchair, Selbach Mac Kings of Dál Riata 730 deaths 8th-century Irish monarchs 8th-century Scottish monarchs Year of birth unknown

Life

See also

External links