List of Kings of Dál Riata

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This is a List of the Kings of Dál Riata, a kingdom of uncertain origins which was located in Scotland and Ireland. Most kings of Dál Riata, along with later rulers of Alba and of Scotland, traced their descent from Fergus Mór mac Eirc, and even in the 16th century, James VI of Scotland called himself the "happie monarch sprung of Ferguse race".

Background

It is not until the middle of the 6th century that Irish annals plausibly report the deaths of kings of Dál Riata, with the death of Comgall mac Domangairt, c. 538-545, and of his brother Gabrán, c. 558-560. The last attested kings of Dál Riata are Fergus mac Echdach, brother and successor to Áed Find, whose death is reported in the Annals of Ulster in 781. It is thought that the original king-lists from which the High Medieval accounts were derived ended with Fergus. After Fergus the history of Dál Riata is very uncertain, althouhgh there is a report of the death in 792 of Donncoirce ("Dorm Corci, king of Dál Riata"), but of whom nothing more is known.

Dál Riata was divided into a number of kingroups or dynasties, called cenéla, of which the Cenél nGabráin of Kintyre, who claimed descent from Gabrán mac Domangairt, and the Cenél Loairn, who claimed descent from Fergus Mór's son Loarn, dominated the kingship. Given the nature of early medieval genealogies, and the doubts expressed even by contemporary writers, such as the compiler of the Senchus fer n-Alban, it would be unwise to place too much reliance on such claims.

The annals are not entirely consistent in naming kings. For example, is there a real difference between a "king of Dál Riata" and a "lord of Dál Riata"? A possible source of confusion is that the neighbouring cruithne kingdom of Dál nAraide in Ulster was similar in name when latinised as Dalaradia, while Dál Riata became Dalriada, so that it is possible that some of the more obscure rulers may have been misattributed to Dál Riata. It has been proposed, but with little support, that the Irish part of Dál Riata had a separate existence from the Scottish part after the middle of the 7th century, so that one king ruled in Ireland while another ruled in Scotland.

Kings of Dál Riata

Kings before the Battle of Mag Rath

Reign	Ruler	Name	Family	Remarks
Unknown	Loarn	Loarn mac Eirc	Supposedly a son of Erc	Eponymous founder of the Cenél Loairn; claimed ancestry probable spurious
Unknown	Fergus Mór	Fergus Mór mac Eirc Mac Nisse Mór	Son of Erc	Mac Nisse Mór is likely spurious; Annals of Tigernach report his death c. 501
Unknown	Domangart	Domangart mac Ferguso Domangart Mac Nissi	Son of Fergus Mór	The Annals of Innisfallen report the death of Domangart of Cenn Tíre c. 507; the patronymic Mac Nissi is probably a textual error
Died c. 540	Comgall	Comgall mac Domangairt	Son of Domangart	Said to have reigned 35 years; multiple obits in the Annals of Ulster; eponymous ancestor of the Cenél Comgaill
Died c. 560	Gabrán	Gabrán mac Domangairt	Son of Domangart	His death may be associated with Bridei son of Maelchon; duplicate obits in the Annals of Ulster; eponymous ancestor of the Cenél nGabráin
Died c. 574	Conall	Conall mac Comgaill	Cenél Comgaill; son of Comgall	Said to have given Iona to Saint Columba; the first king to have an entry in the Annals of Ulster other than an obit
Died c. 606	Áedán	Áedán mac Gabráin	Cenél nGabráin; son of Gabrán	Known from Adomnán of Iona's Life of Saint Columba and from many entries in the Annals
Died c. 629 (after Connad Cerr)	Eochaid Buide	Eochaid Buide Eochaid mac Áedáin	Cenél nGabráin; son of Áedán	Known from Adomnán of Iona's Life of Saint Columba
Died c. 629 (before Eochaid Buide)	Connad Cerr	Connad mac Conaill	Cenél Comgaill; son of Conall	Co-ruler with Eochaid Buide whom he predeceased; defeated and killed in battle at Fid Eóin by Congal Cáech, king of the Ulaid
Died c. 642	Domnall Brecc	Domnall Brecc Domnall mac Echdach	Cenél nGabráin; son of Eochaid Buide	Defeated and killed in battle at Strathcarron by Eugein map Beli, king of Alt Clut
Unknown	Ferchar	Ferchar mac Connaid	Cenél Comgaill; son of Connad Cerr	His obit in the Annals of Ulster for 694 appears misplaced; according to the Duan Albanach he was king after his father, presumably jointly with Domnall Brecc

Kings from Mag Rath to 741

Reign	Ruler	Name	Family	Remarks
Died c. 654	Dúnchad	Dúnchad mac Conaing Dúnchad mac Dúbain	Cenél nGabráin; probably son of Conaing son of Áedán	Presumed descendants of Dúnchad appear frequently in the Annals
Died c. 660	Conall Crandomna	Conall Crandomna Conall Crannamna Conall mac Echdach	Cenél nGabráin; son of Eochaid Buide
Died c. 660 ?	Domangart	Domangart mac Domnaill	Cenél nGabráin; son of Domnall Brecc
Died c. 689	Máel Dúin	Máel Dúin mac Conaill	Cenél nGabráin; son of Conall
Died c. 696	Domnall Donn	Domnall Donn Domnall mac Conaill	Cenél nGabráin; son of Conall
Died c. 697	Ferchar Fota	Ferchar the Tall Ferchar mac Feredaig	Cenél Loairn ; a descendant in the seventh generation of Loarn	King of the Cenél Loairn and, for a short time, of Dál Riata
Unknown	Eochaid	Eochaid mac Domangairt	Cenél nGabráin; son of Domangart	Unattested by the Annals and omitted from later genealogies but included in the Duan Albanach
Deposed c. 698	Ainbcellach	Ainbcellach mac Ferchair	Cenél Loairn; son of Ferchar Fota	Died 718 in battle against Selbach his brother
Died 700	Fiannamail	Fiannamail ua Dúnchado Fiannamail mac h-ua Dúnchado	Cenél nGabráin ?; perhaps a grandson or great-grandson of the earlier Dúnchad son of Conaing	It is uncertain whether Fiannamail should be counted as a king of Dál Riata, or of Dál nAraidi; his possible sons Indrechtach and Conall died in battle in 741.
Died 707	Béc	Béc ua Dúnchado	Cenél nGabráin ?; probably a grandson or nephew of the earlier Dúnchad son of Conaing	Apparently king of the Cenél nGabráin
Died 721	Dúnchad	Dúnchad Bec	Cenél nGabráin; unknown but a relationship with Fiannamail, Béc and the earlier Dúnchad mac Conaing is possible	King of Kintyre, which is to say the Cenél nGabráin, from before 719 to 721
Abdicated 723	Selbach	Selbach mac Ferchair	Cenél Loairn; son of Ferchar Fota	Abdicated in favour of his son Dúngal and entered religion, died 730
Deposed as king of Dál Riata 726	Dúngal	Dúngal mac Selbaig	Cenél Loairn; son of Selbach	Probably remained king of the Cenél Loairn until deposed in 733
726–733	Eochaid	Eochaid Angbad Eochaid mac Echdach	Cenel nGabráin; son of Eochaid	A return to the Cenel nGabráin line
733–736	Muiredach	Muiredach mac Ainbcellaig	Cenél Loairn; son of Ainbcellach	King of the Cenél Loairn; Muiredach may have been the king of Dál Riata as well
Unknown	Alpín	Alpín mac Echdach	Unknown	Appears in the Duan Albanach; possibly a spurious intrusion
Unknown	Eógan	Eógan mac Muiredaig	Cenél Loairn; son of Muiredach	Known from some Scots chronicles; not named as king by the Duan Albanach; may have been king of the Cenél Loairn
Died 741	Indrechtach	Indrechtach mac Fiannamail	Cenel nGabráin ?; presumably son of the earlier Fiannamail	Idenfication uncertain, killed at the battle of Forboros, perhaps by the Picts of Óengus mac Fergusa; this may, however, have been a king of Dál nAraidi, but in this case his patronymic should be mac Lethlobair

Kings from the 740s onwards

Reign	Ruler	Name	Family	Remarks
c. 736–750 or later	Unknown kings			Dál Riata was under the control of the Picts from around 736 until at least 750, and perhaps later; no kings are known from this period, but it is likely that the Picts ruled Dál Riata through subject kings
Before 768–778	Áed Find	Áed mac Echdach	Cenel nGabráin; presumably a son of Eochaid son of Eochaid	Later genealogies make Áed Find the son of Domangart son of Domnall Brecc which is chronologically improbable, others have one Eochaid rather than the expected two
778–781	Fergus	Fergus mac Echdach	Cenel nGabráin; brother of Áed Find
Unknown	Eochaid	Eochaid mac Áeda Find	Cenel nGabráin; son of Áed Find	Not included in the Duan Albanach, or in the Annals; known from later genealogies; probably an error for Eochaid mac Echdach
Died 792	Donncoirce	None known	Unknown	Obit in the Annals of Ulster; not included in the Duan Albanach or later genealogies
Unknown	Caustantín	Caustantín mac Fergusa	Not certainly known, perhaps a descendant of the first Óengus mac Fergusa	King of the Picts c. 792–820; included in the Duan Albanach but not generally supposed to have been a king in Dál Riata
c. 792–805	Unknown kings			No kings are known from this period
c. 805–807	Conall	Conall mac Taidg	Unknown	Death reported in battle in Kintyre, presumed to be the first of the Conalls included in the Duan Albanach; reign approximate
c. 807–811	Conall	Conall mac Áedáin	Unknown	Killed Conall mac Taidg, "another Conall" reigned four years according to the Duan Albanach; reign approximate
c. 811–835	Domnall	Domnall mac Caustantín	Son of Caustantín mac Fergusa	A king named Domnall reigned twenty-four years according to the Duan Albanach; reign approximate
Unknown	Óengus	Óengus mac Fergusa	Brother of Caustantín	King of the Picts c. 820–834; included in the Duan Albanach but not generally supposed to have been a king in Dál Riata
Unknown	'''Eóganán	Eóganán mac Óengusa	Son of Óengus	King of the Picts c. 837–839; included in the Duan Albanach but not generally supposed to have been a king in Dál Riata
c. 835–839	Áed	Áed mac Boanta	None known	Killed in battle against Vikings alongside Eóganán mac Óengusa; a king Áed is named by the Duan Albanach
Unknown	Alpín	Alpín mac Echdach	Cenel nGabráin; son of Eochaid son of Áed Find	Not listed in the Duan Albanach or the Annals; known from later genealogies; no evidence that he was a king in Dál Riata and he is fathered on the spurious Eochaid mac Áeda Find
Unknown	Cináed	Cináed mac Ailpín	Cenel nGabráin; son of Alpín	King of the Picts c. 843–858; not generally supposed that he was a king in Dál Riata
Unknown	Gofraid	Gofraid mac Fergusa	A king or prince of the Airgíalla	An entry in the late and generally less reliable Annals of the Four Masters for 835 (probably 839 AD) states that Gofraid was invited to come to Dál Riata by Cináed mac Ailpín; a spurious addition, Gofraid being an alleged son of Fergus Mór and an ancestor of Somerled

Sources

The main sources for the kings of Dál Riata include:

The Annals of Ulster
The Annals of Tigernach
The Senchus Fer n-Alban
The Synchronisms of Flann Mainstreach of Monasterboice
The Duan Albanach
Adomnán of Iona's Life of Saint Columba
A variety of genealogies for later kings of Alba.

Less reliable sources may include:

Interpretation of these sources remains problematic. Many entries which appear to refer to Dál Riata lack context, many persons named lack patronyms or other identifying bynames. There are many disagreements among sources. Some entries have been amended and expanded at a later time.

References

For primary sources, see also the articles mentioned above and External links below

Adomnán, Life of St Columba, tr. & ed. Richard Sharpe. Penguin, London, 1995. ISBN 0-14-044462-9
Anderson, Alan Orr, Early Sources of Scottish History A.D 500–1286, volume 1. Reprinted with corrections. Paul Watkins, Stamford, 1990. ISBN 1-871615-03-8
Bannerman, John, Studies in the History of Dalriada. Scottish Academic Press, Edinburgh, 1974. ISBN 0-7011-2040-1
Bannerman, John, "The Scottish Takeover of Pictland" in Dauvit Broun & Thomas Owen Clancy (eds.) Spes Scotorum: Hope of Scots. Saint Columba, Iona and Scotland. T & T Clark, Edinburgh, 1999. ISBN 0-567-08682-2
Broun, Dauvit, The Irish Identity of the Kingdom of the Scots in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries. Boydell, Woodbridge, 1999. ISBN 0-85115-375-5
Broun, Dauvit, "Pictish Kings 761–839: Integration with Dál Riata or Separate Development" in Sally M. Foster (ed.), The St Andrews Sarcophagus: A Pictish masterpiece and its international connections. Four Courts, Dublin, 1998. ISBN 1-85182-414-6
Sharpe, Richard, "The thriving of Dalriada" in Simon Taylor (ed.), Kings, clerics and chronicles in Scotland 500–1297. Fourt Courts, Dublin, 2000. ISBN 1-85182-516-9

External links

CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at University College Cork

The Corpus of Electronic Texts includes the Annals of Ulster, Tigernach, the Four Masters and Innisfallen, the Chronicon Scotorum, the Lebor Bretnach (which includes the Duan Albanach), Genealogies, and various Saints' Lives. Most are translated into English, or translations are in progress

Annals of Clonmacnoise at Cornell