Cathal Carrach Ua Conchobair, anglicised as Cathal Carragh O'Conor, was

king of Connacht The Kings of Connacht were rulers of the ''cóiced'' (variously translated as portion, fifth, province) of Connacht, which lies west of the River Shannon, Ireland. However, the name only became applied to it in the early medieval era, being named ...

from 1189 to 1202. One of the seven sons of

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Conchobar Maenmaige Ua Conchobair Conchobar Maenmaige Ua Conchobair, son of High King of Ireland Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, was King of Connacht from 1183 to 1189. He was a military commander and opponent of the Norman invasion of Ireland. Early life Conchobar Maenmaige took his ...

, his nickname ''carragh'' ('scabby') suggests he had some sort of skin disease. The identities of his mother and wife are unknown. He first came to prominence during the ''war of the rigdamnae'' in 1185, supporting his father in a three-way contest against Conchobair's father, King Ruaidhri of Connacht, and Ruaidhri's brother, Cathal Crobderg Ua Conchobair. After his father's

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

in 1189, Cathal hunted down and killed the instigator, the mysterious Conchobar ua nDiarmata. Cathal became king but faced contention from Cathal Crobderg; the dynastic in-fighting aided the introduction of Anglo-Norman forces west of the Shannon, who were employed by both men. Cathal was killed in battle at Corr Sliaib in the

Curlew Mountains The Curlew Mountains () are a range of low-lying hills situated between Boyle and Castlebaldwin in northeastern Connacht. Toponymy The assignation of the name ''Curlew'' to the mountains may not relate the Curlew bird, but rather to the whic ...

in 1202. He had at least one son, Melaghlin, who was killed ten years later.

References

*''Ua Conchobair, Cathal Carrach'', Ailbhe Mac Shamhrain, in ''Dictionary of Irish Biography ... to the year 2002: Volume 9, Staines - Z'', p. 569. Cambridge, 2010. Kings of Connacht 12th-century births 1202 deaths Nobility from County Galway 12th-century Irish monarchs 13th-century Irish monarchs Cathal {{Ireland-royal-stub