Elim, son of Conrai, was, according to

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. The ''

Lebor Gabála Érenn ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of the Taking of Ireland"), known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'', is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language intended to be a history of Ireland and the Irish fro ...

'' says he overthrew the previous High King Fíachu Finnolach in an uprising of ''aithech-tuatha'' or "subject peoples". The nobility of Ireland were massacred, with only three pregnant women escaping: Fíachu's wife Eithne Imgel, daughter of the king 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 Kingdom ...

; Gruibne, daughter of the king of Britain and wife of the king 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 th ...

; and Aine, daughter of the king of the Saxons, and wife of the king of Ulster. Gruibe was the mother of Corb Olom, ancestor of the

Eóganachta The Eóganachta or Eoghanachta () were an Irish dynasty centred on Cashel which dominated southern Ireland (namely the Kingdom of Munster) from the 6/7th to the 10th centuries, and following that, in a restricted form, the Kingdom of Desmond, ...

of Munster; Aine's son Tibraide Tírech was the ancestor of the

Dál nAraidi Dál nAraidi (; "Araide's part") or Dál Araide, sometimes Latinised as Dalaradia or Anglicised as Dalaray,Boyd, Hugh AlexanderIrish Dalriada ''The Glynns: Journal of The Glens of Antrim Historical Society''. Volume 76 (1978). was a Cruthin ki ...

of Ulster; Eithne fled to Alba where she gave birth to Fíachu's son Tuathal Techtmar. Elim ruled for twenty years, at the end of which Tuathal landed at Inber Domnainn and was proclaimed king. He then marched on Tara and defeated and killed Elim in battle on the nearby hill of Achall. The ''

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or mediev ...

'' broadly agree with the ''Lebor Gabála'', adding only that the revolt of the ''aithech-tuatha'' was led by the provincial kings, Elim being the king of Ulster, and that during his reign Ireland was without corn, fruit, milk or fish, as God punished the ''aithech-tuatha'' for their evil.

Geoffrey Keating Geoffrey Keating ( ga, Seathrún Céitinn; c. 1569 – c. 1644) was a 17th-century historian. He was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, and is buried in Tubrid Graveyard in the parish of Ballylooby-Duhill. He became an Irish Catholic priest and ...

tells a slightly different story, ascribing the revolt to

Cairbre Cinnchait Cairbre Cinnchait or Caitchenn ("cat-head" or "hard head") was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. There is considerable differences in the sources over his ancestry and his place in the traditio ...

, with Elim as his successor.

, ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'
1.38
/ref> The ''Lebor Gabála'' synchronises Elim's reign with that of the Roman emperor

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman '' municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispan ...

(AD 117–138). The chronology of Keating's ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' dates his reign to AD 60–80, that of the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' to AD 56–76.

References

Legendary High Kings of Ireland {{ireland-stub