Eochaid Mugmedón () was a legendary Irish king. According to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, Eochaid was 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 ...

, best known as the father of

Niall of the Nine Hostages Niall Noígíallach (; Old Irish "having nine hostages"), or Niall of the Nine Hostages, was a legendary, semi-historical Irish king who was the ancestor of the Uí Néill dynasties that dominated Ireland from the 6th to the 10th centuries. ...

and ancestor 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 ...

and

Connachta The Connachta are a group of medieval Irish dynasty, dynasties who claimed descent from the legendary High King of Ireland, High King Conn of the Hundred Battles, Conn Cétchathach (Conn of the Hundred Battles). The modern western Provinces of ...

dynasties. He is not mentioned in the list of kings of Tara in the '' Baile Chuind'' (The Ecstasy of Conn), but is included in the synthetic lists of High Kings in 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 ...

'', the

Irish annals A number of Irish annals, of which the earliest was the Chronicle of Ireland, were compiled up to and shortly after the end of the 17th century. Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days. Over ti ...

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 history, and the ''Laud Synchronisms''. According to the ''

'' and its derivative works, Eochaid was the son of the former High King Muiredach Tírech, a descendant of

Conn Cétchathach Conn Cétchathach (), or Conn of the Hundred Battles, son of Fedlimid Rechtmar, was a legendary High King of Ireland who is claimed to be the ancestor of the Connachta, and through his descendant Niall Noígiallach, the Uí Néill dynasties, w ...

. Muiredach was overthrown and killed by Cáelbad son of Cronn Bradruí, an Ulster king, but Cáelbad only ruled one year before Eochaid killed him and took the throne. The ''Lebor Gabála'' says he extracted the ''bórama'' or cow tribute from

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 ...

without a battle. However, Keating records that he was defeated in the Battle of Cruachan Claonta by the Leinster king Énnae Cennsalach.

, ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'
1.47
According to the saga "The Adventures of the Sons of Eochaid Mugmedon", Tom Peete Cross & Clark Harris Slover (eds.)
"The Adventures of the Sons of Eochaid Mugmedon"
''Ancient Irish Tales'', 1936, pp. 508–513. he is said to have had two wives: Mongfind, daughter of Fidach, who bore him four sons, Brion, Ailill, Fiachrae and Fergus; and Cairenn Chasdub, daughter of Sachell Balb, king of the

Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

, who bore him his most famous son, Niall. Mongfind is said to have hated Cairenn, and forced her to expose her child, but the baby was rescued and raised by a poet called Torna. When Niall grew up he returned to Tara and rescued his mother from the servitude Mongfind had placed her under. Mongfind appears to have originally been a supernatural personage: the saga "The Death of Crimthann mac Fidaig" says the festival of

Samhain Samhain ( , , , ) or () is a Gaels, Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the "Celtic calendar#Medieval Irish and Welsh calendars, darker half" of the year.Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, Ó hÓ ...

was commonly called the "Festival of Mongfind", and prayers were offered to her on Samhain eve."The Death of Crimthann son of Fidach"
(translator unknown). Although it is probably anachronistic for Eochaid to have had a Saxon wife, T. F. O'Rahilly argues that the name ''Cairenn'' is derived from the Latin name

Carina Carina may refer to: Places Australia * Carina, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane * Carina Heights, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane * Carina, Victoria, a locality in Mildura Serbia * Carina, Osečina, a village in the Kolubara District ...

, and that it is plausible that she might have been a Romano-Briton. T. F. O'Rahilly, ''Early Irish History and Mythology'', 1946, Chapter 12 Indeed, Keating describes her not as a Saxon but as the "daughter of the king of Britain". After ruling for seven or eight years, Eochaid died of an illness at Tara, and was succeeded by Mongfind's brother Crimthann mac Fidaig, king of

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 ...

. Keating dates his reign to 344–351, the ''

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 ...

'' to 357–365. Daniel P. McCarthy, based on the Irish annals, dates his death to 362.Daniel P. McCarthy, 'The Chronology of the Irish Annals', ''Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Archaeology, Culture, History, Literature'' 98C (6) (1998), pp. 203–255.

The Connachta

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eochaid Mugmedon Legendary High Kings of Ireland 4th-century Irish monarchs