Sláine (Sláinge, Slánga), son of Dela, of the
Fir Bolg was the legendary first
High King of Ireland, who cleared the forest around
Brú na Bóinne.
He reportedly came ashore at
Wexford Harbour at the mouth of the
River Slaney.
The Fir Bolg invaded Ireland with five thousand men. Sláine and his four brothers, who were descended from one of the sons of
Nemed, divided Ireland amongst themselves. Sláine, the youngest of the five, took
Leinster,
Gann north
Munster,
Sengann south Munster,
Genann Connacht
Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...
and
Rudraige Ulster
Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
. They elected Sláine as ruler over them.
His wife was Fuad. His portion of the Fir Bolg were known as the
Gailióin variant Gaileanga, named after their spears (
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 ...
''gáe'').
His reign lasted from 1748 to 1703 BCE. He died at Dind Ríg in
County Carlow and was buried at
Slane,
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 ...
. He was succeeded by his brother
Rudraige mac Dela.
See also
*
Sláine (comics)
Sláine (sometimes anglicized as Slaine) is an Irish language, Irish given name.
People
Notable people with this name include:
* Slaine (rapper), hiphop MC from Boston
* Sláine ingen Briain (fl. 1014), daughter of Brian Boru and wife of Sigtryg ...
– a fantasy comic character based on Sláine mac Dela
Primary sources
* ''
Lebor Gabála Érenn'
§46-52* ''
Cath Maige Tuired'
§1-19* ''
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 ...
'
M3266-M3267*
Geoffrey Keating, ''History of Ireland'
1.8
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slaine Mac Dela
Legendary High Kings of Ireland
Fir Bolg