Congal Cáech
Encyclopedia
Congal Cáech was a king of the Cruithne
of Dál nAraidi
, in modern Ulster
, from around 626 to 637. He was king of Ulster from 627-637 and, according to some sources, High King of Ireland
.
are for this period believed to be largely based on an annal kept on the island of Iona
, where Saint Columba
had founded a monastery in the middle 6th century. These annals survive only in later copies. Of these, the Annals of Ulster
and the Annals of Tigernach
are generally considered to be the most reliable and representative of the original material. Congal does not appear directly in Adomnán's Life of Saint Columba, another early source for Irish history, but a number of his contemporaries do and it supplies some context for events. He is mentioned in the Early Irish Law tract Brecbetha—on beekeeping
—written in the later 7th century; this purports to explain Congal's epithets.
He also appears later and less reliable materials such as verse and prose tales, including the Cath Maige Rátha (The Battle of Mag Rath) and Fled Dúin na nGéd (The Feast of Dún na nGéd, literally The Feast at the Fort of the Geese), both of which date from the Middle Irish
period, perhaps the early 10th century for the Cath Maige Rátha and the 11th or 12th, perhaps later, for Fled Dúin na nGéd. Those genealogies which include Congal are contradictory.
. In the 6th and 7th centuries the Dal nAraide were part of a confederation of Cruithne
tribes in Ulaid (Ulster) and were the dominant members. The main ruling line of the Dal nARaide was known as the Uí Chóelbad based in Mag Line, east of Antrim town in modern county Antrim. It is possible that Congal did not belong to this branch of the Cruithne but some other rival branch and so would not be the grandson of Fiachnae who was of this branch
The Fled Dúin na nGéd makes Congal a grandson of Eochaid Buide
, King of Dál Riata, which is unconfirmed by other sources but chronologically feasible although it contains an anachronism
in that Eochaid Buide's death is recorded years before the Battle of Mag Rath. This would make Congal the son of his ally Domnall Brecc
's sister.
until some time after the death of Fiachnae mac Demmáin
in 627. He first appears in the record in 628, when he killed Suibne Mend of the Cenél nEógain
, supposedly High King of Ireland
, at Traig Bréni on the shore of Lough Swilly. This killing may have opened Congal's way to becoming king of the Ulaid, but it also brought Domnall mac Áedo
of the Cenél Conaill
, Congal's nemesis, to the headship of the Northern Uí Néill
. According to the Fled Dúin na nGéd, Domnall was the foster-father of Congal. Domnall had clashed with Suibne earlier that year and it is possible that Domnall and Congal were acting in collusion.
This same saga records a slight that Congal suffered at the feast which seems to have turned him against his foster-father. In 629 they clashed and Congal was defeated by Domnall mac Áedo at the Battle of Dún Ceithirn (Duncairn, near Coleraine, modern County Londonderry) and fled the field of battle.
In 629, the Dal nAraide appear to have defeated the Dál Riata at Fid Eóin, killing Connad Cerr
, although the victor is named as Maél Caích, perhaps an otherwise unknown brother of Congal. As well as their king, the Dál Riata suffered the loss of two grandsons of Áedán mac Gabráin
and the Bernicia
n exile Osric (perhaps a son of Æthelfrith) was also killed. It is possible that upon becoming King of Ulaid, Congal resigned the affairs of Dal nAraide to Maél Caích mac Scandail who met opposition from other Criuthne led by Dícuil mac Echach who may have been a member of the Latharna of Larne (a Dal nAraide tribe).
win a number of victories in Leinster and Meath which may be connected with the period of Congal's high kingship. Congal may have also supported the Cenél maic Ercae in their feud with the Cenél Feradaig branch of the Cenél nEógain
Congal's epithet
s cáech and cláen mean "squinting" or "half blind". An ancient law on bees in the Bechbretha, written within a generation of Congal's death, links these epithets with Congal being blinded in one eye by bees owned by Domnall mac Áedo. This, it says, put Congal out of the kingship of Tara
. No later sources make Congal a High King of Ireland, which is largely the same as the kingship of Tara, but the Cath Maige Rath echoes the Bechbretha in claiming that the men of Ulaid demanded that the eye of the beekeeper's son — a son of the High King Domnall mac Áedo — be put out in repayment.
These tracts may have been part of a propaganda war against Congal who may have faced hostility from the Dal Fiatach
and the main Uí Chóelbad dynasty of the Dal nAraide. In the period 635-636 the allies of Domnall mac Áedo seem to have got the better of Congal's allies. In 635 his allies the Clann Cholmáin suffered defeat by their rivals of the Síl nÁedo Sláine
, who were allies of Domnall mac Áedo. This may have been the real reason for Domnall Brecc's alliance with Congal as his dynasty was allied to Clann Cholmáin. Domnall may have also been hostile to the Uí Chóelbad dynasty of the Dal nAraide. In 636 the assassination of the Cenél Feradaig king of Ailech
failed to displace this branch in favor of Congal's allies the Cenél maic Ercae.
dominated events in the years that followed, until around 637, when Congal, together with Domnall Brecc of Dál Riata challenged him at the battle of Mag Rath (Moira, County Down
). Domnall mac Áedo was victorious and Congal was killed in the defeat. This battle appears in the Buile Shuibhne
and is recounted in the Cath Maige Rath.
Irish poet Sir Samuel Ferguson
wrote a length heroic poem on Congal, loosely based on the Fled Dúin na nGéd, entitled Congal: A Poem in Five Books (1907).
Cruthin
The Cruthin were a people of early Ireland, who occupied parts of Counties Down, Antrim and Londonderry in the early medieval period....
of Dál nAraidi
Dál nAraidi
Dál nAraidi was a kingdom of the Cruthin in the north-east of Ireland in the first millennium. The lands of the Dál nAraidi appear to correspond with the Robogdii of Ptolemy's Geographia, a region shared with Dál Riata...
, in modern Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. 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...
, from around 626 to 637. He was king of Ulster from 627-637 and, according to some sources, 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...
.
Sources
The sources for Congal's life and times are limited and generally date from long after his death. The Irish annalsIrish annals
A number of Irish annals were compiled up to and shortly after the end of Gaelic Ireland in the 17th century.Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days...
are for this period believed to be largely based on an annal kept on the island of Iona
Iona
Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the western coast of Scotland. It was a centre of Irish monasticism for four centuries and is today renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. It is a popular tourist destination and a place for retreats...
, where Saint Columba
Columba
Saint Columba —also known as Colum Cille , Colm Cille , Calum Cille and Kolban or Kolbjørn —was a Gaelic Irish missionary monk who propagated Christianity among the Picts during the Early Medieval Period...
had founded a monastery in the middle 6th century. These annals survive only in later copies. Of these, 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....
are generally considered to be the most reliable and representative of the original material. Congal does not appear directly in Adomnán's Life of Saint Columba, another early source for Irish history, but a number of his contemporaries do and it supplies some context for events. He is mentioned in the Early Irish Law tract Brecbetha—on beekeeping
Beekeeping
Beekeeping is the maintenance of honey bee colonies, commonly in hives, by humans. A beekeeper keeps bees in order to collect honey and other products of the hive , to pollinate crops, or to produce bees for sale to other beekeepers...
—written in the later 7th century; this purports to explain Congal's epithets.
He also appears later and less reliable materials such as verse and prose tales, including the Cath Maige Rátha (The Battle of Mag Rath) and Fled Dúin na nGéd (The Feast of Dún na nGéd, literally The Feast at the Fort of the Geese), both of which date from the Middle Irish
Middle Irish language
Middle Irish is the name given by historical philologists to the Goidelic language spoken in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man from the 10th to 12th centuries; it is therefore a contemporary of late Old English and early Middle English...
period, perhaps the early 10th century for the Cath Maige Rátha and the 11th or 12th, perhaps later, for Fled Dúin na nGéd. Those genealogies which include Congal are contradictory.
Origins
While Irish history in this period is replete with the names of persons, about whom little is usually known save for their ancestry and the date and manner of their death, no early source preserves Congal's ancestry. According to later materials Congal was the son of Scandal Sciathlethan and grandson of Fiachnae mac BáetáinFiachnae mac Báetáin
Fiachnae mac Báetáin , also called Fiachnae Lurgan or Fiachnae Find, was king of the Dál nAraidi and high-king of the Ulaid in the early 7th century. He was a son of Báetán mac Echdach and brother of Fiachra Cáech Fiachnae mac Báetáin (died 626), also called Fiachnae Lurgan or Fiachnae Find, was...
. In the 6th and 7th centuries the Dal nAraide were part of a confederation of Cruithne
Cruthin
The Cruthin were a people of early Ireland, who occupied parts of Counties Down, Antrim and Londonderry in the early medieval period....
tribes in Ulaid (Ulster) and were the dominant members. The main ruling line of the Dal nARaide was known as the Uí Chóelbad based in Mag Line, east of Antrim town in modern county Antrim. It is possible that Congal did not belong to this branch of the Cruithne but some other rival branch and so would not be the grandson of Fiachnae who was of this branch
The Fled Dúin na nGéd makes Congal a grandson of Eochaid Buide
Eochaid Buide
Eochaid Buide was king of Dál Riata from around 608 until 629. "Buide" refers to the colour yellow, as in the colour of his hair.He was a younger son of Áedán mac Gabráin and became his father's chosen heir upon the death of his elder brothers...
, King of Dál Riata, which is unconfirmed by other sources but chronologically feasible although it contains an anachronism
Anachronism
An anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...
in that Eochaid Buide's death is recorded years before the Battle of Mag Rath. This would make Congal the son of his ally Domnall Brecc
Domnall Brecc
Domnall Brecc was king of Dál Riata, in modern Scotland, from about 629 until 642...
's sister.
King of Ulaid
Congal is presumed to have become king of the Dál nAraidi in 626 following the death of Fiachnae, but he is unlikely to have imposed himself as king of the UlaidUlaid
The Ulaid or Ulaidh were a people of early Ireland who gave their name to the modern province of Ulster...
until some time after the death of Fiachnae mac Demmáin
Fiachnae mac Demmáin
Fiachnae mac Demmáin was King of Ulaid from 626 to 627. Sometimes called Fiachnae Dubtuinne. He was a member of the Dal Fiatach and nephew of Baetan mac Cairill of Ulaid. He was the son of Demmán mac Cairell...
in 627. He first appears in the record in 628, when he killed Suibne Mend of the Cenél nEógain
Cenél nEógain
Cenél nEóġain is the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Eógan mac Néill , son of Niall Noígiallach who founded the kingdom of Tír Eoghain in the 5th century...
, supposedly 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...
, at Traig Bréni on the shore of Lough Swilly. This killing may have opened Congal's way to becoming king of the Ulaid, but it also brought Domnall mac Áedo
Domnall mac Áedo
Domnall mac Áedo , also known as Domnall II, was a son of Áed mac Ainmuirech. Domnall was High King of Ireland from 628 until his death. He belonged to the Cenél Conaill kindred of the northern Uí Néill....
of the Cenél Conaill
Cenél Conaill
The Cenél Conaill is the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Conall Gulban, son of Niall Noígiallach defined by oral and recorded history. They were also known in Scotland as the Kindred of Saint Columba....
, Congal's nemesis, to the headship of the Northern 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....
. According to the Fled Dúin na nGéd, Domnall was the foster-father of Congal. Domnall had clashed with Suibne earlier that year and it is possible that Domnall and Congal were acting in collusion.
This same saga records a slight that Congal suffered at the feast which seems to have turned him against his foster-father. In 629 they clashed and Congal was defeated by Domnall mac Áedo at the Battle of Dún Ceithirn (Duncairn, near Coleraine, modern County Londonderry) and fled the field of battle.
In 629, the Dal nAraide appear to have defeated the Dál Riata at Fid Eóin, killing Connad Cerr
Connad Cerr
Connad Cerr was a king of Dál Riata in the early 7th century. He was either a son of Conall mac Comgaill or of Eochaid Buide. Connad appears to have been joint king with Eochaid Buide in the 620s....
, although the victor is named as Maél Caích, perhaps an otherwise unknown brother of Congal. As well as their king, the Dál Riata suffered the loss of two grandsons of Áedán mac Gabráin
Áedán mac Gabráin
Áedán mac Gabráin was a king of Dál Riata from circa 574 until his death, perhaps on 17 April 609. The kingdom of Dál Riata was situated in modern Argyll and Bute, Scotland, and parts of County Antrim, Ireland...
and the Bernicia
Bernicia
Bernicia was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England....
n exile Osric (perhaps a son of Æthelfrith) was also killed. It is possible that upon becoming King of Ulaid, Congal resigned the affairs of Dal nAraide to Maél Caích mac Scandail who met opposition from other Criuthne led by Dícuil mac Echach who may have been a member of the Latharna of Larne (a Dal nAraide tribe).
King of Tara
Congal's bid for the kingship of Tara must have occurred after 629. Events in the midlands in the years 633-634 saw Congal's allies the Clann CholmáinClann 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...
win a number of victories in Leinster and Meath which may be connected with the period of Congal's high kingship. Congal may have also supported the Cenél maic Ercae in their feud with the Cenél Feradaig branch of the Cenél nEógain
Cenél nEógain
Cenél nEóġain is the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Eógan mac Néill , son of Niall Noígiallach who founded the kingdom of Tír Eoghain in the 5th century...
Congal's epithet
Epithet
An epithet or byname is a descriptive term accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, divinities, objects, and binomial nomenclature. It is also a descriptive title...
s cáech and cláen mean "squinting" or "half blind". An ancient law on bees in the Bechbretha, written within a generation of Congal's death, links these epithets with Congal being blinded in one eye by bees owned by Domnall mac Áedo. This, it says, put Congal out of the kingship of Tara
Kings of Tara
The term King of Tara was a title of authority in ancient Ireland. The position was considered an eminent authority in medieval Irish literature and mythology, though national kingship was never a historical reality in early Ireland....
. No later sources make Congal a High King of Ireland, which is largely the same as the kingship of Tara, but the Cath Maige Rath echoes the Bechbretha in claiming that the men of Ulaid demanded that the eye of the beekeeper's son — a son of the High King Domnall mac Áedo — be put out in repayment.
These tracts may have been part of a propaganda war against Congal who may have faced hostility from the Dal Fiatach
Dál Fiatach
The Dál Fiatach were a group of related dynasties located in eastern Ulster in the Early Christian and Early Medieval periods of the history of Ireland.-Description:...
and the main Uí Chóelbad dynasty of the Dal nAraide. In the period 635-636 the allies of Domnall mac Áedo seem to have got the better of Congal's allies. In 635 his allies the Clann Cholmáin suffered defeat by their rivals of the Síl nÁedo Sláine
Síl nÁedo Sláine
Síl nÁedo Sláine is the name of the descendants of Áed Sláine , son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Part of the Southern Uí Néill—they were the kings of Brega—they claimed descent from Niall Noígiallach and his son Conall Cremthainne....
, who were allies of Domnall mac Áedo. This may have been the real reason for Domnall Brecc's alliance with Congal as his dynasty was allied to Clann Cholmáin. Domnall may have also been hostile to the Uí Chóelbad dynasty of the Dal nAraide. In 636 the assassination of the Cenél Feradaig king of Ailech
Ailech
Ailech was a medieval kingdom in Ireland, roughly centred on modern-day County Tyrone and the Inishowen peninsula in Ulster....
failed to displace this branch in favor of Congal's allies the Cenél maic Ercae.
Mag Rath
Domnall mac ÁedoDomnall mac Áedo
Domnall mac Áedo , also known as Domnall II, was a son of Áed mac Ainmuirech. Domnall was High King of Ireland from 628 until his death. He belonged to the Cenél Conaill kindred of the northern Uí Néill....
dominated events in the years that followed, until around 637, when Congal, together with Domnall Brecc of Dál Riata challenged him at the battle of Mag Rath (Moira, County Down
Moira, County Down
Moira is a village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is in the northwest of the county, near the borders with counties Antrim and Armagh. The M1 motorway and Dublin–Belfast railway line are nearby. The settlement has existed since time immemorial...
). Domnall mac Áedo was victorious and Congal was killed in the defeat. This battle appears in the Buile Shuibhne
Buile Shuibhne
Buile Suibhne is the tale of Suibhne , a legendary king of Dál nAraidi in Ulster in Ireland...
and is recounted in the Cath Maige Rath.
Reputation and representations
Congal is the protagonist of the Fled Dúin na nGéd. He appears in the Cath Maige Rath.Irish poet Sir Samuel Ferguson
Samuel Ferguson
Sir Samuel Ferguson was an Irish poet, barrister, antiquarian, artist and public servant. Perhaps the most important Ulster-Scot poet of the 19th century, because of his interest in Irish mythology and early Irish history he can be seen as a forerunner of William Butler Yeats and the other poets...
wrote a length heroic poem on Congal, loosely based on the Fled Dúin na nGéd, entitled Congal: A Poem in Five Books (1907).