The Uí Néill (Irish pronunciation: ; meaning "descendants of Niall") are Irish

dynasties A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

who claim descent from Niall Noígíallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages), a historical King of Tara who died c. 405. They are generally divided into the Northern and Southern Uí Néill.Downham, 2018, pp. 93-7.

Branches

The founders of the Uí Néill branches are the alleged sons of Niall Noigiallach, seven in all: The

Northern Uí Néill The Northern Uí Néill is any of several dynasties in north-western medieval Ireland that claimed descent from a common ancestor, Niall of the Nine Hostages. Other dynasties in central and eastern Ireland who also claimed descent from Niall we ...

branch: *

Conall Gulban Conall Gulban (died c. 464) was an Irish king and eponymous ancestor of the '' Cenél Conaill'', who founded the kingdom of '' Tír Chonaill'' in the 5th century, comprising much of what is now County Donegal in Ulster. He was the son of Niall ...

, ancestor of the

Cenél Conaill Cenél is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Cenél Conaill, the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Conall Gulban, son of Niall Noígiallach defined by oral and recorded history *Cenél nEógain (in English, Cenel Eogan) is ...

dynasty, * Eógan, ancestor of the Cenél nEógain dynasty. The Southern Uí Néill branch: * Éndae, ancestor of the Cenél nÉndai, * Coirpre, ancestor of the Cenél Coirpri dynasty, *

Lóegaire Lóegaire (Laoghaire, Láegaire, Loeguire, sometimes anglicised as Leary) is a popular medieval Irish given name borne by a number of historical and legendary figures. People Notable people bearing this name include: * Lóegaire Lorc, legendary ...

, ancestor of the Cenél Lóegaire dynasty, * Conall Cremthainne, ancestor of the Clann Cholmáin and Síl nÁedo Sláine, * Fiachu, ancestor of the Cenél Fiachach. All these men were in their lifetime known as members of

Connachta The Connachta are a group of medieval Irish dynasties who claimed descent from the legendary High King Conn Cétchathach (Conn of the Hundred Battles). The modern western province of Connacht ( Irish ''Cúige Chonnacht'', province, literall ...

dynasty, or as "the sons of Niall." The term Uí Néill did not, by its very nature, come into use until the time of Niall's grandsons and great-grandsons. Dynasties descended from the Uí Néill, such as the

and Cenél nEógain, held power in

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label=Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

until their defeat in the Nine Years War in 1603. Many of the heads of the families left for

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

Europe in 1607, an event known as the

Flight of the Earls The Flight of the Earls ( ir, Imeacht na nIarlaí)In Irish, the neutral term ''Imeacht'' is usually used i.e. the ''Departure of the Earls''. The term 'Flight' is translated 'Teitheadh na nIarlaí' and is sometimes seen. took place in Se ...

Uí Néill family tree

Bold indicates a supposed High King of Ireland.

References

Bibliography

* . * * . * . * .

External links

Matching Niall Nóigiallach
at Family Tree DNA
R-M222 Haplogroup Project
at Family Tree DNA {{DEFAULTSORT:Ui Neill Ancient Ireland Gaelic-Irish nations and dynasties Medieval Ireland

Branches

Uí Néill family tree

See also

References

Bibliography

External links