Sechnassach mac Blathmaic (died 671) followed his father Blathmac mac Áedo Sláine (died 665) and uncle Diarmait mac Áedo Sláine (died 665) as

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 ...

and King of Brega. He belonged to the Síl nÁedo Sláine kindred of the southern

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 ...

, named for his grandfather

Áed Sláine Áed mac Diarmato (died 604), called Áed Sláine (Áed of Slane), was the son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Legendary stories exist of Áed's birth. Saint Columba is said to have prophesied his death. His descendants, the Síl nÁedo Sláine— ...

(died 604). Sechnassach's father and uncle are said to have died in a great plague—the ''buide Chonaill''—which struck

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

from 664 or 665 onwards. While the '' Baile Chuinn Cétchathaigh'', compiled in the reign of

Fínsnechta Fledach Fínsnechta Fledach mac Dúnchada (died 695) was High King of Ireland. Fínsnechta belonged to the southern Síl nÁedo Sláine sept of the Uí Néill and was King of Brega, in modern County Meath, Ireland. He was a grandson of Áed Sláine. H ...

(died 695), does not include Sechnassach or his brother Cenn Fáelad (died 675) among its High Kings, the

Chronicle of Ireland The Chronicle of Ireland () is the modern name for a hypothesized collection of ecclesiastical annals recording events in Ireland from 432 to 911 AD. Several surviving annals share events in the same sequence and wording, until 911 when they con ...

, on which other

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 ...

were founded, named him as a High King on his death. The omission of Sechnassach and his brother Cenn Fáelad from this king list may be deliberate as it was compiled in the reign of Cenn Fáelad's killer Fínsnechta Fledach. Sechnassach's marital alliances suggest that he had close relations with the kingdom of

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 ...

. His only recorded marriage was with one Findelb ingen Chellaig, who may have been a daughter of Cellach Cualann (died 715). His daughter, Bé Fáil (died 741), was in turn married to Cellach Cualann. Two other daughters of Sechnassach, Murgal and Mumain, are known, but no sons.Irwin, "Sechnassach mac Blathmaic". Little is recorded in the annals of Sechnassach's reign except his death. He was killed in November 671 by Dub Dúin, king of Cenél Coirpri, a minor Uí Néill kingdom on the upper reaches of the

River Boyne The River Boyne ( or ''Abhainn na Bóinne'') is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newberry Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows north-east through County Meath to reach the ...

near Clonard. His brother Cenn Fáelad became high king after him, probably in 672. The ''Annals of the Four Masters'' record of him:

Full of bridles and horsewhips, was the house in which dwelt Seachnasach,
Many were the leavings of plunder in the house in which dwelt the son of Blathmac.''Annals of the Four Masters'', M669.1.

He has appeared in both the novels and short stories of Peter Tremayne's

Sister Fidelma mysteries The Sister Fidelma mysteries are a series of historical mystery novels and short stories by Peter Tremayne (pseudonym of Peter Berresford Ellis) about a fictional detective who is the eponymous heroine of a series. Fidelma is both a ''dalaigh'' ( ...

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sechnassach mac Blathmaic 671 deaths High Kings of Ireland Kings of Brega 7th-century Irish monarchs Year of birth unknown Gaels