Brión son of Eochaid Mugmedón

Eochaid Mugmedon

-Biography:According to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, Eochaid was a High King of Ireland, best known as the father of Niall of the Nine Hostages and ancestor of the Uí Néill and Connachta dynasties...

, was a legendary and possibly historical Irish king, fl. 4th/5th century.

Biography

The older half-brother of Niall of the Nine Hostages

Niall of the Nine Hostages

Niall Noígíallach , or in English, Niall of the Nine Hostages, son of Eochaid Mugmedón, was an Irish king, the eponymous ancestor of the Uí Néill kindred who dominated Ireland from the 6th century to the 10th century...

 and one of the three brothers whose descendants were known as the Connachta

Connachta

The Connachta are a group of medieval Irish dynasties who claimed descent from the legendary High King Conn Cétchathach...

, Brión is said to have been king of Connacht

Connacht

Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...

. According to the traditional Irish chronology, his father died in 362. Brión's descendants, the Uí Briúin

Uí Briúin

The Uí Briúin were an Irish kin-group. Their eponymous apical ancestor was Brion, son of Eochaid Mugmedon and Mongfind, and an elder half brother of Niall of the Nine Hostages. They formed part of the Connachta, along with the Uí Fiachrach and Uí Ailello, putative descendants of Eochaid Mugmedon's...

, gave rise to many Kings of Connacht

Kings of Connacht

The Kings of Connacht were rulers of the cóiced of Connacht, which lies west of the River Shannon, Ireland. However, the name only became applied to it in the early medieval era, being named after The Connachta.The old name for the province was Cóiced Ol nEchmacht . Ptolemy's map of c. 150 AD...

 and its ruling families over the next thousand years. A descendant of his via the Uí Briúin Ai was Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair, who became 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...

 in 1166.

"The Violent Death of Crimthann mac Fidaig and of the Three Sons of Eochaid Muigmedón" gives the story of the sons of Eochaid Mugmedón. According to this saga, Brión was the favorite son of his mother Mongfind

Mongfind

Queen Mongfind was the wife, of apparent Munster origins, of the legendary Irish High King Eochaid Mugmedón and mother of his eldest three sons, Brion, Ailill and Fiachrae, ancestors of the historical Connachta, through whom she is an ancestor of many Irish and European nobility today...

, sister of Crimthann mac Fidaig

Crimthann mac Fidaig

Crimthann Mór, son of Fidach , also written Crimthand Mór, was a semi-mythological king of Munster and High King of Ireland of the 4th century. He gained territory in Britain and Gaul, but died poisoned by his sister Mongfind. It is possible that he was also recognized as king of Scotland or Alba...

 (d. 367), the king of Munster

Munster

Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...

. She wanted Brión to succeed Eochaid but upon his death, war broke out with her stepson Niall Noigiallach (d. 405). When she realized the war was not going in her favor she arranged for Crimthann to become high king and sent Brión away to learn soldiering. On Brión's return after seven years, Mongfind poisoned her brother in order to get the throne for Brión.

However, Niall acquired the throne and made Brión his champion and levier of his rents and hostages. Brión took the throne of Connacht leading to war with his brother Fiachrae

Fiachrae

Fiachrae was an Irish prince, the son of the high king Eochaid Mugmedón by his wife Mongfind, sister of Crimthann mac Fidaig. He was ancestor of the Uí Fiachrach dynasties of Connacht. He lived in the late 4th century....

. Brión defeated Fiachrae at the Battle of Damchluain (near Tuam

Tuam

Tuam is a town in County Galway, Ireland. The name is pronounced choo-um . It is situated west of the midlands of Ireland, and north of Galway city.-History:...

, County Galway

County Galway

County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...

) who was taken captive to Tara. However, Fiachrae's son Nath Í

Nath Í

Nath Í, an early Irish personal name for males, may refer to:*Nath Í mac Fiachrach, 5th-century legendary king of Connacht*Nath Í of Cúl Fothirbe, saint of the Dál Messin Corb of Leinster...

rallied forces and defeated Brión who was slain at a second Battle of Damchluain. Brión was buried at Ross Camm. Fiachrae was released and became the new king of Connacht.

Descendants

According to Tirechan, Patrick visited the "halls of the sons of Brion" at Duma Selchae in Mag nAi, but does not give their names. An equilvant passage in the Vita Tripartita, possibly of 9th-centry origin, names six sons. "A series of later sources daing from the eleventh century onward, meanwhile, enumerates Brion's progeny as no less than twenty-four. No doubt the increasing power of the Ui Briuin was responsible for this dramatic swelling of the ranks, as tribes and dynasties newly coming under Ui Briuin sway were furnished with ancestries that would link them genealogically to their overlords. Into this category fall the Ui Bruin Umaill, and likely also the Ui Bruin Ratha and Ui Bruin Sinna." (p485, "Ui Bruin", Anne Connon, in "Medieval Ireland:An Encyclopedia").