Domnall mac Áeda (died 915), also known as Domnall Dabaill, was a
King of Ailech
The Kings of Ailech were the over-kings of the Medieval Ireland, medieval Irish Provinces of Ireland, province of Ailech in north-western Ireland. It encompassed the territories of the Cenél nEógain and Cenél Conaill. After the battle of Cl ...
. He was a son of
Áed Findliath mac Niall, High King of Ireland. Domnall was a half-brother of
Niall Glúndub mac Áeda, a man with whom he shared the kingship of Ailech. From Domnall would descend the
Mac Lochlainn
The Mac Lochlainn () were a leading branch of the Cenél nEógain and during the early medieval period, the most powerful clan in the Northern Uí Néill. McGettigan (2005). They descended from Domnall Dabaill (died 915), son of Áed Findliath. ...
dynasty.
Family
He was a member of the
Cenél nEógain
Cenél is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Cenél Conaill, the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Conall Gulban, son of Niall Noígiallach defined by oral and recorded history
* Cenél nEógain (in English, Cenel Eogan) is ...
branch of the
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 ...
dynasty. His father was
Áed Findliath mac Néill, High King of Ireland. Another son of Áed Findliath, and half-brother of Domnall himself, was
Niall Glúndub
(Modern Irish: , 'Niall Black-Knee, son of Áed'; died 14 September 919) was a 10th-century Irish king of the and High King of Ireland. Many Irish kin groups were members of the and traced their descent from Niall of the Nine Hostages (Niall N ...
. Domnall and Niall Glúndub shared the kingship of Ailech for several years. In 905, 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� ...
'' reports that the two had prepared to fight before coming to an understanding. In 908, the men campaigned against in
Meath
County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...
against the rival
Clann Cholmáin
Clann Cholmáin is the dynasty descended from Colmán Már mac Diarmato, son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Part of the Southern Uí Néill — they were the kings of Mide (Meath) — they traced their descent to Niall Noígiallach and hi ...
branch of the Uí Néill.
Life and death
Domnall's son, Flann, died in 906. Domnall retired to a monastic life in 911, after which Niall Glúndub ruled as sole King of Ailech. Domnall died on 21 March 915. The deaths of Domnall, as well as those of his father and half-brother, are recorded by the ''
Chronicle of the Kings of Alba
The ''Chronicle of the Kings of Alba'', or ''Scottish Chronicle'', is a short written chronicle covering the period from the time of Kenneth MacAlpin (Cináed mac Ailpín) (d. 858) until the reign of Kenneth II (Cináed mac Maíl Coluim) (r. 971� ...
''. The notice of Domnall's death in this source has caused confusion in regards to the historiography of the
Kingdom of Strathclyde
Strathclyde (, "valley of the River Clyde, Clyde"), also known as Cumbria, was a Celtic Britons, Brittonic kingdom in northern Britain during the Scotland in the Middle Ages, Middle Ages. It comprised parts of what is now southern Scotland an ...
. Specifically, Domnall's obituary is placed immediately after that of
Dyfnwal, King of Strathclyde
Dyfnwal (died 908 ×915) was King of Strathclyde. Although his parentage is unknown, he was probably a member of the Cumbrian dynasty that is recorded to have ruled the Kingdom of Strathclyde immediately before him. Dyfnwal is attested by only ...
. The fact that the chronicle renders Domnall's kingdom as ''elig'', a term which can be mistakenly interpreted as an abbreviation of ''eligitur'' ("he was selected"), has led to the erroneous belief that the ruling
Alpínid dynasty
The House of Alpin, also known as the Alpinid dynasty, Clann Chináeda, and Clann Chinaeda meic Ailpín, was the kin-group which ruled in Pictland, possibly Dál Riata, and then the kingdom of Alba from Constantine II (Causantín mac Áeda) i ...
of
Alba
''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English-language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingd ...
had inserted a member of its own—an otherwise unknown brother of
Custantín mac Áeda, King of Alba named Domnall—to succeed the deceased Dyfnwal.
[ McGuigan (2015) p. 137; Clarkson (2014) ch. 4 ¶ 13; Downham (2007) pp. 163–164; Woolf (2007) p. 157; Broun (2004a); Broun (2004b) pp. 132–133; Hudson (1998) pp. 140, 150, 150 n. 23, 157, 157 n. 40.]
Citations
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Domnall mac Aeda
915 deaths
10th-century Irish monarchs
Kings of Ailech
Uí Néill