Anmchad mac Con Cherca
Encyclopedia
Anmchad mac Con Cherca was king of Osraige, a kingdom largely situated in modern County Kilkenny
and forming part of the kingdom and province of Munster in south and south-west Ireland
. Anmchad was an active ruler, who mounted repeated campaigns against his eastern neighbours in Leinster
.
, later anglicised as Ossory, was one of over 100 small kingdoms which existed in 8th century Ireland. The Osraige—their name means people of the Deer—inhabited much of modern County Kilkenny and parts of neighbouring County Laois
. The most important churches were at Aghaboe
(County Laois), chief church of Saint Cainnech, and at Seir Kieran (County Offaly
), chief church of Saint Ciarán of Saighir
.
While provided by learned men with an imposing genealogy
stretching back into myth and legend, the ruling dynasty of Osraige to which Anmchad belonged appears to have come to power in the later 6th century. Colmán Mór son of Feradach appears in the life
of Saint Cainnech of Aghaboe as king of Osraige, and Colmán's son Scandlán, who is mentioned in Adamnán's life of Saint Columba
, appears also to have been king, dying in 643.
The succession of Osraige kings in the 7th century is obscure following the death of Scandlán and the kings who preceded Anmchad are little more than names. Anmchad's father Cú Cherca
, was king and died c
.713. Cellach mac Fáelchair
, killed in 735 in a battle between Cathal mac Finguine and the Leinstermen, and Forbasach mac Ailella
was probably killed in 740, but how and by whom is not recorded. Anmchad is presumed to have become king after Forbasach's death.
, Munster was ruled by a series of kings who left little of note to record in the Irish annals. While Donnchad Midi of Clann Cholmáin
, chief king of the Uí Néill
and High King of Ireland
, waged a series of campaigns against the Uí Dúnlainge
rulers of Leinster, there was no response from Munster and, according to the annals, Anmchad was the most militarily active Munster king in the middle of the 8th century.
The first record of Anmchad's reign is in 742, the year in which Cathal mac Finguine died. Here the Annals of Ulster
and the Annals of Tigernach
state the Osraige devastated the lands of Cenél Fiachach and Delbna. These lay across the valley of the River Brosna
, between Durrow Abbey
and the River Shannon
, in modern County Offaly. Probably following this, perhaps in 745, Anmchad defeated the Déisi Mumain, of what is now the east of County Waterford
, killing their king Uargus mac Fiachrae. The following year Anmchad defeated and killed the three sons of Cumascrach, but who Cumascrach and his sons were, and the reasons why Anmchad was at war with them are now lost.
The principle target of Anmchad's later wars was Leinster, and in particular the kingdoms and peoples of southern Leinster, modern County Carlow
, chief among which were Uí Bairrche
Tire and Uí Cheinnselaig
. It may be that the battle at Inis Snaic which Anmchad won, against whom is not stated, recorded in about 750, concerned Leinster. in 754 when the Osraige ravaged a territory to their east known as Fotharta Fea, in the eastern portion of modern Carlow. In 759, and again in 761, Anmchad fought at Belach Gabraín—the pass of Gowran—the main route between south Leinster and Osraige. Both times he defeated the Leinstermen, and in the second battle Donngal mac Laidcnén
, king of Uí Cheinnselaig, was killed.
No mention of Anmchad is found in the Irish annals after the death of Donngal mac Laidcnén. In 769 a war among the Osraige is recorded in which Tóim Snáma mac Flainn
, apparently now ruling Osraige, defeated the sons of Anmchad's predecessor Cellach, among whom will have been his eventual successor Dúngal mac Cellaig
. Accordingly, is presumed that Anmchad died at some time between his last appearance in 761 and the coming to power of Tóim Snáma in 769 or earlier. Anmchad had at least one son who survived him, Fergal, who was also king of Osraige and died in 802.
County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. The territory of the county was the core part of the ancient Irish Kingdom of Osraige which in turn was the core of the Diocese of...
and forming part of the kingdom and province of Munster in south and south-west Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. Anmchad was an active ruler, who mounted repeated campaigns against his eastern neighbours in Leinster
Leinster
Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...
.
Background
The kingdom of OsraigeKingdom of Osraige
The Kingdom of Osraighe , anglicized as Ossory, was an ancient kingdom of Ireland. It formed the easternmost part of the kingdom and province of Munster until the middle of the 9th century, after which it attached itself to Leinster...
, later anglicised as Ossory, was one of over 100 small kingdoms which existed in 8th century Ireland. The Osraige—their name means people of the Deer—inhabited much of modern County Kilkenny and parts of neighbouring County Laois
County Laois
County Laois is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It was formerly known as Queen's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. The county's name was formerly spelt as Laoighis and Leix. Laois County Council...
. The most important churches were at Aghaboe
Aghaboe
Aghaboe is a village and parish in County Laois, Ireland. It is located on the R434 regional road in the rural hinterland west of the town of Abbeyleix....
(County Laois), chief church of Saint Cainnech, and at Seir Kieran (County Offaly
County Offaly
County Offaly is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe and was formerly known as King's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. Offaly County Council is...
), chief church of Saint Ciarán of Saighir
Ciarán of Saighir
Saint Ciarán mac Luaigne or Ciarán of Saigir was an early Irish bishop and patron saint of Ossory, who was supposed to have flourished in the second half of the 5th century. He is also referred to as Ciarán the Elder in order to distinguish him from Ciarán of Clonmacnoise...
.
While provided by learned men with an imposing genealogy
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
stretching back into myth and legend, the ruling dynasty of Osraige to which Anmchad belonged appears to have come to power in the later 6th century. Colmán Mór son of Feradach appears in the life
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
of Saint Cainnech of Aghaboe as king of Osraige, and Colmán's son Scandlán, who is mentioned in Adamnán's life of Saint Columba
Saint Columba
-Saints:* Columba , Irish Christian saint who evangelized Scotland* Columba the Virgin, also known as Saint Columba of Cornwall* Columba of Sens* Columba of Spain* Columba of Terryglass* Sancta Columba -Schools:...
, appears also to have been king, dying in 643.
The succession of Osraige kings in the 7th century is obscure following the death of Scandlán and the kings who preceded Anmchad are little more than names. Anmchad's father Cú Cherca
Cú Cherca mac Fáeláin
Cú Cherca mac Fáeláin was a King of Osraige in modern County Kilkenny. He was the son of Fáelán mac Crundmaíl , a previous king. The dynasty that ruled over Osraige in the early Christian period was known as the Dál Birn. He ruled from 693 to 712. The Irish annals mention only his death...
, was king and died c
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
.713. Cellach mac Fáelchair
Cellach mac Fáelchair
Cellach mac Fáelchair or Cellach Raigni was a King of Osraige in modern County Kilkenny. He was the son of Fáelchar Ua Máele Ódrain , a previous king....
, killed in 735 in a battle between Cathal mac Finguine and the Leinstermen, and Forbasach mac Ailella
Forbasach mac Ailella
Forbasach mac Ailella was a King of Osraige in modern County Kilkenny. He ruled from 735 to 740.His genealogy is not recorded in Rawlinson Genealogies, however the Book of Leinster king lists name an Ailill mac Fáeláin as king prior to Cellach mac Fáelchair...
was probably killed in 740, but how and by whom is not recorded. Anmchad is presumed to have become king after Forbasach's death.
Reign
Following the death of Cathal mac FinguineCathal mac Finguine
Cathal mac Finguine was an Irish King of Munster or Cashel, and effectively High King of Ireland as well. He belonged to the Eóganacht Glendamnach sept of the dominant Eóganachta kin-group whose members dominated Munster from the 7th century to the 10th...
, Munster was ruled by a series of kings who left little of note to record in the Irish annals. While Donnchad Midi of Clann Cholmáin
Clann Cholmáin
Clann Cholmáin is the name of the dynasty descended from Colmán Mór , son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Part of the Southern Uí Néill — they were the kings of Mide — they traced their descent to Niall Noígiallach and his son Conall Cremthainne.Related dynasties descended through Conall...
, chief king of the Uí Néill
Uí Néill
The Uí Néill are Irish and Scottish dynasties who claim descent from Niall Noigiallach , an historical King of Tara who died about 405....
and High King of Ireland
High King of Ireland
The High Kings of Ireland were sometimes historical and sometimes legendary figures who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over the whole of Ireland. Medieval and early modern Irish literature portrays an almost unbroken sequence of High Kings, ruling from Tara over a hierarchy of...
, waged a series of campaigns against the Uí Dúnlainge
Uí Dúnlainge
The Uí Dúnlainge, from the Old Irish "grandsons of Dúnlaing", were an Irish dynasty of Leinster kings who traced their descent from Dúnlaing mac Énda Niada. He was said to be a cousin of Énnae Cennsalach, eponymous ancestor of the rival Uí Chennselaig....
rulers of Leinster, there was no response from Munster and, according to the annals, Anmchad was the most militarily active Munster king in the middle of the 8th century.
The first record of Anmchad's reign is in 742, the year in which Cathal mac Finguine died. Here the Annals of Ulster
Annals of Ulster
The Annals of Ulster are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years between AD 431 to AD 1540. The entries up to AD 1489 were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, under his patron Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne in the...
and the Annals of Tigernach
Annals of Tigernach
The Annals of Tigernach is a chronicle probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin and Old and Middle Irish....
state the Osraige devastated the lands of Cenél Fiachach and Delbna. These lay across the valley of the River Brosna
River Brosna
The River Brosna is a river in Ireland, flowing through County Westmeath and County Offaly.The river rises in Lough Owel north of Mullingar and is a tributary of the River Shannon. It meets the Shannon at Shannon Harbour.-Course:...
, between Durrow Abbey
Durrow Abbey
Durrow Abbey is a historic site located off the N52 some 5 miles from Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland.To this day, Durrow Abbey remains a largely undisturbed early historic and medieval monastic site containing a complex of archaeological monuments, ecclesiastical and secular, visible and...
and the River Shannon
River Shannon
The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at . It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception...
, in modern County Offaly. Probably following this, perhaps in 745, Anmchad defeated the Déisi Mumain, of what is now the east of County Waterford
County Waterford
*Abbeyside, Affane, Aglish, Annestown, An Rinn, Ardmore*Ballinacourty, Ballinameela, Ballinamult, Ballinroad, Ballybeg, Ballybricken, Ballyduff Lower, Ballyduff Upper, Ballydurn, Ballygunner, Ballylaneen, Ballymacarbry, Ballymacart, Ballynaneashagh, Ballysaggart, Ballytruckle, Bilberry, Bunmahon,...
, killing their king Uargus mac Fiachrae. The following year Anmchad defeated and killed the three sons of Cumascrach, but who Cumascrach and his sons were, and the reasons why Anmchad was at war with them are now lost.
The principle target of Anmchad's later wars was Leinster, and in particular the kingdoms and peoples of southern Leinster, modern County Carlow
County Carlow
County Carlow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Carlow, which lies on the River Barrow. Carlow County Council is the local authority for the county...
, chief among which were Uí Bairrche
Uí Bairrche
Uí Bairrche was an Irish kin-based group that originally held lands in the south of the ancient province of Leinster . Another south Leinster kin group associated with the Uí Bairrche were groups of the Fothairt. The south of Leinster was dominated by the Uí Chennselaig in the 8th century...
Tire and Uí Cheinnselaig
Uí Cheinnselaig
The Uí Ceinnselaig , from the Old Irish "grandsons of Cennsalach", are an Irish dynasty of Leinster who trace their descent from Énnae Cennsalach, a supposed contemporary of Niall of the Nine Hostages...
. It may be that the battle at Inis Snaic which Anmchad won, against whom is not stated, recorded in about 750, concerned Leinster. in 754 when the Osraige ravaged a territory to their east known as Fotharta Fea, in the eastern portion of modern Carlow. In 759, and again in 761, Anmchad fought at Belach Gabraín—the pass of Gowran—the main route between south Leinster and Osraige. Both times he defeated the Leinstermen, and in the second battle Donngal mac Laidcnén
Donngal mac Laidcnén
Donngal mac Laidcnén was a king of the Uí Cheinnselaig of South Leinster. He belonged to the Sil Chormaic sept of this branch of the Laigin and specifically to a branch which took over leadership of the Uí Dróna -the baronies of Idrone in modern County Carlow...
, king of Uí Cheinnselaig, was killed.
No mention of Anmchad is found in the Irish annals after the death of Donngal mac Laidcnén. In 769 a war among the Osraige is recorded in which Tóim Snáma mac Flainn
Tóim Snáma mac Flainn
Tóim Snáma mac Flainn was a King of Osraige in modern County Kilkenny. He ruled from circa 761 to 770. His exact year of accession is unknown, 761 was the last year his predecessor Anmchad mac Con Cherca was named in the annals....
, apparently now ruling Osraige, defeated the sons of Anmchad's predecessor Cellach, among whom will have been his eventual successor Dúngal mac Cellaig
Dúngal mac Cellaig
Dúngal mac Cellaig was a King of Osraige in modern County Kilkenny. He ruled from 770 to 772. He was of the dynasty that ruled over Osraige in the early Christian period known as the Dál Birn and was the son of Cellach mac Fáelchair , a previous king.The Osraige plunged into civil war upon the...
. Accordingly, is presumed that Anmchad died at some time between his last appearance in 761 and the coming to power of Tóim Snáma in 769 or earlier. Anmchad had at least one son who survived him, Fergal, who was also king of Osraige and died in 802.