Cellach mac Fáelchair (died 735) or Cellach Raigni was a
King of Osraige in modern
County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...
. He was the son of
Fáelchar Ua Máele Ódrain (died 693), a previous king.
The dynasty that ruled over
Osraige in the early Christian period was known as the Dál Birn. His year of accession is unknown, the last king of Osraige to be mentioned in the annals prior to Cellach was
Cú Cherca mac Fáeláin
Cú Cherca mac Fáeláin (died 712) was a King of Osraige in modern County Kilkenny. He was the son of Fáelán mac Crundmaíl (died 660), a previous king.''Rawlinson Genealogies'', pg.111 The dynasty that ruled over Osraige in the early Christi ...
(died 712), however the ''
Book of Leinster'' king lists name two other kings between Cú Cherca and Cellach.
At this time Osraige was part of the Kingdom of
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
and in the 8th century was often involved in conflicts with the men of
Leinster, the
Laigin. Cellach's father had been slain fighting versus Leinster. In 735 the men of Munster led by their king,
Cathal mac Finguine (died 742) fought the Battle of Belach Éile with the men of Leinster. Many Munstermen were slain and among them was Cellach. The location of the battle makes it probable that Cellach of the Osraige was the aggressor and was taking advantage of the rivalry of the
Uí Dúnlainge and the
Uí Cheinnselaig branches of the Laigin at this time.
[Byrne, pg.209]
His son
Dúngal mac Cellaig
Dúngal mac Cellaig (died 772) was a King of Osraige in modern County Kilkenny. He ruled from 770 to 772. He was of the dynasty known as the Dál Birn that ruled over Osraige in the early Christian period and was the son of Cellach mac Fáelchai ...
(died 772) was also King of Osraige but the kingship became dominated by a different line.
Notes
References
* ''Annals of Ulster'' a
CELT: Corpus of Electronic Textsa
University College Cork* ''Annals of Tigernach'' a
a
University College Cork* Byrne, Francis John (2001), ''Irish Kings and High-Kings'', Dublin: Four Courts Press,
* ''Book of Leinster'',''Reges Ossairge'' a
a
University College Cork* ''Genealogies from Rawlinson B 502'', compiled by Donnchadh Ó Corráin a
a
University College Cork
External links
a
University College Cork
Kings of Osraige
FitzPatrick dynasty
8th-century Irish monarchs
735 deaths
People from County Kilkenny
Year of birth unknown
{{Ireland-royal-stub