Cellachán Caisil
Encyclopedia
Cellachán mac Buadacháin (died 954), called Cellachán Caisil, was King of Munster.
The son of Buadachán mac Lachtnai, he belonged to the Cashel
branch of the Eóganachta
kindred, the Eóganacht Chaisil
. The last of his cognatic
ancestors to have held the kingship of Munster was Colgú mac Faílbe Flaind
(d. 678), eight generations earlier.
His predecessor as king at Cashel was said to be Lorcan mac Coinlígáin, a distant cousin, the date of whose death is uncertain. The earliest record of Cellachán is an attack on Clonmacnoise
in 936. In 939 he was allied with Norse Gaels from Waterford
in an attack on the kingdom of Mide
. The leader of the Waterford contingent is called mac Acuind (Hákon's son). They took captive the abbots of Clonenagh and Killeleigh but were defeated by the Uí Failge of Leinster
.
In 941, in a struggle for control of the eastern Déisi
, Cellachán came into conflict with the High King of Ireland
, Donnchad Donn
, and so too with Donnchad's nominated successor Muirchertach mac Néill
. Muirchertach undertook a "circuit of Ireland" at the head of his army, a campaign commemorated in later verse, during which he took Cellachán prisoner (actually given up to the High King by his own people). Cellachán remained a captive at Donnchad's court for some years.
Cellachán had returned to Munster by 944, and perhaps earlier, as in that year he defeated and killed Cennétig mac Lorcáin
and two of his sons at the battle of Gort Rottacháin. Cennétig was king of the Dál gCais
and father of the famous Brian Boru
. It may be that the conflict had begun earlier as Dál gCais traditions have Cennétig defeat Cellachán at a battle fought near Lough Saighlenn, somewhere in Munster.
There is little more recorded of Cellachán in the Irish annals
. He raided Mide again in 951 with his only known son Donnchad. He died in 954 and Donnchad in 963.
In the time of Cellachán's descendant Cormac Mac Cárthaig
, the Caithréim Chellacháin Chaisil
(Battle history of Cellachán Caisil) was composed, probably inspired by the Cogadh Gaedhil re Gallaibh written for Muirchertach Ua Briain, glorifying Murchad's ancestor Brian Bóruma. The Caithréim portrays the Eóganachta
, and Cellachán in particular, fighting against Viking
invaders, but also gives credit to the Dál gCais
ancestors of Muirchertach. It is thought that this is related to the contemporary threat posed to the Munster families by the Connacht
king Toirdelbach Ua Conchobair.
The son of Buadachán mac Lachtnai, he belonged to the 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....
branch 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...
kindred, 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 last of his cognatic
Cognatic
Cognatic kinship is a mode of descent calculated from an ancestor or ancestress counted through any combination of male and female links, or a system of bilateral kinship where relations are traced through both a father and mother....
ancestors to have held the kingship of Munster was Colgú mac Faílbe Flaind
Colgú mac Faílbe Flaind
Colgú mac Faílbe Flaind was a King of Munster from the Eóganacht Chaisil branch of the Eoganachta. He was the son of Faílbe Flann mac Áedo Duib , a previous king. He succeeded Cathal Cú-cen-máthair mac Cathail as king in 665. The annals mention no details of his reign...
(d. 678), eight generations earlier.
His predecessor as king at Cashel was said to be Lorcan mac Coinlígáin, a distant cousin, the date of whose death is uncertain. The earliest record of Cellachán is an attack on Clonmacnoise
Clonmacnoise
The monastery of Clonmacnoise is situated in County Offaly, Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone....
in 936. In 939 he was allied with Norse Gaels from Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
in an attack on the kingdom of Mide
Kingdom of Mide
Mide , spelt Midhe in modern Irish and anglicised as Meath, was a medieval kingdom in Ireland for over 1,000 years. Its name means "middle", denoting the fact that lay in the middle of Ireland....
. The leader of the Waterford contingent is called mac Acuind (Hákon's son). They took captive the abbots of Clonenagh and Killeleigh but were defeated by the Uí Failge of Leinster
Leinster
Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...
.
In 941, in a struggle for control of the eastern Déisi
Déisi
The Déisi were a class of peoples in ancient and medieval Ireland. The term is Old Irish, and derives from the word déis, meaning "vassal" or "subject"; in its original sense, it designated groups who were vassals or rent-payers to a landowner. Later, it became a proper name for certain septs and...
, Cellachán came into conflict with the 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...
, Donnchad Donn
Donnchad Donn
Donnchadh Donn mac Flainn was High King of Ireland. He belonged to Clann Cholmáin, a branch of the southern Uí Néill.-Origins:...
, and so too with Donnchad's nominated successor Muirchertach mac Néill
Muirchertach mac Néill
Muirchertach mac Néill , called Muirchertach of the Leather Cloaks , King of Ailech.-Family ramifications:Muirchertach belonged to the Cenél nEógain sept of the northern Uí Néill...
. Muirchertach undertook a "circuit of Ireland" at the head of his army, a campaign commemorated in later verse, during which he took Cellachán prisoner (actually given up to the High King by his own people). Cellachán remained a captive at Donnchad's court for some years.
Cellachán had returned to Munster by 944, and perhaps earlier, as in that year he defeated and killed Cennétig mac Lorcáin
Cennétig mac Lorcáin
Cennétig mac Lorcáin was an Irish king. He was the father of Brian Boru.-Reign:Cennétig was king of the Dál gCais, one of the tribes of the Déisi, subject peoples in Munster. Their name was new, first recorded in the 930s, and they had previously been an undistinguished part of the northern Déisi...
and two of his sons at the battle of Gort Rottacháin. Cennétig was king of the 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...
and father of the famous 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...
. It may be that the conflict had begun earlier as Dál gCais traditions have Cennétig defeat Cellachán at a battle fought near Lough Saighlenn, somewhere in Munster.
There is little more recorded of Cellachán 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...
. He raided Mide again in 951 with his only known son Donnchad. He died in 954 and Donnchad in 963.
In the time of Cellachán's descendant Cormac Mac Cárthaig
Cormac Mac Carthaig
-Origins:Since the 10th-century the kingship of Munster had been held by the Dál gCais at the expense of the original dynasty, the Eóganachta. In 1983, Henry Alan Jefferies stated:...
, the 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...
(Battle history of Cellachán Caisil) was composed, probably inspired by the Cogadh Gaedhil re Gallaibh written for Muirchertach Ua Briain, glorifying Murchad's ancestor Brian Bóruma. The Caithréim portrays 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...
, and Cellachán in particular, fighting against 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...
invaders, but also gives credit to the 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...
ancestors of Muirchertach. It is thought that this is related to the contemporary threat posed to the Munster families by the 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...
king Toirdelbach Ua Conchobair.