Domnall mac Muirecáin (died 884) was a King of Leinster of the Uí Fáeláin sept of the

Uí Dúnlainge The Uí Dúnlainge, from the Old Irish "grandsons (or descendants) of Dúnlaing", were an Irish dynasty of Leinster kings who traced their descent from Dúnlaing mac Énda Niada, a fifth-century King of Leinster. He was said to be a cousin of ...

branch of the Laigin. This

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 ...

had their royal seat at

Naas Naas ( ; or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In 2022, it had a population of 26,180, making it the largest town in County Kildare (ahead of Newbridge, County Kildare, Newbridge) and the List of urban ar ...

in the eastern part of the Liffey plain, Airthir Liphi. He was the son of Muirecán mac Diarmata (died 863), a previous king. There is much confusion in the king lists during this period for Leinster.

Francis John Byrne Francis John Byrne (1934 – 30 December 2017) was an Irish historian. Born in Shanghai where his father, a Dundalk man, captained a ship on the Yellow River, Byrne was evacuated with his mother to Australia on the outbreak of World War II. A ...

suggests that the root of this apparent confusion lay in the fact that the Uí Dúnlainge kings exercised little real authority due to the aggressions of their western neighbour

Cerball mac Dúnlainge Cerball mac Dúnlainge (patronymic sometimes spelled ''Dúngaile'', ) (died 888) was king of Ossory in south-east Ireland. The kingdom of Ossory (''Osraige'') occupied roughly the area of modern County Kilkenny and western County Laois and lay b ...

(died 888),

King of Osraige The kings of Osraige (alternately spelled ''Osraighe'' and Anglicised as ''Ossory'') reigned over the medieval Irish kingdom of Osraige from the first or second century AD until the late twelfth century. Osraige was a semi-provincial kingdom in s ...

. Cerball, while unable to install himself as king of Leinster, was able to prevent any rival king exercising real power there. Domnall would have succeeded his father as head of the Uí Fáeláin sept in 863. His predecessor as King of Leinster, Ailill mac Dúnlainge of the Uí Muiredaig sept had died in 871, however

Muiredach mac Brain Muiredach mac Brain (died 885) was a King of Leinster of the Uí Dúnchada sept of the Uí Dúnlainge branch of the Laigin. This sept had their royal seat at Líamhain (Lyons Hill, on the Dublin-Kildare border). He was the son of Bran mac Fáel� ...

(died 885) of the Uí Dúnchada sept is associated with the Leinster forces in association with events in 870 and 875. According to the ''Chronicum Scotorum'' and other Irish annals, Domnall assumed the kingship of Leinster in 880. This would place his effective reign in 880-884. In 874 the high king Áed Findliath (died 879) had invaded Leinster in an attempt to impose his authority and he plundered the country and burned churches including Cell Ausili. In 880 the new High King

Flann Sinna Flann mac Máel Sechnaill (84725 May 916), better known as Flann Sinna (; ), was the son of Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid of Clann Cholmáin, the leading branch of the Southern Uí Néill. He was King of Mide from 877 onwards and a High ...

(died 916) attacked Leinster and took hostages imposing his authority. In 884 Domnall was killed by his own associates.AU 884.3 His brother

Cerball mac Muirecáin Cerball (modern spelling: Cearbhall) is an Irish language male given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and ...

(died 909) became King of Leinster in 885.

Notes

References

* ''Annals of Ulster'' a

a
University College Cork
* ''Chronicum Scotorum'' a

a
University College Cork
* Byrne, Francis John (2001), ''Irish Kings and High-Kings'', Dublin: Four Courts Press, *Ó Corráin, Donnchad (1972), ''Ireland Before the Normans'', Dublin: Gill and Macmillan

External links

a
University College Cork
{{DEFAULTSORT:Domnall Mac Muirecain Kings of Leinster 9th-century Irish monarchs 884 deaths Year of birth unknown 9th-century murdered monarchs