Sírlám, son of Finn mac Blatha, 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 took power after killing his predecessor,

Lugaid Íardonn Lugaid Íardonn, son of Énna Derg, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. His epithet, Old Irish for "dark brown", came from the colour of his hair. He succeeded his father, who had died of pla ...

, in Ráth Clochair. His name means "long hand" or "long arm", and it is said his arms reached the ground when was standing up (compare the Irish

god In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

Lug, whose

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

''lámfada'' also means "long arm"). He ruled for thirteen years according to 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 ...

'', or sixteen 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 Four Masters.''

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 ...

'
M4328-4344
/ref> He drove Lugaid's son Eochu Uairches into exile, but after twelve years overseas Eochu returned and killed him with an arrow. The ''Lebor Gabála'' synchronises his reign with that of Artaxerxes I of Persia (465–424 BC). The chronology of Keating's ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' dates his reign to 649–633 BC, that of the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' to 872–856 BC.

References

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