Donnubán mac Cathail
Encyclopedia
Donnubán Donndubán ('donðuva:n), or Donnabán mac Cathail, anglicised Donovan, son of Cahall (died 980), was a 10th century ruler of the Irish regional kingdom of Uí Fidgenti
, and possibly also of the smaller overkingdom of Uí Chairpre Áebda within that. In contemporary sources he is only named king of the former, but his sons and later descendants appear as dynasts of the latter. In addition, at his death in 980 Donovan is styled King of Ressad
, a unique title in the surviving Irish annals
, and the identity of which place is uncertain. He is the progenitor of the medieval and modern O'Donovan family.
Playing a notable role in the early 12th century political saga Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib (CGG), Donovan is notorious for his alliance with his apparent father-in-law or at least relation Ivar of Limerick
, the last Norse
king of Limerick
, and with Máel Muad mac Brain
, king of Desmond
, against the rising Dál gCais
in the persons of Mathgamain mac Cennétig
, king of Cashel
, and his famous brother Brian Bóruma, later High King of Ireland
. The latter would prove the victors, altering the political landscape of Munster
and Ireland forever. It was Donovan's assistance that made Máel Muad King of Munster from 976 to 978.
, to possibly or probably be a fabrication intended to link his dynasty to the Uí Chairpre Áebda, although Ó Corráin grudgingly allows that the pedigree may be syncopated. It would appear that Donovan's grandfather in some sources, Uainide mac Cathail, is poorly documented, and undocumented in contemporary sources, appearing only in the 12th century Caithréim Chellacháin Chaisil
, and is made in the pedigrees to be the grandson of Cenn Fáelad of the Uí Chairpre, who actually died far too early in 774. This does not necessarily exclude him from that kindred but raises a variety of questions. Some pedigrees feature more generations and others less, but Ó Corráin's research does demonstrate that Donovan's ancestry was already far from certain only a few generations after his death in 980, as the author of the Caithréim had available to him an extensive collection of official Munster pedigrees.
His accession to the kingship of Uí Fidgenti appears to be referred to in the mid 10th century Betha Adamnáin. But in this passage the acceding prince in Uí Fidgenti is actually said to belong to the Uí Echach Muman, another name for the Eóganacht Raithlind
, an entirely separate dynasty from the southern region of Munster (Desmond), but curiously the one to which Máel Muad mac Brain, Donovan's close ally, happens to belong. With the recent collapse of the Eóganacht Chaisil
the Uí Echach or Eóganacht Raithlind were the most powerful of all the Eóganachta
remaining at this time. The prominent appearance of the Uí Fidgenti at the same time was undoubtedly related. In any case the passage in Betha Adamnáin is:
However, Herbert and Ó Riain believe this is an error, because the Uí Chairpre themselves also descend from a Laippe, and so they conclude Donovan belonged to a sept known as the Ceinél Laippe or Uí Laippe. Thus the passage can actually be used to support his descent from the Uí Chairpre. Notably both of his known sons are described as kings of Uí Chairpre. The Uí Echach may appear either for the above reason, namely Donovan's close association with Máel Muad, or because of influence from another part of the text, or because the name Laippe was found in their dynasty as well. None of this necessarily proves his descent from the early medieval Uí Chairpre but simply associates Donovan's family with the later kingship of their territories in the 10th century.
Regardless, it has been argued that Donovan's mother was Norse, the solution arrived at, based on his other associations, by the 3rd Earl of Dunraven
, who argued that his father Cathal's marriage to "Amlaf, king of the Danes of Munster" officially created the alliance between them. Something of this sort might even be hinted at in a 14th century official pedigree, the earliest surviving, reprinted by Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh
in the early-mid 17th century, where his own father is given as Amlaíb (mac Cathail). The annals, however, giving Donovan's patronymic as mac Cathail, rule out this last and most extraordinary suggestion. If his maternal grandfather was in fact Norse and a king then Amlaíb Cenncairech
is a possibility. Who else Dunraven could possibly have meant is uncertain. Researching in the mid 19th century, he may have had access to possibly local (County Limerick) sources no longer surviving, or, alternatively, or perhaps with some hypothetical lost source, he may have modified or corrected the interpretation given by John O'Donovan
of the known facts and pedigrees.
. According to CGG both Máel Muad and he did support Ivar there, but the annals unfortunately offer no confirmation and no details.
throughout much of the province. The author of CGG further claims Mathgamain took hostages from Donovan at this time, but this is rejected by Canon O'Mahony, noting subsequent events.
Aware that he was now in danger, Mathgamain appears to have more or less agreed to submit to the allies, with Donovan's house chosen as the place for the submission, possibly because he was perceived to be the most neutral, or because Mathgamain may have hoped to detach him from the alliance. According to Alice Stopford Green
this act of going into a probable enemy's house was "the formal sign of submission and renouncing supremacy", and it may have been understood that from there he was to go on to yield allegiance to Máel Muad. The following annals report Donovan's decision:
The last, from the Annals of the Four Masters
, is the latest in date, and in it both Máel Muad and Donovan have been demoted to the rank of lords, whereas Mathgamain is made "supreme King of all Munster". He certainly was not this and was never at any time greater than semi-nominal overlord with substantial opposition. The spectacular success of his younger brother Brian, genuine monarch of Munster and eventually Ireland, had a powerful influence on the minds of later historians. It was Mathgamain's fate to pave the way.
Also of interest is the claim made by the author of CGG that he was taken prisoner as a result of Ivar's interference with Donovan, not Máel Muad's. While unsupported by the brief annals this is supported by Donovan's close association with the Limerick dynasty, and Canon O'Mahony has pointed out that Máel Muad was a considerable distance away at the time, making his way north from his stronghold in Desmond. His argument that all of this removes Máel Muad from the plot may or may not be refuted in principle by the fact he quickly received word of the prisoner and ordered him put to death.
, presumably referring to a fortress of Donovan's, together with a great number of foreigners or Norse:
But the Annals of the Four Masters
, containing a record of this possibly identical battle, do not mention the death of Donovan, nor even mention Harald at all:
It is unclear if the Annals of Inisfallen
refer to the same or a different event the previous year, but here they do not mention Donovan:
In any case, these two accounts support the claims of the O'Donovans in their pedigrees that Donovan survived the battle with Brian. These state that he was killed later in the "battle of Croma
" against Dunchuan mac Cennétig, a brother of Brian, and was assisted by the troops of Curradh-an-Roe or Curra the Red and the Corcu Baiscinn, many of whom were slain on the field. However these accounts, as well as the one given by John Collins of Myross, and the one found in the Dublin Annals of Inisfallen
, state that Donovan's Norse companion was Auliffe (Olaf
), whose parentage is not given. These last two also disagree with the above in stating that Donovan and his Norse companion were killed here. According to the first:
Collins of Myross took his own account from an apparently now lost source:
Finally, both these accounts, that of CGG, and possibly those in the pedigrees, may all be contradicted by a notice in the Annals of Inisfallen in 980, leaving only the above account in the Annals of the Four Masters and brief notice in the Annals of Inisfallen completely accurate. Here, curiously, no cause of death is given:
Concerning the above accounts, the Dublin Annals of Inisfallen are a frequently unreliable 18th century compilation and the source used by Collins is of unknown date, while the earliest account of Donovan's slaying by Brian's army is found in the early 12th century CGG, written over 120 years after the alleged events. The remaining sources offer no confirmation.
As Donovan was evidently still alive in 978 he may have supported Máel Muad in the fateful Battle of Belach Lechta
, but this is nowhere recorded. No details of this battle, besides his ally's death, are known for certain, nor even its location.
is uncertain. According to Paul MacCotter it is "apparently an archaic name for Uí Chairpre or one of its divisions." Noting that Donovan's son Uainide is styled king of Uí Chairpre at his death two years later in 982, MacCotter states "Clearly, Uí Dhonnabháin must have been local kings of... Uí Chairpre Íochtarach." This was the northeasternmost local petty kingdom
or túath
within Uí Fidgenti and was adjacent to Norse Limerick, a considerable portion of the surrounding settlement of the same name apparently lying within Donovan's own native kingdom. Directly cross the River Shannon
to the north could be found Brian's own sept of the Dál gCais, namely the Uí Tairdelbaich or Uí Blait.
, Cnam-Coill being found a mile or mile and a half east of Tipperary
itself. Oclan or Hoclan has not been identified but presumably was to the north of this.
, although two alternatives exist, each with support. The first is that she was actually the daughter of the later (2nd) Amlaíb/Olaf mentioned above, himself possibly identical with Olaf son of Ivar of Limerick, who was killed along with his father in 977 but who may simply have replaced Aralt in the later accounts of the following battles. Not only was a grandson of Donovan named Amlaíb but a descendant Amlaíb Ua Donnubáin
was slain in 1201. The second occasionally printed, although of uncertain source, is that she was a daughter of the powerful Ivar of Waterford
, who was in fact married to one of Donovan's own daughters and even named a son Donndubán.
Possibly two or all three are true in some fashion. Kings frequently married multiple times and also kept concubines. In any case Donovan's known children were
Unfortunately no account at all is preserved of the nature of the connection, beyond intermarriage, between Norse Waterford and the O'Donovan family. The name Ragnall
is likely to have entered the latter, where it became popular, from the former, where it seems to have been dynastic.
's New York Times bestselling novel Lion of Ireland
(1980). Here is mistakenly called king of "Hy Carbery" (Uí Chairpre), which he is never called in contemporary sources. This mistake is also common in many popular histories. Brian is still immensely popular today and so Donovan has the misfortune of appearing as his family's most corrupted early enemy in hundreds if not thousands of popular accounts over the centuries.
Uí Fidgenti
The Uí Fidgenti or Wood-Sprung People were an early kingdom of northern Munster, situated mostly in modern County Limerick, but extending into County Clare and County Tipperary, and possibly even County Kerry and County Cork, at maximum extents, which varied over time...
, and possibly also of the smaller overkingdom of Uí Chairpre Áebda within that. In contemporary sources he is only named king of the former, but his sons and later descendants appear as dynasts of the latter. In addition, at his death in 980 Donovan is styled King of Ressad
Ressad
Ressad or Ress refers to a now lost city and possibly also to a territory that is still unidentified but believed by scholars to have been somewhere within the borders of modern County Limerick in western Ireland, in what was once the territory of the kingdom of the Uí Fidgenti.The name occurs in...
, a unique title in the surviving Irish annals
Irish 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...
, and the identity of which place is uncertain. He is the progenitor of the medieval and modern O'Donovan family.
Playing a notable role in the early 12th century political saga Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib (CGG), Donovan is notorious for his alliance with his apparent father-in-law or at least relation Ivar of Limerick
Ivar of Limerick
Ivar of Limerick , died 977, was the last Norse king of the city-state of Limerick, and penultimate King of the Foreigners of Munster, reigning during the rise to power of the Dál gCais and the fall of the Eóganachta...
, the last Norse
Norsemen
Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...
king of Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
, and with Máel Muad mac Brain
Máel Muad mac Brain
Máel Muad mac Brain , commonly anglicised Molloy, was King of Munster, first possibly from 959 or alternatively 963 to around 970, when he may have been deposed by Mathgamain mac Cennétig of the Dál gCais, and then again from 976, following his putting to death of the latter, until his own death...
, king of Desmond
Desmond
Desmond may refer to:*Desmond , a common given name and surname* Kingdom of Desmond, medieval Irish kingdom* Earl of Desmond, Irish aristocratic title* Desmond Rebellions, Irish rebellions during the 16th century led by the Earl of Desmond...
, against the rising Dál gCais
Dál gCais
The Dál gCais were a dynastic group of related septs located in north Munster who rose to political prominence in the 10th century AD in Ireland. They claimed descent from Cormac Cas, or Cas mac Conall Echlúath, hence the term "Dál", meaning "portion" or "share" of Cas...
in the persons of Mathgamain mac Cennétig
Mathgamain mac Cennétig
Mathgamain mac Cennétig was King of Munster from around 970 to his death in 976. He is the elder brother of Brian Bóruma and the ancestor of the McMahon family of County Clare in Western Ireland ....
, king of Cashel
Cashel, County Tipperary
Cashel is a town in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 2936 at the 2006 census. The town gives its name to the ecclesiastical province of Cashel. Additionally, the cathedra of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly was originally in the town prior to the English Reformation....
, and his famous brother Brian Bóruma, later 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...
. The latter would prove the victors, altering the political landscape 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...
and Ireland forever. It was Donovan's assistance that made Máel Muad King of Munster from 976 to 978.
Accession and pedigree
Donovan has the distinction of being a powerful regional dynast with a very deficient pedigree, meaning that it is missing a number of generations, and has been argued by one (admittedly great) scholar, Donnchadh Ó CorráinDonnchadh Ó Corráin
Donnchadh Ó Corráin is an Irish historian and Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at University College Cork. He is an early Irish and mediaeval historian and has published on the Viking Wars, Ireland in the pre-Hiberno-Norman period and the origin of Irish language names.-Works:Ó Corráin's...
, to possibly or probably be a fabrication intended to link his dynasty to the Uí Chairpre Áebda, although Ó Corráin grudgingly allows that the pedigree may be syncopated. It would appear that Donovan's grandfather in some sources, Uainide mac Cathail, is poorly documented, and undocumented in contemporary sources, appearing only in the 12th century Caithréim Chellacháin Chaisil
Caithréim Chellacháin Chaisil
Caithréim Chellacháin ChaisilDonnchadh Ó Corráin writes that this title "was first given it by Eugene O'Curry in his transcript of the text. It has no title in the earliest copy, that in the Book of Lismore...
, and is made in the pedigrees to be the grandson of Cenn Fáelad of the Uí Chairpre, who actually died far too early in 774. This does not necessarily exclude him from that kindred but raises a variety of questions. Some pedigrees feature more generations and others less, but Ó Corráin's research does demonstrate that Donovan's ancestry was already far from certain only a few generations after his death in 980, as the author of the Caithréim had available to him an extensive collection of official Munster pedigrees.
His accession to the kingship of Uí Fidgenti appears to be referred to in the mid 10th century Betha Adamnáin. But in this passage the acceding prince in Uí Fidgenti is actually said to belong to the Uí Echach Muman, another name for the Eóganacht Raithlind
Eóganacht Raithlind
Eóganacht Raithlind or Uí Echach Muman are a branch of the Eóganachta, the ruling dynasty of Munster during the 5th-10th centuries. They took their name from Raithlinn or Raithleann described around the area of Bandon, in the same area...
, an entirely separate dynasty from the southern region of Munster (Desmond), but curiously the one to which Máel Muad mac Brain, Donovan's close ally, happens to belong. With the recent collapse of the Eóganacht Chaisil
Eóganacht Chaisil
Eóganacht Chaisil were a branch of the Eóganachta, the ruling dynasty of Munster during the 5th-10th centuries. They took their name from Cashel which was the capital of the early Christian kingdom of Munster...
the Uí Echach or Eóganacht Raithlind were the most powerful of all the Eóganachta
Eóganachta
The Eóganachta or Eoghanachta were an Irish dynasty centred around Cashel which dominated southern Ireland from the 6/7th to the 10th centuries, and following that, in a restricted form, the Kingdom of Desmond, and its offshoot Carbery, well into the 16th century...
remaining at this time. The prominent appearance of the Uí Fidgenti at the same time was undoubtedly related. In any case the passage in Betha Adamnáin is:
However, Herbert and Ó Riain believe this is an error, because the Uí Chairpre themselves also descend from a Laippe, and so they conclude Donovan belonged to a sept known as the Ceinél Laippe or Uí Laippe. Thus the passage can actually be used to support his descent from the Uí Chairpre. Notably both of his known sons are described as kings of Uí Chairpre. The Uí Echach may appear either for the above reason, namely Donovan's close association with Máel Muad, or because of influence from another part of the text, or because the name Laippe was found in their dynasty as well. None of this necessarily proves his descent from the early medieval Uí Chairpre but simply associates Donovan's family with the later kingship of their territories in the 10th century.
Regardless, it has been argued that Donovan's mother was Norse, the solution arrived at, based on his other associations, by the 3rd Earl of Dunraven
Edwin Wyndham-Quin, 3rd Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl
Edwin Richard Wyndham-Quin, 3rd Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl KP, FRS was a British Peer. He was styled Viscount Adare from 1824 to 1850....
, who argued that his father Cathal's marriage to "Amlaf, king of the Danes of Munster" officially created the alliance between them. Something of this sort might even be hinted at in a 14th century official pedigree, the earliest surviving, reprinted by Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh
Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh
Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh was an Irish historian and genealogist, known in English as Peregrine O'Clery.-Life and work:Ó Cléirigh was a son of Diarmaid Ó Cléirigh, and thus a third-cousin once removed to Brother Mícheál Ó Cléirigh, whom he assisted in compiling the Annals of the Four...
in the early-mid 17th century, where his own father is given as Amlaíb (mac Cathail). The annals, however, giving Donovan's patronymic as mac Cathail, rule out this last and most extraordinary suggestion. If his maternal grandfather was in fact Norse and a king then Amlaíb Cenncairech
Amlaíb Cenncairech
Amlaíb Cenncairech was a Norse ruler and presumably King of Limerick notable for his military activities in Ireland in the 930s, especially in the province of Connacht and apparently even in Ulster and Leinster...
is a possibility. Who else Dunraven could possibly have meant is uncertain. Researching in the mid 19th century, he may have had access to possibly local (County Limerick) sources no longer surviving, or, alternatively, or perhaps with some hypothetical lost source, he may have modified or corrected the interpretation given by John O'Donovan
John O'Donovan (scholar)
John O'Donovan , from Atateemore, in the parish of Kilcolumb, County Kilkenny, and educated at Hunt's Academy, Waterford, was an Irish language scholar from Ireland.-Life:...
of the known facts and pedigrees.
Sulcoit
It is impossible to prove that Donovan was among those opposing the Dál gCais at the Battle of SulcoitBattle of Sulcoit
The Battle of Sulcoit was an important victory for the rising Dál gCais against their enemies, the Norse of Limerick under Ivar of Limerick. The Dál gCais army was led by Mathgamain mac Cennétig with the possible assistance of his younger brother Brian Bóruma....
. According to CGG both Máel Muad and he did support Ivar there, but the annals unfortunately offer no confirmation and no details.
Capture of Mathgamain
The "new" alliance formed between Ivar, Donovan, and Máel Muad alarmed Mathgamain greatly. Máel Muad had preceded him as King of Munster until deposed around 970, and naturally very much wanted to reclaim the kingdom for himself and for the distressed and disorderly Eóganachta. Also, by the Dál gCais' own confession Mathgamain was committing repeated depredations throughout Munster, and thus had probably become persona non grataPersona non grata
Persona non grata , literally meaning "an unwelcome person", is a legal term used in diplomacy that indicates a proscription against a person entering the country...
throughout much of the province. The author of CGG further claims Mathgamain took hostages from Donovan at this time, but this is rejected by Canon O'Mahony, noting subsequent events.
Aware that he was now in danger, Mathgamain appears to have more or less agreed to submit to the allies, with Donovan's house chosen as the place for the submission, possibly because he was perceived to be the most neutral, or because Mathgamain may have hoped to detach him from the alliance. According to Alice Stopford Green
Alice Stopford Green
Alice Stopford Green was an Irish historian and nationalist.She was born Alice Sophia Amelia Stopford in Kells, County Meath. Her father Edward Adderley Stopford was Rector of Kells and Archdeacon of Meath. Her paternal grandfather was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Meath...
this act of going into a probable enemy's house was "the formal sign of submission and renouncing supremacy", and it may have been understood that from there he was to go on to yield allegiance to Máel Muad. The following annals report Donovan's decision:
The last, from the Annals of the Four Masters
Annals of the Four Masters
The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history...
, is the latest in date, and in it both Máel Muad and Donovan have been demoted to the rank of lords, whereas Mathgamain is made "supreme King of all Munster". He certainly was not this and was never at any time greater than semi-nominal overlord with substantial opposition. The spectacular success of his younger brother Brian, genuine monarch of Munster and eventually Ireland, had a powerful influence on the minds of later historians. It was Mathgamain's fate to pave the way.
Also of interest is the claim made by the author of CGG that he was taken prisoner as a result of Ivar's interference with Donovan, not Máel Muad's. While unsupported by the brief annals this is supported by Donovan's close association with the Limerick dynasty, and Canon O'Mahony has pointed out that Máel Muad was a considerable distance away at the time, making his way north from his stronghold in Desmond. His argument that all of this removes Máel Muad from the plot may or may not be refuted in principle by the fact he quickly received word of the prisoner and ordered him put to death.
Final battles and death
The sources somewhat disagree on the manner and date of Donovan's death. According to the writer of CGG Brian went on an expedition into Uí Fidgenti against both Donovan and the newly elected king of the Norse of Munster Aralt (Harald), who is given as a third son of Ivar. There, according to CGG, the two were killed in the Battle of Cathair CuanBattle of Cathair Cuan
The Battle of Cathair Cuan refers to a perhaps extended conflict fought in or between 977 and 978, or simply to a single battle in one or the other year, in Munster in Ireland. Attacking were Brian Bóruma and the Dál gCais, while defending were Donnubán mac Cathail and the remainder of the royal...
, presumably referring to a fortress of Donovan's, together with a great number of foreigners or Norse:
But the Annals of the Four Masters
Annals of the Four Masters
The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history...
, containing a record of this possibly identical battle, do not mention the death of Donovan, nor even mention Harald at all:
It is unclear if the Annals of Inisfallen
Annals of Inisfallen
The Annals of Inisfallen are a chronicle of the medieval history of Ireland. There are more than 2,500 entries spanning the years between AD 433 and AD 1450, but it is believed to have been written between the 12th and 15th centuries...
refer to the same or a different event the previous year, but here they do not mention Donovan:
In any case, these two accounts support the claims of the O'Donovans in their pedigrees that Donovan survived the battle with Brian. These state that he was killed later in the "battle of Croma
Croom Castle
Croom or Crom Castle, also called the Castle of Crom, is an historic castle in the town of Croom, County Limerick, that is notable for its occupation as one of the principal residences of the Kildare branch of the FitzGerald dynasty. Their ancient war cry and motto "Crom a Boo", or in Irish "Crom...
" against Dunchuan mac Cennétig, a brother of Brian, and was assisted by the troops of Curradh-an-Roe or Curra the Red and the Corcu Baiscinn, many of whom were slain on the field. However these accounts, as well as the one given by John Collins of Myross, and the one found in the Dublin Annals of Inisfallen
Dublin Annals of Inisfallen
The Dublin Annals of Inisfallen refer to a mid 18th century compilation of medieval Irish annals reworked and augmented with material from later traditions in the form of interpolations, made by John O'Brien, Bishop of Cloyne and the Reverend John Conry...
, state that Donovan's Norse companion was Auliffe (Olaf
Olaf
Olaf is a Germanic name of Proto-Germanic origin, meaning "ancestor's heirloom". It was borrowed into Old Irish and spelled Amlaíb. It may refer to:-Kings:Norse:*Olaf Haraldsson Geirstadalf, petty king...
), whose parentage is not given. These last two also disagree with the above in stating that Donovan and his Norse companion were killed here. According to the first:
Collins of Myross took his own account from an apparently now lost source:
Finally, both these accounts, that of CGG, and possibly those in the pedigrees, may all be contradicted by a notice in the Annals of Inisfallen in 980, leaving only the above account in the Annals of the Four Masters and brief notice in the Annals of Inisfallen completely accurate. Here, curiously, no cause of death is given:
Concerning the above accounts, the Dublin Annals of Inisfallen are a frequently unreliable 18th century compilation and the source used by Collins is of unknown date, while the earliest account of Donovan's slaying by Brian's army is found in the early 12th century CGG, written over 120 years after the alleged events. The remaining sources offer no confirmation.
As Donovan was evidently still alive in 978 he may have supported Máel Muad in the fateful Battle of Belach Lechta
Battle of Belach Lechta
The Battle of Belach Lechta or Bealach Leachta was an important battle fought in 978 in Munster between Máel Muad mac Brain, King of Munster, and Brian Bóruma, younger brother of Mathgamain mac Cennétig and future High King of Ireland...
, but this is nowhere recorded. No details of this battle, besides his ally's death, are known for certain, nor even its location.
Territory
The identity of Ress or RessadRessad
Ressad or Ress refers to a now lost city and possibly also to a territory that is still unidentified but believed by scholars to have been somewhere within the borders of modern County Limerick in western Ireland, in what was once the territory of the kingdom of the Uí Fidgenti.The name occurs in...
is uncertain. According to Paul MacCotter it is "apparently an archaic name for Uí Chairpre or one of its divisions." Noting that Donovan's son Uainide is styled king of Uí Chairpre at his death two years later in 982, MacCotter states "Clearly, Uí Dhonnabháin must have been local kings of... Uí Chairpre Íochtarach." This was the northeasternmost local petty kingdom
Petty kingdom
A petty kingdom is one of a number of small kingdoms, described as minor or "petty" by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it...
or túath
Tuath
Túath is an Old Irish word, often translated as "people" or "nation". It is cognate with the Welsh and Breton tud , and with the Germanic þeudō ....
within Uí Fidgenti and was adjacent to Norse Limerick, a considerable portion of the surrounding settlement of the same name apparently lying within Donovan's own native kingdom. Directly cross 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...
to the north could be found Brian's own sept of the Dál gCais, namely the Uí Tairdelbaich or Uí Blait.
Occupied?
According to the author of CGG the Uí Chairpre/Uí Dhonnabháin were in "occupation" of territory he claims actually belonged to the Dál gCais, namely "... Caille Cormaic, from Oclan to Luimnech, and from Cnam-Coill to Luachair." This region has been difficult to identify, but it apparently stretched east into the modern neighboring County TipperaryCounty Tipperary
County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...
, Cnam-Coill being found a mile or mile and a half east of Tipperary
Tipperary
Tipperary is a town and a civil parish in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,415 at the 2006 census. It is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and is in the historical barony of Clanwilliam....
itself. Oclan or Hoclan has not been identified but presumably was to the north of this.
Marriage(s) and issue
It is the opinion of the majority that Donovan married a daughter of his ally Ivar of LimerickIvar of Limerick
Ivar of Limerick , died 977, was the last Norse king of the city-state of Limerick, and penultimate King of the Foreigners of Munster, reigning during the rise to power of the Dál gCais and the fall of the Eóganachta...
, although two alternatives exist, each with support. The first is that she was actually the daughter of the later (2nd) Amlaíb/Olaf mentioned above, himself possibly identical with Olaf son of Ivar of Limerick, who was killed along with his father in 977 but who may simply have replaced Aralt in the later accounts of the following battles. Not only was a grandson of Donovan named Amlaíb but a descendant Amlaíb Ua Donnubáin
Amlaíb Ua Donnubáin
Amlaíb Ua Donnubáin is the last member of the O'Donovan family to be styled king of Uí Chairpre Áebda in the Irish annals, and in fact the very last known king of this people....
was slain in 1201. The second occasionally printed, although of uncertain source, is that she was a daughter of the powerful Ivar of Waterford
Ivar of Waterford
Ivar of Waterford was the Norse king of Waterford from at least 969 until his death in the year 1000, and also reigned as King of Dublin, possibly from 989 to 993, and certainly again for less than a year between 994 and 995, returning after his expulsion from the city in 993 by Sigtrygg...
, who was in fact married to one of Donovan's own daughters and even named a son Donndubán.
Possibly two or all three are true in some fashion. Kings frequently married multiple times and also kept concubines. In any case Donovan's known children were
- Uainide ("Greenish") mac Donnubáin, king of Uí Chairpre (died 982)
- children?
- Cathal mac DonnubáinCathal mac DonnubáinCathal mac Donnubáin is the second known son of Donnubán mac Cathail, king of Uí Fidgenti and an ancestor of the medieval and modern O'Donovan family. He may have succeeded his brother Uainide mac Donnubáin as King of Uí Chairpre Áebda at his death in 982, no ruler being known after that until 1014...
, possibly also king of Uí Chairpre or Uí Fidgenti- Amlaíb ua Donnubáin
- O'Donovan family
- Amlaíb ua Donnubáin
- Ingen ("Daughter of") Donnubáin, married Ivar of WaterfordIvar of WaterfordIvar of Waterford was the Norse king of Waterford from at least 969 until his death in the year 1000, and also reigned as King of Dublin, possibly from 989 to 993, and certainly again for less than a year between 994 and 995, returning after his expulsion from the city in 993 by Sigtrygg...
- Donndubán mac Ímair (slain 996)
- other O'Donovans? - once commonly believed, but so far unproven. If true these would technically belong (as much) to the House of Ivar.
- other children
- Donndubán mac Ímair (slain 996)
Unfortunately no account at all is preserved of the nature of the connection, beyond intermarriage, between Norse Waterford and the O'Donovan family. The name Ragnall
Ragnall, Raghnall, and Raonull (names)
Ragnall, Raghnall, Raonall, and Raonull are masculine personal names or given names in several Gaelic languages....
is likely to have entered the latter, where it became popular, from the former, where it seems to have been dynastic.
In fiction and popular history
Donovan makes a number of appearances in Morgan LlywelynMorgan Llywelyn
Morgan Llywelyn is an American-born Irish author best known for her historical fantasy, historical fiction, and historical non-fiction...
's New York Times bestselling novel Lion of Ireland
Lion of Ireland
Lion of Ireland, by the American-Irish author Morgan Llewellyn, is a novel about the life of the Irish hero and High King Brian Boru....
(1980). Here is mistakenly called king of "Hy Carbery" (Uí Chairpre), which he is never called in contemporary sources. This mistake is also common in many popular histories. Brian is still immensely popular today and so Donovan has the misfortune of appearing as his family's most corrupted early enemy in hundreds if not thousands of popular accounts over the centuries.