The Uí Néill (; meaning "descendants of Niall") are
Irish dynasties
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others.
Historians ...
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 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 was 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 ar ...
branch:
*
Conall Gulban, 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
is an Old Irish, early Irish male given name, which also has the hypocoristic and diminutive forms , , and . The Irish language, Modern Irish form of the name is ().
In Scottish Gaelic, the name is or . All of the above are often anglicisation ...
, 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, 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 dynasty, dynasties who claimed descent from the legendary High King of Ireland, High King Conn of the Hundred Battles, Conn Cétchathach (Conn of the Hundred Battles). The modern western Provinces of ...
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
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 ...
and
Cenél nEógain, held power in
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 ...
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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
Europe in 1607, an event known as the
.
Uí Néill family tree
Bold indicates a supposed
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 ...
.
See also
*
Gaelic nobility of Ireland
This article concerns the Gaelic nobility of Ireland from ancient to modern times. It only partly overlaps with Chiefs of the Name because it excludes Scotland and other discussion. It is one of three groups of Irish nobility, the others bei ...
*
Irish royal families
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ui Neill
Ancient Ireland
Gaelic-Irish nations and dynasties
Medieval history of Ireland