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Fínsnechta Fledach mac Dúnchada (died 695) was
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 ...
. Fínsnechta belonged to the southern Síl nÁedo Sláine sept 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 was King of Brega, in modern
County 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 ...
, Ireland. He was a grandson of Áed Sláine. His father Dúnchad had died in 659. His byname "Fledach" meant "the bountiful" or "the festive".


High King

He became King of Brega and High King in 675, after killing his predecessor, and first cousin, Cenn Fáelad in battle at Aircheltra, a place which is not identified. The ''Fragmentary Annals of Ireland'' relate how Finsnechta won support by his generosity. Among those he won over were the king of Fir Rois and Saint
Adomnán Adomnán or Adamnán of Iona (; , ''Adomnanus''; 624 – 704), also known as Eunan ( ; from ), was an abbot of Iona Abbey ( 679–704), hagiographer, statesman, canon jurist, and Christian saint, saint. He was the author of the ''Life ...
. According to this annal, he had been granted a stewardship by Cenn Fáelad, but was unsatisfied with this and, encouraged by his friend of Fir Rois, challenged Cenn Faelad to battle and won the kingship. He appears to have faced resistance from the King of Leinster, and a Battle of Loch Gabor (Lagore) was fought in 677. There was mutual slaughter on both sides but Finsnechta emerged the victor. In 680, Finsnechta had the King of Leinster, Fiannamail mac Máele Tuile, assassinated. Finsnechta was involved in the north as well. In 676, he destroyed Ailech, center of
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 ...
power. He fought Bécc Bairrche mac Blathmaic (d. 718), King of Ulster, in 679 at the Battle of Tailtiu. In June 684, Ecgfrith, the
King of Northumbria Northumbria, a kingdom of Angles (tribe), Angles, in what is now northern England and Lothian, south-east Scotland, was initially divided into two kingdoms: Bernicia and Deira. The two were first united by King Æthelfrith around the year 604, an ...
, sent an army under
Berht Bert is a hypocoristic form of a number of various Germanic given names, such as Robert, Albert, Elbert, Herbert, Hilbert, Hubert, Gilbert, Wilbert, Filbert, Fulbert, Norbert, Osbert, Roberto, Roberta, Bertram, Berthold, Bertrand ...
to Ireland which laid waste to the plain of Brega, the heart of Fínsnechta's kingdom. The reasons the army was sent are still not fully understood. The hostages taken in the raid were later returned through the offices of Adomnán in 687. According to the saga Bóroma ("The Cattle Tribute"), it is mentioned that Fínsnechta Fledach undertook an expedition against Leinster when the Laigin refused to pay the cattle tribute. The Leinster king Bran Mut mac Conaill (died 693) assembled the Leinster forces and sent Saint Moling (d. 697), the abbot of Ferns, to negotiate with Fínsnechta. Mo-Ling tricked Fínsnechta into remitting the tribute. As a result, Saint Adomnan grew angry with the high king and cursed saying that his descendants would have no fame. Fínsnechta did penance to Adomnan and was forgiven for remitting the Boruma.


Temporary abdication and death

In 688, Fínsnechta abdicated to become a
monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
, but he left the clerical life and resumed the kingship in 689. This return to power may have been a result of the break-out of a civil war among the Síl nÁedo Sláine when Niall mac Cernaig Sotal (died 701) of the Uí Chernaig sept of south Brega defeated Congalach mac Conaing Cuirre (died 696) of north Brega at the Battle of Imlech Pich in 688. Also, Áed mac Dlúthaig (died 701) of the Síl nDlúthaig sept killed Diarmait Dian mac Airmetaig Cáech, the King of Uisnech, of the Clann Cholmáin, in 689. He was killed, along with his son Bresal, by his kinsmen Áed mac Dlúthaig and Congalach mac Conaing Cuirre at Grellaigh Dollaith. According to the ''Annals of Tigernach'', this occurred in battle, but the ''Fragmentary Annals of Ireland'' state that Finsnechta was murdered in a tent by Congalach.''Annals of Tigernach'' AT 695.1; '' Fragmentary Annals'', FA 124 Congalach succeeded Fínsnechta as King of Brega, and
Loingsech mac Óengusso Loingsech, an Irish language male name meaning ''exile'' or ''sailor'', might refer to: * Labhraidh Loingseach, a legendary high king of Ireland and ancestor of the Laigin * Loingsech mac Colmáin (died 655), king of Leinster * Loingsech mac Flaithb ...
, of the northern
Cenél Conaill 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, was the next High King. Fínsnechta's descendants, the Clan Fínsnechtai, played no important role after him. Fínsnechta was survived by a son named Ailill who was killed in 718. The earliest surviving list of High Kings of Ireland, that in the '' Baile Chuind Chétchathaig'' was apparently compiled in Fínsnechta's reign.


See also

*
Kings of Brega The Kings of Brega were rulers of Brega, a petty kingdom north of Dublin in medieval Ireland. Overview Brega took its name from ' ('), meaning "fine plain", in modern County Meath, County Louth and County Dublin, Ireland. They formed part of th ...


Notes


References

* * ''Annals of Tigernach'' a
CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts
a
University College Cork
* ''Fragmentary Annals of Ireland'' a

a
University College Cork
* Byrne, Francis John, ''Irish Kings and High-Kings.'' Batsford, London, 1973. * Charles-Edwards, T. M. (2000), ''Early Christian Ireland'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, * Wiley, Dan, ''Cycles of the Kings''
Bóroma
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finsnechta Fledach High Kings of Ireland Kings of Brega 695 deaths Nobility from County Meath 7th-century Irish monarchs Year of birth unknown 7th-century births