Elim Olfínechta, son of
Rothechtaid Rotha, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a
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 ...
. He succeeded to the throne after his father was struck by lightning. Snow that tasted of wine (
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 ...
''oll'', "great, ample", ''fín'', "wine", ''snechta'', "snow") is said to have fallen in his reign. He ruled for only one year, before he was killed by
Gíallchad
Gíallchad, the son of Ailill Olcháin, son of Sírna Sáeglach, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, the 37th High King of Ireland. Gíallchad took power after killing his predecessor, and the son of his grandfather' ...
, grandson of
Sírna Sáeglach, the High King who had been overthrown by Elim's father. The ''
Lebor Gabála Érenn
''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of Ireland's Taking"; Modern Irish spelling: ''Leabhar Gabhála Éireann'', known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'') is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language inten ...
'' synchronises his reign with that of
Phraortes
Phraortes, son of Deioces, was the second king of the Median kingdom.
Like his father Deioces, Phraortes started wars against Assyria, but was defeated and killed by the Assyrian king, probably Ashurbanipal (r. 669-631 BC).
Biography
All an ...
of the
Medes
The Medes were an Iron Age Iranian peoples, Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media (region), Media between western Iran, western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, they occupied the m ...
(665-633
BCE). The chronology of
Geoffrey Keating
Geoffrey Keating (; – ) was an Irish historian. He was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, and is buried in Tubrid Graveyard in the parish of Ballylooby-Duhill. He became a Catholic priest and a poet.
Biography
It was generally believed unt ...
's ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' dates his reign to 787–786 BCE, that of the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' to 1024–1023 BCE.
['']Annals of the Four Masters
The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' () or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' () are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Genesis flood narrative, Deluge, dated as 2,242 Anno Mundi, years after crea ...
'
M4176-4177
/ref>
References
Legendary High Kings of Ireland
{{Ireland-royal-stub