Coirpre mac Néill (''
fl''. ''
c''. 485–493), also Cairbre or Cairpre, was said to be a son of
Niall of the Nine Hostages
Niall Noígíallach (; Old Irish "having nine hostages"), or Niall of the Nine Hostages, was a legendary, semi-historical Irish king who was the ancestor of the Uí Néill dynasties that dominated Ireland from the 6th to the 10th centuries. ...
. Coirpre was perhaps the leader of the conquests that established the southern
Uí Néill
The Uí Néill (; meaning "descendants of Niall") are Irish dynasties that claim descent from Niall Noígíallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages), a historical King of Tara who is believed to have died around c. 405. They are generally divided ...
in the midlands of Ireland. The record of 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 ...
suggests that Coirpre's successes were reattributed to
Muirchertach Macc Ercae
Muirchertach mac Muiredaig (died c. 534), called Mac Ercae, Muirchertach Macc Ercae and Muirchertach mac Ercae, was said to be High King of Ireland in the 6th century. The Irish annals contain little reliable information on his life, and the surv ...
. Coirpre is portrayed as an enemy of
Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...
in Bishop
Tirechán's
hagiography
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...
and his descendants are said to have been cursed by Patrick so that none would be
High King of Ireland
High King of Ireland ( ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and was later sometimes assigned anachronously or to leg ...
. Coirpre is excluded from most lists of High Kings, but included in the earliest.
In later times Coirpre's descendants, the
Cenél Coirpri, ruled over three small kingdoms—
Cairbre Drom Cliabh
Cairbre Drom Cliabh (meaning "Ui Cairbre, the descendants of Cairbre of Drumcliff) was an Irish ''túath'' in the ancient confederation of Íochtar Connacht (Lower Connacht), now County Sligo in the west of Ireland. It is now represented by the ...
in north
County Sligo
County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...
, an area in modern
County Longford
County Longford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the Local government in the Republic ...
and at the headwaters of the
River Boyne
The River Boyne ( or ''Abhainn na Bóinne'') is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newberry Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows north-east through County Meath to reach the ...
—which may be the remains of a once much larger kingdom stretching from Donegal Bay to the Boyne.
Sons of Conn, grandsons of Niall
The Uí Néill—the grandsons, or descendants, of Niall of the Nine Hostages—dominated the northern half of Ireland from the 7th century, and perhaps earlier. The various Uí Néill kingdoms, their allies, client kingdoms and subject tribes, comprised most of the
province
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
Ulster
Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
, all of
Connacht
Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...
, and a large part of
Leinster
Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland.
The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
. Elaborate genealogies showed the descent of the various Uí Néill, while allies and favoured clients descended from Niall's brothers or other kinsmen. However, since Uí Néill means grandsons of Niall, the Uí Néill cannot have existed before the time of Niall's grandsons, towards the middle of the 6th century.
Medieval genealogists provided Niall with a large number of sons, some of doubtful historicity.
Maine
Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
, ancestor of the
Cenél Maini is generally presumed to be a late addition. The dates claimed for
Lóegaire mac Néill, "great pagan Emperor of the Irish" and adversary of Saint Patrick in
Muirchiu and Tirechán's 7th century lives, may make him an unlikely son of Niall.
Diarmait mac Cerbaill, apical ancestor of the
Síl nÁedo Sláine and
Clann Cholmáin, the leading southern branches of the Uí Néill, is presented in the genealogies as the grandson of Niall's son
Conall Cremthainne, but this is doubtful. As for Coirpre, he is called a son of Niall in one of the earliest surviving sources, Tirechán's life of Saint Patrick.
The kinship of the Northern and Southern Uí Néill is likely a politically convenient fiction, as several royal lines of the north belong to the Y-DNA R-M222 subclade, but this lineage does not seem to be present in the areas of Southern Uí Néill control.
Conquests
Medieval Irish traditions claimed that the lands of the Uí Néill were conquered by Niall of the Nine Hostages and his sons, together with their allies. Coirpre may have led some of the earliest recorded Uí Néill conquests in the midlands. The annals appear to show that a number of victories, by Coirpre and others, or by persons unnamed, were later attributed to Macc Ercae, or to
Muirchertach mac Muiredaig, who may be the same person.
From north-west to south-east, there were two kingdoms named for Coirpre mac Néill in early historical times. These were
Cenél Coirpi Dromma Clíab, north
Sligo
Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...
on Donegal Bay, and Cenél Coirpri Mór, the northern half of
Tethbae around
Granard in modern
County Longford
County Longford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the Local government in the Republic ...
. This alignment of territories may suggest that the kingdom of Coirpre and its satellites once extended over 100 miles across Ireland. A third Cenél Coirpri, the region around
Carbury and the headwaters of the
River Boyne
The River Boyne ( or ''Abhainn na Bóinne'') is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newberry Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows north-east through County Meath to reach the ...
in the north-west of
County Kildare
County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...
, is of much later origins.
In a year given as 485, Coirpre was credited with a victory at Grainert, perhaps modern Granard, where the chief church of Cenél Coirpri Mór of Tethbae was in later times. In the addition, which notes that the battle was won by "Mac Ercae as some say," the annal adds that
Fincath mac Garrchu of the
Dál Messin Corb, perhaps
king of Leinster, was killed there. A second battle at Grainert is recorded under the year 495, repeated under 497, and here Fincath's son
Fráech
Fráech (Fróech, Fraích, Fraoch) is a Connacht hero and demigod in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He is the nephew of Boann, goddess of the river River Boyne, Boyne, and son of Idath of the men of Connaught and Bébinn (sister of Boann of ...
is said to have been killed by Coirpre's son Eochu.
Under the year 494, duplicated under 496, the annals record a victory by Coirpre over the Leinstermen at
Tailtiu
Tailtiu or Tailltiu (; modern spelling: Tailte) is the name of a presumed goddess from Irish mythology. The goddess's name is linked to Teltown (< OI ''Óenach Tailten'') in Co. Meath, site of the Óenach Tailten. A legendary dindsenchas "lore of ...
, in later times site of an important
óenach, the ''óenach Tailten''. Two further victories are reported, one under 497 at Slemain of Mide, probably near modern
Mullingar
Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midland Region, with a population of 22,667 in the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census.
The Counties of M ...
,
County Westmeath
County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...
, and one under 499, at Cend Ailbe, perhaps somewhere in modern
County Carlow
County Carlow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by area, second smallest and t ...
.
Cenél Coirpre were associated with both Tailtiu and Granard in the earliest writings, but there is nothing in the annals to explain an early link with Carbury which could be as late as the twelfth century. While the annals cannot be relied upon at such an early date, the core of their account, a war between Coirpre and his sons and Fincath and his sons, as well as the association with Tailtiu and Granard, while a tradition, is likely to be one.
Byrne, however, raises a note of caution: "It is true, however, that the names of Coirpre, Fiachu, Maine and Lóegaire continue to be used in later centuries simply to denote the kingdoms or dynasties descended from those sons of Niall, just as we find the names
Benjamin
Benjamin ( ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the younger of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel, and Jacob's twe ...
,
Dan or
Juda similarly used in the Bible ...".
Rewriting history
Late writings of doubtful reliability say that Coirpre's mother was Rígnach ingen Meadaib. His son Eochu appears in the annals, but not in the most comprehensive genealogical collection. Another son, Cormac, is said to be
Túathal Máelgarb's father Cormac Cáech, although Tiréchan's account of Saint Patrick cursing Coirpre's descendants may make this a late addition. A third son, Cal, is a spurious late addition.
Apart from Coirpre himself and his putative grandson Túathal Máelgarb, no king of Cenél Coirpri is included in later lists of High Kings of Ireland. Later kings of Cenél Coirpri are mentioned in the ''
Annals of Ulster
The ''Annals of Ulster'' () are annals of History of Ireland, medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luin� ...
'' and other Irish annals with some frequency, although usually only to report their deaths.
In earlier historical times, Cenél Coirpri may have been of sufficient importance to attract the attention of largely hostile writers. Tirechán's life of Patrick states that Coirpre was cursed by the saint, at Tailtiu, so that none of his descendants would be High King. The obvious omission, an explanation for the rule of Túathal Máelgarb, was corrected by later hagiographers. In the earliest surviving list, that in the ''
Baile Chuind'', Túathal appears not under his own name but as the
kenning
A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech, a figuratively-phrased compound term that is used in place of a simple single-word noun. For instance, the Old English kenning () means , as does ().
A kenning has two parts: a base-word (a ...
Óengarb. Túathal Máelgarb is portrayed in a poor light by later writers dealing with the life of
Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Diarmait's descendants,
Clann Cholmáin and the
Síl nÁedo Sláine, probably replaced the kindreds of Coirpre and Fiachu as the dominant families of the Irish midlands. Coirpre himself, while excluded from later synthetic lists of kings of Tara or High Kings of Ireland, is included in the early ''Baile Chuind'', coming between Lóegaire and Lugaide.
[Byrne, ''Irish Kings'', pp. 276–277; Charles-Edwards, ''Early Christian Ireland'', p. 447.]
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Coirpre Mac Neill
Connachta
5th-century Irish monarchs
People from County Sligo
Year of birth uncertain