Géde Ollgothach, son of

Ollom Fotla Ollom Fotla ("the Ollam, scholar of Fódla", a poetic term for Ireland; later spelled Ollamh Fodhla), son of Fíachu Fínscothach, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. His given name was Eochaid ...

, 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 on the death of his brother

Slánoll Slánoll, son of Ollom Fotla, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He succeeded to the throne on the death of his brother Fínnachta. It is said that there was no disease during his reign (his ...

. His epithet means "possessing a great voice", and 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 ...

'' says during his reign all his subjects had voices as sweet as the strings of a

zither Zither (; , from the Greek ''cithara'') is a class of stringed instruments. The modern instrument has many strings stretched across a thin, flat body. Zithers are typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers or a ...

. He ruled for eight, or twelve, or seventeen years, before being killed by, according to the ''Lebor Gabála'', the otherwise unknown Fíachu son of Fíadchú; according to

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 ...

and 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 ...

'', by his nephew and successor

Fíachu Findoilches Fíachu Findoilches, son of Fínnachta, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He succeeded to the throne on the death of his uncle Géde Ollgothach, whom, according to some versions, he had kil ...

, son of

Fínnachta Fínnachta, son of Ollom Fotla, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland in succession to his father. His given name was Elim. There is said to have been snow of wine (Old Irish ''fín'', "wine", ''s ...

. The chronology of Keating's ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' dates his reign to 880–863 BC, that of the ''

'' to 1241–1231 BC. A medieval tract called ''Cóir Anmann'' ("The Fitness of Names") says that Géde Ollgothach was another name for

Érimón Érimón (Modern ), commonly Anglicised as Heremon, son of Míl Espáine (and great-grandson of Breoghan, king of Celtic Galicia), according to medieval Irish legends and historical traditions, was one of the chieftains who took part in the ...

. According to some texts, he came from the

Cruthin The Cruthin (; or ; ) were a people of early medieval Ireland. Their heartland was in Ulster and included parts of the present-day counties of Antrim, Down and Londonderry. They are also said to have lived in parts of Leinster and Connacht ...

dynasty of the

Dál nAraidi Dál nAraidi (; "Araide's part") or Dál Araide, sometimes List of Latinised names, latinised as Dalaradia or Anglicisation, anglicised as Dalaray,Boyd, Hugh AlexanderIrish Dalriada ''The Glynns: Journal of The Glens of Antrim Historical Societ ...

. He also appears in the

Pictish Chronicle The Pictish Chronicle is a name used to refer to a pseudo-historical account of the kings of the Picts beginning many thousand years before history was recorded in Pictavia and ending after Pictavia had been enveloped by Scotland. Version A The ...

as a king of the

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples in what is now Scotland north of the Firth of Forth, in the Scotland in the early Middle Ages, Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and details of their culture can be gleaned from early medieval texts and Pic ...

.W. F. Skene, ''Chronicles of the Picts, Chronicles of the Scots, and Other Early Memorials of Scottish History'', 1867
p. 5
/ref>

References

Legendary High Kings of Ireland {{Ireland-royal-stub