Echmarcach mac Ragnaill was the Gall-Gaidhel King of the Isles

Lord of the Isles

The designation Lord of the Isles is today a title of Scottish nobility with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It emerged from a series of hybrid Viking/Gaelic rulers of the west coast and islands of Scotland in the Middle Ages, who wielded sea-power with fleets of...

, Dublin (1036–1038 & 1046–1052), and much of Galloway

Galloway

Galloway is an area in southwestern Scotland. It usually refers to the former counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire...

. According to Seán Duffy he was either a grandson or great-grandson of 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...

, but an alternative exists. Benjamin Hudson has contended Echmarcach was a grandson of Gofraid mac Arailt

Gofraid mac Arailt

Gofraid mac Arailt , in Old Norse Guðrøðr Haraldsson, was a Scandinavian or Norse-Gael king. He and his brother Maccus were active in the lands around the Irish Sea in the 970s and 980s.-Origins:...

. In fact neither can be much supported because so little knowledge has survived.

Echmarcach's long career brought both glories and failures. In 1036 he seized the Kingship of Dublin with the assistance of Donnchad mac Briain

Donnchad mac Briain

Donnchadh mac Briain , formerly anglicised as Donough O'Brian, son of Brian Bóruma and Gormflaith ingen Murchada, was King of Munster.-Background:...

, King of Munster, to whom his possible sister Cacht

Cacht ingen Ragnaill

Cacht ingen Ragnaill was the queen of Donnchad mac Briain, from their marriage in 1032 to her death in 1054, when she is styled Queen of Ireland in the Irish annals of the Clonmacnoise group: the Annals of Tigernach and Chronicon Scotorum...

 was married in 1032, and Donnchad mac Gilla Pátraic, King of Osraige and King of Leinster, possibly his first cousin. Having been expelled by Ivar Haraldsson (Imar mac Arailt), he regained the city in 1046. At his height he was the overlord of the entire Irish Sea area, controlling Dublin, Mann

Isle of Man

The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

, the Hebrides

Hebrides

The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive...

 and at least the Rhinns of Galloway. Echmarcach was expelled from Dublin in 1052, and from the Isle of Man in 1061 by Murchad mac Diarmata mac Maíl na mBó.

It is very likely that Echmarcach is Iehmarc, one of the three kings of the north-west (another was King Máel Coluim II of Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

), who according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...

 submitted to Knut

Canute the Great

Cnut the Great , also known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. Though after the death of his heirs within a decade of his own and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, his legacy was largely lost to history, historian Norman F...

, King of Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 and England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

According to Heimskringla

Heimskringla

Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...

, Echmarcach plundered in Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 with his friend, the viking

Viking

The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

 Guttorm Gunnhildsson. However they started quarreling over the plunder and fought a battle at Menai Strait

Menai Strait

The Menai Strait is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales.The strait is bridged in two places - the main A5 road is carried over the strait by Thomas Telford's elegant iron suspension bridge, the first of its kind,...

. Guttorm won the battle by praying to Saint Olaf and Echmarcach was killed.