| 87. Nial Naoighiallach, youngest and only son of Eochaidh by the second wife, as aforesaid, succeeded Criomthainn and was the 126th monarch ofIreland. Was a stout, wise and warlike prince and fortunate in all his conquests and achievements and therefore called great; He was also called Niall Naoighiallach, i.e., Nial of the Nine Hostages, from the hostages taken from the nine several counties by him subdued and made tributary, viz., Munster, Leinster, Connacht, Ulster, the Britons, the Picts, the Saxons and the Morini, a people of Gaul towards Calais and Picardy; From whence he marched with his victorious army of Irish Scots, Picts and Britons further into Gaul in order to the conquest thereof; and encamping at the River Loire, was treacherously slain as he sat by the riverside by Eochaidh, King of Leinster, in revenge of a former wrong by him received from the said Niall,A.D. 405. And in the 27th year of his reign St. Patrick was first brought into Ireland at the age of 16 years, amoung 200 children brought by the army out of Little Brittany, called Armorica, in Gaul. He was the first that gave the name of Scotia Minor to Scotland and ordained it to be called so ever after, till then (and still by the Irish) called Albion. |
Who were the Ui Neill?
O'Rahilly's Theories
John D. McLaughlin
| The story of the tribe that later
became the Ui Neill did not begin with Nial 'of the Nine
Hostages', who died sometime in the 5th century A.D., but
with an earlier ancestor named Tuathal Teachtmar, who
appears in the pedigrees some nine generations earlier.
As an historical statement the pedigree is untrustworthy.
Cuinn Chetchathaich (Conn 'of the Hundred Battles'), a
mythological personage, appears as Tuathal's grandson.
The other intervening names, with the exception of Nial's
father, Echach Mugmedoin, are unreliable as well. Yet
popular tradition in Ireland has always credited Tuathal
Teachtmar with being the invasion leader of a group of
Gaels who invaded Ireland and conquered the
Aithechthuatha, or vassal tribes of non-goidelic origin
in Ireland. So says O'Rahilly (Early Irish History and
Mythology). Rawlinson B.502 Néill Noígiallaig m. Echach (.i. Mugmedóin) m. Muiredaich (.i. Tírich) m. Fiachach Sraptene m. Cairpri Liphechair m. Cormaic Ulfhota m. Airtt Óenfhir m. Cuinn Chétchathaich m. Feideilmid Rechtada m. Tuathail Techtmair. The earliest source on Tuathal's conquest of Ireland is a poem by Mael Mura of Othain (d. 887), who placed Tuathal's death at either 135 or 235 A.D. (manuscript copies differ). According to Mael Mura, Tuathal Teachtmar came to Ireland to quell a revolt of the Aithechthuatha. The poem tells us nothing of Tuathal's early life but simply states he came to claim his heritage, implying an Irish descent and exile. In this endeavor he was joined by Fiachra Cassan (of Ireland), his brother Findamail, and 600 men. Tuathal fought and won battles with the vassal tribes of the four provinces. He then assembled the conquered kings of the provinces at Tara and made them swear to be loyal to his race forever. Later versions present Tuathal Teachtmar as an exile from Ireland. In the tract the Borama (Book of Leinster, c. 1170) Tuathal's father and grandfather are said to have been slain in Ireland by the Aithechthuatha. Another account in the same ms. says all the seed of Ugaine Mor in Ireland were slain by the Aithechthuatha except for Tuathal. His mother took him to Fiachra Cassan, who saved his life, and later sent him to Scotland to raise an army to regain his lost kingdom in Ireland. In yet another version, Tuathal's mother fled to Scotland and there gave birth. Twenty years later he returned with two ships, landing at Malahide Bay in Co. Dublin. O'Rahilly has this to say about the legends of Tuathal Teachtmar: "The genuine tradition concerning Tuathal told how he had led the ancestors of the Midland Goidels to Ireland, and how had had overcome the non-goidelic tribes who had hitherto ruled the country, and who henceforth were to be vassals (aithechthuatha) of the Goidels. But the pseudo-historians and genealogists, who would give no countenance to a late date for the Goidelic invasion, insisted that Tuathal was an Irishman and was descended from a long line of Irish ancestors; and so in its accepted literary form the legend no longer represents Tuthal as a foreigner invading Ireland for the first time, but treats him as the rightful heir to the Irish throne who comes to Ireland to recover his patrimony, of which he has been deprived by the aithechthuatha." Although the legends surrounding Tuathal Teachtmar describe him as a returning exile (Mael Mura) from Alba (Scotland), O'Rahilly believes Tuathal Teachtmar came to Ireland directly from Gaul. "Regarding the earlier home of the Goidels a few words must suffice on the present occasion. If anything is certain about them, it is that the Goidels reached Ireland direct from the Continent, notwithstanding Rhys's unsupported theorizings to the contrary. For more reasons than one we cannot accept the 'learned' Irish view that they came form Spain; hence they must have come to Ireland from Gaul. Several pieces of evidence, which we need not now discuss, unite in suggesting that the Goidels were connected with the south-east of Gaul, and it is there, too, that we have found the Quariates, a tribe of Q-Celts, located. We must suppose that, before sailing to Ireland, a body of Q-Celts first migrated from south-east Gaul to the western coast, just as the Helvetii and other tribes tried to do in 58 B.C. The most likely cause of such a wholesale migration would have been the pressure of neighbouring enemies, whether these enemies were fellow-Celts or Romans or Germans. If (which is not certain) the Continental Goidels were settled within the area which became the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis, their migration to the western coast must have taken place not later than 120 B.C. If any event the Goidels must have left Gaul before 50 B.C., when the rest of the country was finally subjected to Roman rule." With Nial noigiallaigh mac Echach we are finally on firmer ground. In Irish manuscripts, Nial is credited with a huge number of sons (14) although not all have dynastic lines linked to them by pedigree. Rawlinson B.502 ¶763] Niall Noígiallach m. Echach .xiiii. mc leis .i. Conall Err Breg nó Cremthainne nó Cerrbél, Conall Gulbain Guirt nó Foibni, Éogan, Cairpre, Láegaire, Fiachra, Maine, Énna, Óengus Ulderg, Fergus Antoit nó Antem, Fergus Mátlorg, Trian, Cóeldub, Uaithgein. Conall Err Breg a quo Clann Colmáin & Síl n-Áeda Sláine. Conall Gulbain Guirt a quo Cenél Conaill. Láegaire a quo Cenél Láegaire. Maine a quo Úi Maine & Fir Thethba. Cairpri a quo Cenél Cairpre. Énna a quo Cenél Énna. Óengus{facsimile page & column 140a} Ulderg a quo Cenél n- Óengusa. Nial 'of the Nine Hostages' son of Eochu, 14 good sons, i.e., Conall Err Breg or Cremthainne or Cerrbel, Conall Gulbain Guirt or Foibni, Eoghan, Cairpre, Laegaire, Fiachra, Maine, Enna, Oengus Ulderg, Fergus Antoit or Antem, Fergus Natlorg, Trian, Coeldub, Uaithgein. The paragraph goes on to state that the Clann Colmain and Sil n-Aeda Slaine descended from Conall Err Breg (or Cremthaine)ie, the main line of the southern Ui Neill; The Cenel Conaill in Donegal descend from Conall Gulban Guirt; From Laegaire descend the Cenel Leagaire (southern Ui Neill); From Maine, the Ui Maine and Fir Thethba (men of Teffia), ie, southern Ui Neill. The Cenel Enna (in Donegal) from Enna, and the Cenel n-Oengusa from Oengusa. The next paragraph traces the progeny of Eoghan son of Nial; ¶764] Éogan immorro m. Néill .x. filios habuit id est: Muiredach a quo Cenél Muiredaich, Binech a quo Cenél m-Binnich, Fergus a quo Cenél Fergusa, Óengus a quo Cenél n-Óengusa, Dallán a quo Cenél n- Dalláin, Cormac a quo Cenél Cormaic, Feideilmid a quo Cenél Feideilmid, Ailill a quo Clann Ailella, Echen a quo Cenél n-Echin, Illann a quo Cenél n-Ellaind, Eochaid a quo Cenél n-Echdach. Here we find listed most of the major branches of the Cenel Eoghain, who like the Cenel Conaill were northern Ui Neil, originally settled in the North-west of Ireland in Donegal and Tryone. Another kindred is also traced in the genealogical manuscripts, the Connachta, who gave their name to the province of Connacht. ¶762] Cóic mc Echdach: Niall a quo Úi Néill, Brian a quo Úi Briúin, Connacht, Fiachra .i. Foltsnaithech a quo Úi Fiachrach in tres Connacht, Ailill a quo Úi Ailella Connacht, Fergus Cáechán a quo Úi Cháecháin ó Chill Sciri. &rl. Five sons of Eochu: Nial, a quo the Ui Neill, Brian, a quo the Ui Bruiun of Connacht, Fiachra, ie, Foltsnaithech, a quo the Ui Fiachrach in the three Connachts, Ailill, a quo the Ui Ailella of Connacht, Fergus Caechan a quo the Ui Caechain of Chill Sciri. Of these four brothers of Nial only two had descendants traceable to the presentday: Brian and Fiachra, from whom descend the Kings of Connaught and the minor kings of Roscommon, Leitrim and Galway. Eochu, by Irish legend, had two wives, Mong Fionn and Cairen, the mother of Nial. "We are told that in a raid on Britain (Alban) Eochu carried off a lady named Cairenn, whom he made his wife, and who by him became the mother of Nial." "Now this name Cairenn appears to be otherwise unknown in Irish literature; and it is certainly not the kind of name that would have been assigned to Niall's mother if the story were an invention. Moreover, it can hardly be a mere coincidence that it has its exact counterpart in the Latin woman's name Carina, which, borrowed into Irish, would have given O. Ir. Cairenn, gen. Cairne. Accordingly I have no hesitation in accepting as trustworthy the tradition of the British origin of Nial's mother." (O'Rahilly "Early Irish History and Mythology") O'Rahilly is less accepting of the legends of Mong Fionn, who he describes as "admittedly" a supernatural personage, as was her supposed brother, Crimthann Mac Fidaig, said to have been king of Ireland prior to Nial. The Trinity College Study Regardless of the authenticity of the pedigree linking the Ui Neill and Connachta as descendants of Eochu, the two tribes do match in DNA. The Trinity College study listed a number of surnames that matched the NW Irish modal, all of which were either Cenel Conaill, Cenel Eoghain or Connachta (Ui Bruin and Ui Fiachrach). (O')Gallagher (12), (O')Boyle (9), (O')Doherty (5), O'Donnell (4), O'Connor (3), Cannon (3), Bradley (2), O'Reilly (2), Flynn (2), (Mc)Kee (2), Campbell (1), Devlin (1), Donnelly (1), Egan (1), Gormley (1), Hynes (1), McCaul (1), McGovern (1), McLoughlin (1), McManus (1), McMenamin (1), Molloy (1), O'Kane (1), O'Rourke (1), and Quinn (1). These surnames can be divided into clan names, following Irish traditions, as follows: Cenel Conaill: O’Gallagher, O’Boyle, O’Doherty, O’Donnell, Cannon, McMenamin. Cenel Eoghain: Bradley, Devlin, Donnelly, Gormley, McCaul, Campbell, McLaughlin, O’Kane, Quinn. Ui Briuin: O’Connor, O’Reilly, Hynes, Flynn, McGovern, McManus, O’Rourke A few are unknown or of multiple origins: Molloy, Egan, McKee. Mostly absent from this list are southern Ui Neill surnames, unless the single MacLoughlin sample was intended to represent the O Maoilsechlainn sept of Westmeath (O'Melaghlin, now MacLoughlin). O'Rahilly believes the nothern Goidels under Tuathal Teachtmar first landed near Dublin and established a kingdom for themselves in nothern Leinster. Known as the Connachta or Dal Cuinn, meaning descendants of Conn 'of the hundred Battles', said to have been a grandson of Tuathal. From the midlands of Ireland they expanded into the west into what is now the province of Connaught. And sometime around 400 A.D. three sons of Nial moved into the North-west of Ireland for the first time, establishing kingdoms in what is now Donegal and Tryone. Other Irish historians disagree with O'Rahilly on some points. John Byrnes (Irish Kings and High Kings) believes the northern Goidels or Dal Cuinn first established themselves in the west of Ireland and from there the three sons of Nial moved into North-west Ireland. Ptolemy's Map Much of O'Rahilly's theory is based on the evidence of Ptolemy's map of Ireland. He outlines a two-pronged invasion of Ireland by Goidelic tribes, presumably related, although he never really states this as a fact, by the northern goidels and the Eoghanachta of the south of Ireland, both goidelic or Q-Celtic speaking tribes. O'Rahilly lists three other groups of Celtic invaders of Ireland, all of them P-Celtic tribes: The Cruithin, the Belgae or Erainn and the Lagin, all of which he says arrived in Ireland prior to the goidels. "The Goidels, the latest of the Celtic invaders, and the only Q-Celts among them. They reached Ireland direct from Gaul, and their arrival cannot have much anterior to the extincion of Gaulish independence (50 B.C.)." O'Rahilly believes the information in Ptolemy's map is much older than 100 A.D. and dates the tribe names to between 325 B.C. to 50 B.C. "While the evidence of the names in Ptolemy's account of Ireland shows plainly that the Ireland he describes was a Celtic-speaking Ireland, none of the names has anything peculiarly Goidelic about in form. On the contrary, there is positive evidence to show that the Celtic spoken in Ptolemy's Ireland was of the Brittonic type." "Of the presence of the Builg or Erainn in Ptolemy's Ireland there is unmistakable evidence in such names as Uluti, Darini, Iverni. On the other hand there is not a trace of any Goidelic tribal name." |