Óengus Tuirmech Temrach, son of Eochaid Ailtlethan, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a

High King of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ga, Ardrí na hÉireann ) 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 later sometimes assigned ana ...

. He came to power after killing his predecessor, and his father's killer,

Fergus Fortamail Fergus Fortamail ("strong, prevailing"), son of Bresal Brecc, son of Óengus Ollom, son of Ailill Bracan, son of Labraid Loingsech, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He took power after killin ...

. His sons included

Énna Aignech Énna Aignech ("spirited, swift", an epithet usually applied to horses), son of Óengus Tuirmech Temrach, was, according to medieval Irish legend, a High King of Ireland. He took power after killing his predecessor, and relative's killer, Nia Segam ...

and Fiacha Fer Mara. Énna later became High King himself and was the ancestor of

Conn of the Hundred Battles Conn Cétchathach (; "of the Hundred Battles"), son of Fedlimid Rechtmar, was a semi-legendary High King of Ireland and the ancestor of the Connachta, and, through his descendant Niall Noígiallach, the Uí Néill dynasties, which dominated Irela ...

and thus the

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, literally "f ...

and

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

High Kings, while Fiacha was the ancestor of

Ailill Érann The Iverni (, ') were a people of early Ireland first mentioned in Ptolemy's 2nd century ''Geography (Ptolemy), Geography'' as living in the extreme south-west of the island. He also locates a "city" called Ivernis (, ') in their territory, and ...

and the

Clanna Dedad Deda mac Sin (Deda, son of Sen) was a prehistoric king of the Érainn of Ireland, possibly of the 1st century BC. Variant forms or spellings include Ded, Dedu, Dedad, Degad, Dega, Dego, Deguth and Daig, with some of these occurring as genitives ...

. Óengus is said to have fathered Fíacha on his own daughter when drunk, and to have put him in a boat, wrapped in a purple robe with a golden fringe and accompanied by treasure, and set him out to sea – hence the epithet ''fer mara'', "man of the sea". He was found and brought up by fishermen, and became the ancestor of several High Kings of Ireland and the later

Dál Riata Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaelic kingdom that encompassed the western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel. At its height in the 6th and 7th centuries, it covered what is now ...

monarchs of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The ''

Lebor Gabála Érenn ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of the Taking of Ireland"), known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'', is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language intended to be a history of Ireland and the Irish fro ...

'' interprets his epithet as meaning "the reckoner of Tara", saying that "by him was 'reckoning' first made in Ireland".

Geoffrey Keating Geoffrey Keating ( ga, Seathrún Céitinn; c. 1569 – c. 1644) was a 17th-century historian. He was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, and is buried in Tubrid Graveyard in the parish of Ballylooby-Duhill. He became an Irish Catholic priest and a ...

gives his epithet as ''Tuirbeach'', "ashamed", because of the incestuous conception of Fíacha. He reigned for thirty or sixty years, and died at Tara, succeeded by his nephew

Conall Collamrach Conall Collamrach, son of Eterscél Temrach, son of Eochaid Ailtlethan, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He succeeded to the throne on the death of his uncle Óengus Tuirmech Temrach, and ru ...

. The ''Lebor Gabála'' synchronises his reign with that of

Ptolemy VI Philometor Ptolemy VI Philometor ( gr, Πτολεμαῖος Φιλομήτωρ, ''Ptolemaĩos Philomḗtōr'';"Ptolemy, lover of his Mother". 186–145 BC) was a Greek king of Ptolemaic Egypt who reigned from 180 to 164 BC and from 163 to 145 BC. Ptolemy ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

(180–145 BC). The chronology of Keating's ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' dates his reign to 262–232 BC, that of the ''

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Deluge, dated as 2,24 ...

'' to 385–326 BC.''

'
M4815-4875
/ref>

References

Legendary High Kings of Ireland 3rd-century BC rulers {{Ireland-royal-stub