Rudraige mac Dela
Encyclopedia
Rudraige son of Dela, of the Fir Bolg
Fir Bolg
In Irish mythology the Fir Bolg were one of the races that inhabited the island of Ireland prior to the arrival of the Tuatha Dé Danann.-Mythology:...

 was the legendary second 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...

, succeeding his brother Sláine
Sláine mac Dela
Sláine , son of Dela, of the Fir Bolg was the legendary first High King of Ireland. He reportedly came ashore at Wexford Harbour at the mouth of the River Slaney....

.

When the Fir Bolg invaded Ireland the five sons of Dela divided the island amongst themselves. Rudraige landed at Tracht Rudraige (Dundrum
Dundrum, County Down
Dundrum is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is beside Dundrum Bay, about 4 miles outside Newcastle on the A2 road. The town is best known for its ruined Norman castle. It had a population of 1,065 people in the 2001 Census....

 Bay, County Down
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...

) and took 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...

. He and his brother Genann
Genann
Genann , son of Dela , of the Fir Bolg was a legendary joint High King of Ireland with his brother Gann, succeeding their brother Rudraige. His wife was Cnucha....

 led the portion of the Fir Bolg known as the Fir Domnann
Fir Domnann
The Fir Domnann were an ancient Irish people located in the west and north of Connacht, in Irrus Domnann, from which Erris in County Mayo now takes it's name. In Irish mythology they make up one third of the Fir Bolg. They are probably related to the British Dumnonii, and to the Irish Laigin...

, a historical people who were possibly related to the Dumnonii
Dumnonii
The Dumnonii or Dumnones were a British Celtic tribe who inhabited Dumnonia, the area now known as Devon and Cornwall in the farther parts of the South West peninsula of Britain, from at least the Iron Age up to the early Saxon period...

 known from Britain
Prehistoric Britain
For the purposes of this article, Prehistoric Britain is that period of time between the first arrival of humans on the land mass now known as Great Britain and the start of recorded British history...

 and Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...

.

His wife was Liber. After Sláine's death, Rudraige became High King for two years, until he died at the Brú na Bóinne
Brú na Bóinne
is a World Heritage Site in County Meath, Ireland and is the largest and one of the most important prehistoric megalithic sites in Europe.-The site:...

(Newgrange
Newgrange
Newgrange is a prehistoric monument located in County Meath, on the eastern side of Ireland, about one kilometre north of the River Boyne. It was built around 3200 BC , during the Neolithic period...

). He was succeeded by his brothers Gann
Gann mac Dela
Gann, son of Dela, of the Fir Bolg was a legendary joint High King of Ireland with his brother Genann, succeeding their brother Rudraige. His wife was Etar.When the Fir Bolg invaded Ireland the five sons of Dela divided the island amongst themselves...

 and Genann.

Rudraige
Rudraige
Rudraige may refer to:*Rudraige mac Dela, son of Dela, legendary High King of Ireland in the 16th or 20th century BC*Rudraige mac Sithrigi, son of Sitric, legendary High King of Ireland of the 2nd or 3rd century BC...

 was the name of two other figures from Irish mythology
Irish mythology
The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...

, one a son of Partholón
Partholón
Partholón, in medieval Irish historical tradition, was the leader of the second group of people to settle in Ireland, supposedly first to arrive after the biblical Flood. They arrived in 2680 BC according to the chronology of the Annals of the Four Masters, 2061 BC according to Geoffrey Keating's...

, who led the first settlement of Ireland after the Flood, the other a Milesian
Milesians (Irish)
Milesians are a people figuring in Irish mythology. The descendants of Míl Espáine, they were the final inhabitants of Ireland, and were believed to represent the Goidelic Celts.-Myth:...

 High King of the 2nd or 3rd century BC. All three were associated with the province of Ulster, and it seems likely that they were all derived from an ancestor-deity
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....

 of the Ulaid
Ulaid
The Ulaid or Ulaidh were a people of early Ireland who gave their name to the modern province of Ulster...

.
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