Sárán mac Cóelbad (flourished circa third quarter of 5th century) was a Dal nAraide king in the time of

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...

. He was the son of Cáelbad mac Cruind Ba Druí, a high king of Ireland and

King of Ulster The King of Ulster (Old Irish: ''Rí Ulad'', Modern Irish: ''Rí Uladh'') also known as the King of Ulaid and King of the Ulaid, was any of the kings of the Irish provincial over-kingdom of Ulaid. The title rí in Chóicid, which means "king of ...

. He is listed in king lists such as in the ''Book of Leinster'' and ''Laud Synchronisms'' but is not mentioned in the Irish annals. Genealogies such as ''Laud Genealogies'' and ''Rawlinson Genealogies'' give him a reign of 26 years. Another mention of Sárán is in the Vita tripartita Sancti Patricii. According to this, Sárán had made a raid on the Irish portion of

Dál Riata Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaels, Gaelic Monarchy, kingdom that encompassed the Inner Hebrides, western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North ...

and took away some captives. According to the ''Keating Genealogies'', the Mac Artáin of Kinelarty, County Down descend from him.

Early life and kingship

Sárán mac Cóelbad was second son of Cáelbad and was

for 26 years before he was ousted () by the three brothers known as the

Three Collas The Three Collas (Modern Irish: ''Trí Cholla'') were, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, the fourth-century sons of Eochaid Doimlén, son of Cairbre Lifechair. Their names were: Cairell Colla Uais; Muiredach Colla Fo Chr ...

. According to folklore, the Three Collas conquered Ulster, burnt and destroyed Eamhain Mhacha, and transplanted the natives to

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 ...

and

Iveagh Iveagh ( ; ) is the name of several historical territorial divisions in what is now County Down, Northern Ireland. Originally it was a Gaelic Irish territory, ruled by the ''Uí Echach Cobo'' and part of the overkingdom of Ulaid. From the 12th ...

. Sárán mac Cóelbad, as the last king of Ulster of the Irian line, was removed to the Barony of Iveagh, where he became a Cruithin political figure and patriarch of the MacAonghusa (

McGuinness McGuinness (also MacGuinness, McGinnis, Guinness) is an Irish surname. It derives from and is an anglicized form of the Gaelic ''Mac Aonghuis'', literally meaning "son of Angus" (Angus meaning "one, choice"). It may also denote the name Mac Nao ...

) family.

Chief of the Dal Airaidhe

Sárán was chief of the

during the time of

. He was seemingly known as a blood thirsty warrior who killed and enslaved many people and criticised Saint Patrick. Olcán, an Irish saint with a monastery at

Armoy Armoy ( ) is a village and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is 5.5 miles (9 km) southwest of Ballycastle and 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Ballymoney. According to an estimate in 2013 by the Northern Irel ...

, reputedly agreed to baptise Sárán to save lives. This infuriated Saint Patrick, who prophesied that Olcan's monastery would be destroyed three times. Accordingly, some of the Irish historical annals record that Olcan's monastery was raided by a king of

, later by Cucuaran, and finally by Eochaid, who destroyed all but the stump of its

round tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with defensive walls such as curtain wall (fortification), curtain walls. Castle ...

Notes

Kings of Dál nAraidi 5th-century Irish monarchs {{Ireland-royal-stub

Early life and kingship

Chief of the Dal Airaidhe

Further reading

Notes