Cathal Cú-cen-máthair mac Cathaíl (died 665), often known as Cú-cen-máthair, was an Irish

King of Munster The kings of Munster () ruled the Kingdom of Munster in Ireland from its establishment during the Irish Iron Age until the High Middle Ages. According to Gaelic traditional history, laid out in works such as the ''Book of Invasions'', the earli ...

from around 661 until his death. He was a son of Cathal mac Áedo Flaind Chathrach (died c. 628) and belonged to the Glendamnach

sept A sept () is a division of a family, especially of a Scottish or Irish family. The term is used both in Scotland and in Ireland, where it may be translated as Irish , meaning "progeny" or "seed", and may indicate the descendants of a person ...

of the

Eóganachta The Eóganachta (Modern , ) were an Irish dynasty centred on Rock of Cashel, 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 De ...

dynasty. The name Cú-cen-máthair means the "motherless hound". Cú-cen-máthair succeeded Máenach mac Fíngin of the Eóganacht Chaisil, the

Cashel Cashel (an Anglicised form of the Irish language word ''Caiseal'', meaning "stone fort") may refer to: Places in Ireland *Cashel, County Tipperary **The Rock of Cashel, an ancient, hilltop fortress complex for which Cashel is named ** Archbishop ...

branch of the kindred. A surviving poem attributed to Luccrech moccu Chérai contains a list of his ancestors back to

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

. Cú-cen-máthair died in 665 of a plague which killed many others as recorded in the

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 ti ...

. The king lists have him followed as King of Munster by Colgú mac Faílbe Flaind of the Eóganacht Chaisil. Cú-cen-máthair left at least two sons, Finguine mac Cathail (died 696) and Ailill mac Cathail (died 701), both of whom are listed as Kings of Munster in the annals.

References

* Byrne, Francis John, ''Irish Kings and High-Kings.'' Batsford, London, 1973.

External links

CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts
a
University College Cork
The Corpus of Electronic Texts includes the ''Annals of Ulster'' and ''the Four Masters'', the ''Chronicon Scotorum'' and the ''Book of Leinster'' as well as Genealogies, and various Saints' Lives. Most are translated into English, or translations are in progress.

665 deaths Kings of Munster 7th-century Irish monarchs Year of birth unknown {{Ireland-royal-stub