Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid (died 27 November 862) was 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 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...

 use the Old Irish

Old Irish language

Old Irish is the name given to the oldest form of the Goidelic languages for which extensive written texts are extant. It was used from the 6th to the 10th centuries, by which time it had developed into Middle Irish....

 title rí

Rí

Rí, or very commonly ríg , is an ancient Gaelic word meaning "King". It is used in historical texts referring to the Irish and Scottish kings and those of similar rank. While the modern Irish word is exactly the same, in modern Scottish it is Rìgh, apparently derived from the genitive. The word...

 hÉrenn uile, that is "king of all Ireland", when reporting his death, distinguishing Máel Sechnaill from the usual Kings 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....

 who are only called High Kings of Ireland in late sources such as 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...

or Geoffrey Keating

Geoffrey Keating

Seathrún Céitinn, known in English as Geoffrey Keating, was a 17th century Irish Roman Catholic priest, poet and historian. He was born in County Tipperary c. 1569, and died c. 1644...

's Foras Feasa ar Éirinn.

Background

Máel Sechnaill was a grandson of Donnchad Midi mac Domnaill

Donnchad Midi mac Domnaill

Donnchad mac Domnaill , called Donnchad Midi, was High King of Ireland. His father, Domnall Midi, had been the first Uí Néill High King from the south-central Clann Cholmáin based in modern County Westmeath and western County Meath, Ireland...

 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...

, who was King of Tara from around 778 to 797. Clann Cholmáin was a sept 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....

 which ruled as Kings of Mide

Kings of Mide

In medieval Ireland, the Kings of Mide were of the Clann Cholmáin, a branch of the Uí Néill. Several were High Kings of Ireland. After the collapse of the kingdom in the 12th century its dynasty, the Ua Mael Sechlainn or Ó Melaghlins, were forced west and settled on the east bank of the Shannon...

 in east central Ireland. While the southern Uí Néill had been dominated by 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....

 Kings of Brega

Kings of Brega

-Overview:Brega took its name from Mag Breg, the plain of Brega, in modern County Meath, County Louth and County Dublin, Ireland. They formed part of the Uí Néill kindred, belonging to the Síl nÁedo Sláine branch of the southern Uí Néill. The kingdom of Brega included the Hill of Tara, the site...

 in the 7th and early 8th centuries, the Clann Cholmáin were dominant from the time of Máel Sechnaill's great-grandfather Domnall Midi

Domnall Midi

Domhnall Mac Murchada , called Domnall Midi , was High King of Ireland. He belonged to the Clann Cholmáin branch of the Uí Néill...

. The Kingship of Tara, a largely symbolic title, alternated between Clann Cholmáin as representatives of the southern Uí Néill and 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...

 as representatives of the northern Uí Néill.

Máel Sechnaill became king of Mide and head of Clann Cholmáin after killing his brother Flann in 845, and king of Tara in 846 on the death of Niall Caille mac Áeda

Niall Caille mac Áeda

Niall mac Áeda , called Niall Caille to distinguish him from his grandson Niall mac Áeda , was High King of Ireland.-Background:...

 of the Cenél nEógain, who drowned in the Callan River

Callan River

Callan River is a river in County Armagh, Northern Ireland which joins the River Blackwater 1.6 km upstream from Bond's Bridge. It is navigable by dinghy or canoe for 2 km to Fairlawn Bridge. It flows in a generally northerly direction from Tullnawood lake, past Darkley, passing within a...

 close to Armagh

Armagh

Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...

. He had appeared in the 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...

 some years earlier, being noticed in 839, and again 841 as a result of fighting among the chiefs of Clann Cholmáin when he killed his cousin Diarmait, son of Conchobar mac Donnchada

Conchobar mac Donnchada

Conchobar mac Donnchada was High-King of Ireland with opposition between 819 and 833. Conchobar was the son of Donnchad Midi, high-king of Ireland ; his mother was Fuirseach, a noblewoman of the Dál nAraidi. Conchobar married Land, daughter of the former High-King Áed Oirdnide...

, when Diarmait had tried to depose Máel Sechnaill's father as king of Mide.

Prior to Máel Sechnaill's coming to power, the southern Uí Néill had been disunited, and until Niall Caille defeated Feidlimid mac Crimthainn, king of Munster, at Mag nÓchtair (County Kildare

County Kildare

County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...

) in 841, the midlands had been repeatedly ravaged by the Munstermen. At the same time, Ireland was a target for 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...

 raids, although these appear to have been of minor significance. Niall Caille apparently inflicted a heavy defeat on the Norsemen in 845 at Mag Itha shortly before Máel Sechnaill became king of Mide. Late in 845 the Norse chieftain Thorgest or Turgesius, who had emulated Feidlimid mac Crimthainn by attacking Clonmacnoise

Clonmacnoise

The monastery of Clonmacnoise is situated in County Offaly, Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone....

 and Clonfert

Clonfert

Clonfert is a small village in east County Galway, Ireland. It is half way between Ballinasloe and Portumna.Clonfert Cathedral is situated in the village, which is the see of the Diocese of Clonfert.-See also:* List of towns and villages in Ireland...

, was captured by Máel Sechnaill, and drowned in Lough Owel

Lough Owel

Lough Owel is a lough in the Midlands of Ireland, situated north of Mullingar, the county town of Westmeath. It is a deep lake, well known amongst anglers, and holds a few char along with brown trout. Water from Lough Owel feeds the Royal Canal, a canal crossing Ireland from Dublin to the River...

.

King of All Ireland

Máel Sechnaill's reign was portrayed in later sources as being frequently a matter of war with the Vikings and Norse-Gaels

Norse-Gaels

The Norse–Gaels were a people who dominated much of the Irish Sea region, including the Isle of Man, and western Scotland for a part of the Middle Ages; they were of Gaelic and Scandinavian origin and as a whole exhibited a great deal of Gaelic and Norse cultural syncretism...

, thanks largely to works such as the Cogadh Gaedhil re Gallaibh, a panegyric

Panegyric

A panegyric is a formal public speech, or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing, a generally highly studied and discriminating eulogy, not expected to be critical. It is derived from the Greek πανηγυρικός meaning "a speech fit for a general assembly"...

 written for Muircheartach Ua Briain

Muircheartach Ua Briain

Muircheartach Ua Briain , son of Toirdelbach Ua Briain and great-grandson of Brian Bóruma, was King of Munster and later self declared High King of Ireland.-Background:...

, grandson of Brian Boru

Brian Boru

Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig, , , was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill. Building on the achievements of his father, Cennétig mac Lorcain, and especially his elder brother, Mathgamain, Brian first made himself King of Munster, then subjugated...

. The annals tell of frequent battles between Máel Sechnaill and the Viking, both when they were acting on their own and as allies to Cináed mac Conaing

Cináed mac Conaing

Cináed mac Conaing was King of Knowth in the medieval Irish province of Mide, succeeding his father Conaing mac Flainn in 849.Cináed's family belonged to the Knowth, or Uí Chonaing, branch of the Síl nÁedo Sláine, part of the southern branch of the dominant Uí Néill kin group...

 or Cerball mac Dúnlainge

Cerball mac Dúnlainge

Cerball mac Dúnlainge was king of Osraige in south-east Ireland. The kingdom of Osraige occupied roughly the area of modern County Kilkenny and lay between the larger provincial kingdoms of Munster and Leinster....

. But he was also on occasions allied to the Norse-Gaels. In 856 "[g]reat warfare between the heathens [the Norse or Danes] and Máel Sechnaill with the Norse-Irish" is reported by the Annals of Ulster.

Máel Sechnaill's real achievements, although they were to be lost on his death, were in 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...

 and Munster. Shortly after killing Cináed with the aid of Tigernach mac Fócartai

Tigernach mac Fócartai

Tigernach mac Fócartai , also called Tigernach of Lagore, was King of Lagore.-Background:Tigernach belonged to the Uí Chernaig branch of the once-powerful Síl nÁedo Sláine kindred, part of the southern Uí Néill. His great-great-grandfather Fogartach mac Néill had been High King of Ireland...

, Máel Sechnaill met with the king of Ulster, Matudán mac Muiredaig

Matudán mac Muiredaig

Matudán mac Muiredaig was a Dal Fiatach king of Ulaid, which is now Ulster, Ireland. He was the son of Muiredach mac Eochada , the previous king. He ruled from 839-857.-Biography:His father had been killed by his own brother Áed...

, and the chief cleric of Ulster, Diarmait, Abbot of Armagh. Here Máel Sechnaill was acknowledged as High King by the Ulstermen. This did not end strife between the Uí Néill and the kings of Ulster as Armagh was raided by Máel Sechnaill in 852. However, Ulster provided troops for Máel Sechnaill, whose army is called "the men of Ireland" in 858.

The annals record expeditions to Munster to obtain tribute and hostages in 854, 856 and in 858, when his army killed several kings, wasted the land and marched south to the sea. Máel Sechnaill's attempts to obtain the submission to the Munster kings of 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...

 were obstructed by the ambitious king of Osraige

Kingdom 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...

 in Leinster, Cerball mac Dúnlainge

Cerball mac Dúnlainge

Cerball mac Dúnlainge was king of Osraige in south-east Ireland. The kingdom of Osraige occupied roughly the area of modern County Kilkenny and lay between the larger provincial kingdoms of Munster and Leinster....

. Cerball, known to Icelanders' sagas

Icelanders' sagas

The Sagas of Icelanders —many of which are also known as family sagas—are prose histories mostly describing events that took place in Iceland in the 10th and early 11th centuries, during the so-called Saga Age. They are the best-known specimens of Icelandic literature.The Icelanders'...

 as Kjarvalr Írakonungr, raided Munster and obtained allies and mercenaries from among the Norse and Norse-Gaels of southern Ireland. The Fragmentary Annals of Ireland

Fragmentary Annals of Ireland

The Fragmentary Annals of Ireland are a Middle Irish combination of chronicle from various Irish annals and narrative history. They were compiled in the kingdom of Osraige, probably in the lifetime of Donnchad mac Gilla Pátraic , king of Osraige and of king of Leinster.The Fragmentary Annals were...

, a combination of annals and history written in the 11th century for Donnchad mac Gilla Pátraic king of Osraige and Leinster, say that the expedition of 854 was led by Cerball on Máel Sechnaill's orders, although Máel Sechnaill himself appears also to have raided into Munster that year. The Annals of Innisfallen are alone in reporting an expedition by Cerball with allies from Munster against Máel Sechnaill in 859, which is said to have reached as far north as Armagh. 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...

 however, states that Cerball entered Mide with a great army, supported by Norse allies, Amlaíb

Amlaíb Conung

Amlaíb Conung was a Norse or Norse-Gael leader in Ireland and Scotland in the years after 850. Together with his brothers Ímar and Auisle he appears frequently in the Irish annals....

 and Ivar. A general assembly of kings and clerics in 859 at Rahugh in County Westmeath

County Westmeath

-Economy:Westmeath has a strong agricultural economy. Initially, development occurred around the major market centres of Mullingar, Moate, and Kinnegad. Athlone developed due to its military significance, and its strategic location on the main Dublin–Galway route across the River Shannon. Mullingar...

 settled matters by detaching Osraige from Munster and combining it with Leinster as a subject kingdom. Máel Gualae mac Donngaile

Máel Gualae mac Donngaile

Máel mac Donngaile , known as Máel Gualae, was a King of Munster from the Eóganacht Chaisil branch of the Eoganachta, the ruling dynasty of Munster. He was of the Clann Faílbe sept of this branch and a grandson of Tnúthgal mac Donngaile , whom some sources name as King of Munster and brother of...

 of Munster and Cerball both consented to the change which was little loss to the Eóganachta who had but rarely exercised any control over Osraige.

Máel Sechnaill's successes raised more opposition from his 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....

 kinsmen than from subject kings or the Norse and Norse-Gaels, and the latter part of his reign was spent in conflict with the northern Uí Neill, led by Áed Findliath, son of Niall Caille. In 860 Máel Sechnaill led an army raised from Munster, Leinster and 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...

 against the northern Uí Néill. The annals say that Áed Findliath and Flann mac Conaing, brother of Cináed, led a night attack on Máel Sechnaill's camp near Armagh which was beaten off with heavy loss to Áed and Flann. Further fighting between Áed and Máel Sechnaill is reported in 861, and again in 862.

Máel Sechnaill died peacefully on 27 November 862. His obituary in the Annals of Ulster states:

Máel Sechnailll son of Máel Ruanaid, son of Donnchad, son of Domnall, son of Murchad of Mide, son of Diarmait the Harsh, son of Airmedach the One-eyed, son of Conall of the Sweet Voice, son of Suibne, son of Colmán the great, son of Diarmait the red, son of Fergus Wrymouth, king of all Ireland, died on the third feria, the second of the Kalends of December, in the 16th year of his reign.

The Fragmentary Annals quote a lament for Máel Sechnaill:

There is much sorrow everywhere;
there is a great misfortune among the Irish.
Red wine has been spilled down the valley;
the only King of Ireland has been slain.

Máel Sechnaill's achievements did not outlast him, and Áed Finnliath was unable to maintain peace within the Uí Néill, nor to receive submission for Munster. Áed's incessant warfare with the Norse and Norse-Gaels, while militarily successful, proved to unexpected consequences in the long term for the position of the northern Uí Néill. Power and influence in the 10th and 11th centuries rested increasingly with kings who, like Máel Sechnaill, could exploit the wealth of new trading towns and the forces of the Norse and the Norse-Gaels.

Máel Sechnaill's son Flann Sinna

Flann Sinna

Flann Sinna was the son of Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid of Clann Cholmáin, a branch of the southern Uí Néill. He was King of Mide from 877 onwards and is counted as a High King of Ireland...

 would later be King of Mide, High King and self-styled King of All Ireland.

External links

• A Popular History of Ireland Chapter 2
• CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at University College Cork The Corpus of Electronic Texts includes the Annals of Ulster and the Four Masters, the Chronicon Scotorum and the Book of Leinster as well as Genealogies, and various Saints' Lives. Most are translated into English, or translations are in progress.
• The Cycles of the Kings by Dan M. Wiley.