Dáire is an

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic languages, Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The ...

name which fell out of use at an early period, remaining restricted essentially to legendary and ancestral figures, usually male. It has come back into fashion since the 18th century. The anglicised form of this name is

Dara Dara is a given name in several languages. Dara, Daraa, or DARA may also refer to: Geography Africa * Dar'a, region in northern Ethiopia * Dara (woreda), region in southern Ethiopia Asia * Dara (Mesopotamia), an archeological site in Mard ...

Bearers of the name

Pre-modern world

* Dáire Barrach, a

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 ...

dynast and son of

Cathair Mór Cathair Mór ("the great"), son of Feidhlimidh Fiorurghlas, a descendant of Conchobar Abradruad, was, according to Lebor Gabála Érenn, a High King of Ireland.Foras Feasa ar Éirinn, Section 40, page 259, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100054/ ...

of the

Laigin The Laigin, modern spelling Laighin (), were a Gaelic population group of early Ireland. They gave their name to the Kingdom of Leinster, which in the medieval era was known in Irish as ''Cóiced Laigen'', meaning "Fifth/province of the Leinste ...

Dáire Cerbba Dáire Cerbba (or Cerba, Cearba, Cearb; meaning "Silver Dáire" or "Dáire the Sharp/Cutting") was a 4th-century Irish dynast who was evidently a king of late prehistoric central northern Munster, called Medón Mairtíne at the time. A frequen ...

, a

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

dynast of the 4th century * Dáire Derg, character from the

Fenian Cycle The Fenian Cycle (), Fianna Cycle or Finn Cycle () is a body of early Irish literature focusing on the exploits of the mythical hero Fionn mac Cumhaill, Finn or Fionn mac Cumhaill and his Kóryos, warrior band the Fianna. Sometimes called the ...

possibly identical with

Goll mac Morna Goll mac Morna (or Goal mac Morn) was a member of the fianna and an uneasy ally of Fionn mac Cumhail in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. He had killed Fionn's father, Cumhal, and taken over the leadership of the fianna, but when Fionn grew up ...

Dáire Doimthech Dáire Doimthech (Dáire "poor house"), alias Dáire Sírchréchtach ("the ever-wounded"), son of Sithbolg, was a legendary King of Tara and High King of Ireland, and one of the eponymous ancestors of the proto-historical Dáirine and historical ...

(Sírchréchtach), a legendary

King of Tara The term Kingship of Tara () was a title of authority in ancient Ireland - the title is closely associated with the archaeological complex at the Hill of Tara. The position was considered to be of eminent authority in medieval Irish literature ...

, ancestor of the ''

Dáirine The Dáirine (Dárine, Dáirfine, Dáirfhine, Dárfine, Dárinne, Dairinne), later known dynastically as the Corcu Loígde and associated, were the proto-historical rulers of Munster before the rise of the Eóganachta in the 7th century AD. They ...

'' and

Corcu Loígde The Corcu Loígde (Corcu Lóegde, Corco Luigde, Corca Laoighdhe, Laidhe), meaning Gens of the Calf Goddess, also called the Síl Lugdach meic Itha, were a kingdom centred in West County Cork who descended from the proto-historical rulers of M ...

* Dáire Donn, "king of the great world" from the ''

Battle of Ventry A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

'' of the Fenian Cycle * Dáire Dornmár, a grandson of the legendary

Conaire Mór Conaire Mór (the great), son of Eterscél, was, according to mediaeval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland sometime during the 1st century BC or 1st century AD. His mother was Mess Búachalla, who was either the daugh ...

and early king of

Dál Riata Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaels, Gaelic Monarchy, kingdom that encompassed the Inner Hebrides, western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North ...

* Dáire Drechlethan, a King of Tara of uncertain identity listed in the '' Baile Chuinn Chétchathaig'' * Dáire mac Cormaic, a son of the celebrated

Cormac mac Airt Cormac mac Airt, also known as Cormac ua Cuinn (grandson of Conn) or Cormac Ulfada (long beard), was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He is probably the most famous of the ancient High Kings ...

* Dáire mac Degad, father of the legendary

Cú Roí Cú Roí mac Dáire (Cú Ruí, Cú Raoi) is a king of Munster in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He is usually portrayed as a warrior with superhuman abilities and a master of disguise possessed of magical powers. His name probably means "ho ...

and alternative ancestor of the ''Dáirine'' * Dáire mac Dlúthaig, father of Fiatach Finn of the

Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or (Irish language, Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic Provinces of Ireland, over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include , which ...

, ancestor of the

Dál Fiatach Dál Fiatach was a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic dynastic-grouping and the name of their territory in the north-east of Ireland, which lasted throughout the Middle Ages until their demise in the 13th century at the hands of Normans in Ireland, Normans ...

Dáire mac Fiachna Dáire mac Fiachna is an Ulster cattle-lord who appears in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology as the owner of Donn Cuailnge (The Brown Bull of Cooley) over which the '' Táin Bó Cuailnge'' (Cattle Raid of Cooley) is fought. Following the medieva ...

, cattle-lord from the

Ulster Cycle The Ulster Cycle (), formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the Ulaid. It is set far in the past, in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly counties Armagh, Do ...

, owner of the

Donn Cuailnge In the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology Donn Cúailnge, the Brown Bull of Cooley, was an extremely fertile stud bull over whom the Táin Bó Cúailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley) was fought. Prologue A ninth century ''rémscéla'' or foretale rec ...

and cousin of

Conchobar mac Nessa Conchobar mac Nessa (son of Ness) is the king of Ulster in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He rules from Emain Macha (Navan Fort, near Armagh). He is usually said to be the son of the High King Fachtna Fáthach, although in some stories ...

* Dáire mac Forgo (Forggo), an early king of

Emain Macha Navan Fort ( ; ) is an ancient ceremonial monument near Armagh, Northern Ireland. According to tradition it was one of the great royal sites of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland and the capital of the Ulaidh. It is a large circular hilltop enclos ...

of the Ulaid and alternative father of Fiatach Finn * Dáire of Ulster, a later king of Ulster during the reign of

Lóegaire mac Néill Lóegaire also Lóeguire, is said to have been a son of Niall of the Nine Hostages. The Irish annals and king lists include him as a King of Tara or High King of Ireland. He appears as an adversary of Saint Patrick in several hagiographies. His ...

, High King of Ireland, and allegedly visited by

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 ...

Modern world

Daire Brehan Daire Brehan (7 August 1957, in Dublin – 30 August 2012, in London) was an Irish actress, broadcaster and barrister who presented a variety of BBC Radio programmes during the 1990s including ''Language Live'', for BBC Radio 5, '' You and You ...

(1957–2012), Irish actress, broadcaster and barrister * Daire Doyle (born 1980), Irish assistant football manager and former player * Daire Gray (born 1998), Irish hurler * Daire Keogh (born 1964), Irish academic, historian and president of Dublin City University * Daire Nolan (born 1968), Irish dancer and choreographer * Daire O'Brien, Irish broadcaster and journalist * Daire O'Connor (born 1997), Irish footballer * Daire Plunkett (born 1990), Irish hurler * Daire Quinn (), Irish hurler * Daire Rendon (born 1952), American politician

Interpretations

Both

Eoin MacNeill Eoin MacNeill (; born John McNeill; 15 May 1867 – 15 October 1945) was an Irish scholar, Irish language enthusiast, Gaelic revivalist, nationalist, and politician who served as Minister for Education from 1922 to 1925, Ceann Comhairle of D ...

and T. F. O'Rahilly believed that most, if not all of those listed may derive from the same prehistoric or mythological figure, or have adopted each other's features to such an extent as to all be composites. The latter states that Daire and

"are ultimately one and the same", and refers to him as "the god of the

Otherworld In historical Indo-European religion, the concept of an otherworld, also known as an otherside, is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other world/side"), a term used by Lucan in his desc ...

Meaning and origins

The meaning is both sexual ("fruitful, fertile, rutty") and tumultuous ("violent"). The reconstructed form is ''*Dārios'', cognate to the

Gaulish Gaulish is an extinct Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, ...

''Dari(o)'' ("tumult, rage"), a form widely attested on the Continent, especially in personal names. The

Darini The Darini (Δαρῖνοι) (manuscript variant: Darnii �άρνιοι were a people of ancient Ireland mentioned in Ptolemy's 2nd century ''Geography'' as living in south Antrim and north Down. Their name implies descent from an ancestor called ...

were a population group or kingdom located by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

's 2nd century ''

Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

'' in south Antrim and north Down.

Julius Pokorny Julius Pokorny (12 June 1887 – 8 April 1970) was an Austrian-Czech linguist and scholar of the Celtic languages and of Celtic studies, particularly of the Irish language, and a supporter of Irish nationalism. He held academic posts in Austrian ...

believed this to be a mistake for ''Darioni'', from the ground form ''*Dārio-nion'', reconstructed from the proto-historical '' Dairine'', descendants of Daire Doimthech / Daire mac Dedad and ancestors of the historical

. They were probably also ancestral, at least in part, to the

, the descendants of Fiatach Finn mac Daire and known as the historical

(< ''*Uluti'' / ''Uoluntii''), mentioned by Ptolemy living adjacent to the Darini.

Lugaid

* See: Lugaid for additional persons Closely associated with Daire in Irish legend is the heroic figure Lugaid. According to O'Rahilly he was the son of Dáire, Lugaid mac Dáire or Lugaid Loígde, son of Dáire Doimthech (or Sírchrechtach), but was chiefly remembered in the person of his 'descendant'

Lugaid Mac Con Lugaid Mac Con, often known simply as Mac Con, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He belonged to the Corcu Loígde, and thus to the Dáirine. His father was Macnia mac Lugdach, and his mothe ...

. His other principal emanation was

Lugaid mac Con Roí :''See Lugaid for other figures of the same name, and Lug for the god the name derives from.'' In the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, Lugaid mac Con Roí was the son of Cú Roí mac Dáire. He was also known as Lugaid mac Trí Con ("son of thr ...

, son of Cú Roí and famously known from the

. In addition, the revolting

Lugaid Riab nDerg Lugaid Riab nDerg ("the red-striped") or Réoderg ("Red Sky"), son of the three '' findemna'', triplet sons of Eochu Feidlech, and their sister Clothru was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. Co ...

has been suggested as a relation to these,This character, Lugaid Riab nDerg, does not have any Munster-specific or Ulster-specific origins (equivalent to saying this Lugaid is given no descent from any Dáire), and thus if another emanation of the original Lugaid he can only be a literary corruption or invention from outside the original source traditions. In fact he has been made a grandson of

Eochu Feidlech Eochu or Eochaid Feidlech ("the enduring"), was a High King of Ireland, according to medieval Irish legends and historical traditions. He is best known as the father of the legendary queen Medb of Connacht. Family Eochu was son of Finn, son of ...

and thus nephew of Queen

Medb Medb (), later spelled Meadhbh (), Méabh(a) () and Méibh (), and often anglicised as Maeve ( ), is queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Her husband in the core stories of the cycle is Ailill mac Máta, although she had ...

of Connacht. or alternatively a very different individual and King of Tara once known as Lugaid Réoderg.

Notes

References

* Xavier Delamarre, ''Dictionnaire de la Langue Gauloise''. Paris: Editions Errance. 2nd edition, revised and augmented. 2003. * James MacKillop, ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology''.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. 1998. *

, ''Celtic Ireland''. Academy Press. 1981 (reissue with new intro. and notes by

Donnchadh Ó Corráin Donnchadh Ó Corráin (28 February 1942 – 25 October 2017) was an Republic of Ireland, Irish historian and professor emeritus of medieval history at University College Cork. He earned his BA in history and Irish from UCC, graduating in 1964. ...

of original Martin Lester Ltd edition, 1921). *

Kuno Meyer Kuno Meyer (20 December 1858 – 11 October 1919) was a German scholar, distinguished in the field of Celtic philology and literature. His pro-German stance at the start of World War I in the United States was a source of controversy. His brothe ...

(ed.), "The Laud Genealogies and Tribal Histories", in ''

Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie The ''Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie'' is an academic journal of Celtic studies, which was established in 1897 by the German scholars Kuno Meyer and Ludwig Christian Stern.Busse, Peter E. "''Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie''." In ''Ce ...

8'' (1912): 291–338. * Michael A. O'Brien (ed.) with intr. by John V. Kelleher, ''Corpus genealogiarum Hiberniae''. DIAS. 1976. / partial digital edition:

(ed.), Genealogies from Rawlinson B 502. University College, Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts. 1997. * T. F. O'Rahilly, ''Early Irish History and Mythology''.

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) () is a statutory independent research institute in Dublin, Ireland. It was established, under the Institute For Advanced Studies Act 1940, by the government of the then Taoiseach, Éamon de Vale ...

. 1946. *

, "Beiträge zur ältesten Geschichte Irlands (3. Érainn, Dári(n)ne und die Iverni und Darini des Ptolomäus)", in ''

12'' (1918): 323–57. * Whitley Stokes (ed. & tr.), "Cóir Anmann (Fitness of Names)", in Whitley Stokes and

Ernst Windisch Ernst Wilhelm Oskar Windisch (4 September 1844, Dresden30 October 1918, Leipzig) was a German classical philologist and comparative linguist who specialised in Sanskrit, Celtic and Indo-European studies. In his student days at the University o ...

, ''Irische Texte mit Wörterbuch. Volume 3, Parts 1–2''. Leipzig: Verlag von S. Hirzel. 1891 (1); 1897 (2). pp. 285–444. alternative scan
alternative scan II
;

Dictionary of the Irish Language ''Dictionary of the Irish Language: Based Mainly on Old and Middle Irish Materials'' (also called "the ''DIL''"), published by the Royal Irish Academy, is the definitive dictionary of the origins of the Irish language, specifically the Old Irish, ...

eDIL – Dictionary of the Irish Language
Letter: D1 (D-Degóir), Columns 34 through 36 {{DEFAULTSORT:Daire Irish-language masculine given names Masculine given names Ancient Ireland Legendary High Kings of Ireland