Deda mac Sin
Encyclopedia
Deda mac Sin was a prehistoric king of the Érainn of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, possibly of the 1st century BC. Variant forms or spellings include Dedu, Dedad, and Dega. He is the eponymous ancestor of the Clanna Dedad, and may also have been a King of Munster.

Through his sons Íar mac Dedad
Íar mac Dedad
Íar mac Dedad was a legendary King of Munster. He is the father, or in some sources more distant ancestor, of Eterscél Mór, and grandfather of the famous Conaire Mór, both High Kings of Ireland....

 and Dáire mac Dedad
Dáire mac Dedad
Dáire mac Dedad is the eponymous ancestor of the Dáirine of Munster and father of the legendary Cú Roí mac Dáire. These further associate him with the prehistoric Darini of Ulster. He is probably identical with Dáire Doimthech , an ancestor of the Corcu Loígde...

, Dedu is an ancestor of many famous figures from legendary Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, including his "grandsons" (giving or taking a generation) Cú Roí mac Dáire and Eterscél, "great-grandsons" (again) Conaire Mór
Conaire Mor
Conaire Mór , son of Eterscél, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. His mother was Mess Búachalla, who was either the daughter of Eochu Feidlech and Étaín, or of Eochu Airem and his daughter by Étaín...

 and Lugaid mac Con Roí
Lugaid mac Con Roí
In the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, Lugaid mac Con Roí was the son of Cú Roí mac Dáire. He was also known as Lugaid mac Trí Con ....

, and more distant descendant Conaire Cóem. A third son was Conganchnes mac Dedad
Conganchnes mac Dedad
Conganchnes mac Dedad is a hero mentioned in the legend of the death of Celtchar mac Uthechair; he does not, however, kill him, but is killed himself...

. Through these Dedu is also an ancestor of several historical peoples of both Ireland and 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...

, including the Dál Riata
Dál Riata
Dál Riata was a Gaelic overkingdom on the western coast of Scotland with some territory on the northeast coast of Ireland...

, Múscraige
Múscraige
The Múscraighe were an important Érainn people of Munster, descending from Cairpre Músc, son of Conaire Cóem, a High King of Ireland. Closely related were the Corcu Duibne, Corcu Baiscind, both of Munster, and also the Dál Riata of Ulster and Scotland, all being referred to as the Síl Conairi in...

, Corcu Duibne
Corcu Duibne
The Corcu Duibne was a notable kingdom in prehistoric and medieval County Kerry, Ireland which included the Dingle Peninsula, the Iveragh Peninsula and connecting lands...

, and Corcu Baiscind
Corcu Baiscind
The Corcu Baiscind were an early Érainn people or kingdom of what is now southern County Clare in Munster. They descended from Cairpre Baschaín, son of Conaire Cóem, a High King of Ireland. Closely related were the Múscraige and Corcu Duibne, both of Munster, and also the Dál Riata of Ulster and...

, all said to belong to the Érainn (Iverni), of whom the Clanna Dedad appear to have been a principal royal sept.

The generations preceding Dedu mac Sin in the extant pedigrees appear artificial. Eventually they lead through Ailill Érann to a descent from Óengus Tuirmech Temrach  and thus a distant kinship with the Connachta
Connachta
The Connachta are a group of medieval Irish dynasties who claimed descent from the legendary High King Conn Cétchathach...

 and 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....

, whose own pedigree is in fact unreliable before Túathal Techtmar.

A proto-historical sept of the Clanna Dedad are known as the Dáirine
Dáirine
The Dáirine , later known dynastically as the Corcu Loígde, were the proto-historical rulers of Munster before the rise of the Eóganachta in the 7th century AD. They appear to have derived from the Darini of Ptolemy and to have been related to the Ulaid and Dál Riata of Ulster and Scotland...

, descending from Dáire mac Dedad and/or Dáire Doimthech
Dáire Doimthech
Dáire Doimthech, alias Dáire Sírchréchtach, son of Sithbolg, was a legendary King of Tara and High King of Ireland, and eponymous ancestor of the proto-historical Dáirine and historical Corcu Loígde of Munster. A son of his was Lugaid Loígde , an ancestor of Lugaid Mac Con...

 (Sírchrechtach), and are later known as the Corcu Loígde
Corcu Loígde
The Corcu Loígde , meaning Gens of the Calf Goddess, also called the Síl Lugdach meic Itha, were a kingdom centered in West County Cork who descended from the proto-historical rulers of Munster, the Dáirine, of whom they were the principal royal sept...

. Alternatively this may be used synonymously, with some confusion created by their identification with the Darini
Darini
The Darini were a people of ancient Ireland mentioned in Ptolemy's 2nd century Geography as living in south Antrim and north Down...

 of prehistoric 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...

. In any case, the Darini and Iverni are clearly related.

According to the Book of Glendalough (Rawlinson B 502) and Laud 610 pedigrees, a brother of Dedu was Eochaid/Echdach mac Sin, from whom descend the Dál Fiatach
Dál Fiatach
The Dál Fiatach were a group of related dynasties located in eastern Ulster in the Early Christian and Early Medieval periods of the history of Ireland.-Description:...

 of Ulster. But alternatively they descend directly from Cú Roí mac Dáire, and thus from the Clanna Dedad proper. The precise relation of the Dál Fiatach to the Ulaid
Ulaid
The Ulaid or Ulaidh were a people of early Ireland who gave their name to the modern province of Ulster...

 of the Ulster Cycle
Ulster Cycle
The Ulster Cycle , formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, one of the four great cycles of Irish mythology, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the traditional heroes of the Ulaid in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly counties Armagh, Down and...

, rivals of the Clanna Dedad, is lost to history.

Eoin MacNeill
Eoin MacNeill
Eoin MacNeill was an Irish scholar, nationalist, revolutionary and politician. MacNeill is regarded as the father of the modern study of early Irish medieval history. He was a co-founder of the Gaelic League, to preserve Irish language and culture, going on to establish the Irish Volunteers...

 finds the Conaille Muirtheimne to also descend from Dedu mac Sin, from another son Conall Anglonnach, believing they are quite mistakenly thought to be Cruthin
Cruthin
The Cruthin were a people of early Ireland, who occupied parts of Counties Down, Antrim and Londonderry in the early medieval period....

, as found in "later" genealogies.

Dui Dallta Dedad was a foster-son of Dedu.

There is also an Ogham
Ogham
Ogham is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the Old Irish language, and occasionally the Brythonic language. Ogham is sometimes called the "Celtic Tree Alphabet", based on a High Medieval Bríatharogam tradition ascribing names of trees to the individual letters.There are roughly...

 of Dedu (Ogam Dedad) found in the Book of Ogams
In Lebor Ogaim
In Lebor Ogaim , also known as the Ogam Tract, is an Old Irish treatise on the ogham alphabet. It is preserved in R.I.A. MS 23 P 12 308-314 , T.C.D. H.3.18, 26.1-35.28 and National Library of Ireland MS G53 1-22 , and fragments in British Library Add. 4783...

. Over one third of all Irish ogham inscriptions are found in the lands of his descendants the Corcu Duibne.

The Sil Conairi

The Síl Conairi were those septs of the Clanna Dedad descended from Conaire Mór
Conaire Mor
Conaire Mór , son of Eterscél, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. His mother was Mess Búachalla, who was either the daughter of Eochu Feidlech and Étaín, or of Eochu Airem and his daughter by Étaín...

, namely the Dál Riata
Dál Riata
Dál Riata was a Gaelic overkingdom on the western coast of Scotland with some territory on the northeast coast of Ireland...

, Múscraige
Múscraige
The Múscraighe were an important Érainn people of Munster, descending from Cairpre Músc, son of Conaire Cóem, a High King of Ireland. Closely related were the Corcu Duibne, Corcu Baiscind, both of Munster, and also the Dál Riata of Ulster and Scotland, all being referred to as the Síl Conairi in...

, Corcu Duibne
Corcu Duibne
The Corcu Duibne was a notable kingdom in prehistoric and medieval County Kerry, Ireland which included the Dingle Peninsula, the Iveragh Peninsula and connecting lands...

, and Corcu Baiscinn. The first, presumably settling in far northeastern Ulster in the prehistoric period, would famously go on to found the Kingdom of Scotland
Kingdom of Scotland
The Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...

. The Royal Family of Scotland, the House of Dunkeld
House of Dunkeld
The so-called House of Dunkeld, in Scottish Gaelic Dùn Chailleann , is a historiographical and genealogical construct to illustrate the clear succession of Scottish kings from 1034 to 1040 and from 1058 to 1290.It is dynastically sort of a continuation to Cenél nGabráin of Dál Riata, "race of...

, were described as the "seed of Conaire Mór" as late as the twelfth century. Through the House of Dunkeld and Conaire Mór, Dedu mac Sin is an ancestor of the modern British Royal Family
Genealogy of the British Royal Family
The recorded genealogy of the British Royal Family traces back to the early Middle Ages. Although there is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member of the Royal Family, and different lists will include different people, those carrying the style His or Her Majesty or His or...

. The last king in the direct male line from the Clanna Dedad and Sil Conairi was Alexander III of Scotland
Alexander III of Scotland
Alexander III was King of Scots from 1249 to his death.-Life:...

 (d. 19 March 1286).

The remaining Síl Conaire would settle and/or remain in Munster, where, although retaining their distinctive identity, they would be overshadowed first by their Dáirine (Corcu Loígde) kinsmen, and later fall under the sovereignty 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...

. But it appears the Síl Conaire, and especially the Múscraige, actually acted as prominent facilitators for the latter, and this would presumably have been in opposition to the Dáirine. A late and unexpected king of Munster from the Múscraige was Flaithbertach mac Inmainén
Flaithbertach mac Inmainén
Flaithbertach mac Inmainén was abbot of Inis Cathaig and sometime King of Munster in the south of Ireland. Unrelated to the dominant Eóganachta, Flaithbertach belonged to the Múscraige, an Érainn people.-Cath Belach Mugna:...

 (d. 944).

The birth, life, and fall of Conaire Mór are recounted in the epic tale Togail Bruidne Dá Derga. Two distantly related tales of more interest to genealogists are De Síl Chonairi Móir and De Maccaib Conaire. In these he is confused with his descendant Conaire Cóem.

The Dál Fiatach and Cú Roí

The descent of the Dál Fiatach
Dál Fiatach
The Dál Fiatach were a group of related dynasties located in eastern Ulster in the Early Christian and Early Medieval periods of the history of Ireland.-Description:...

 princes of Ulster from Dedu mac Sin is less secure, but nonetheless is supported by independent medieval sources (and contradicted by others).

The Dáirine (Corcu Loígde)

As early as 1849, the great Irish scholar John O'Donovan
John O'Donovan (scholar)
John O'Donovan , from Atateemore, in the parish of Kilcolumb, County Kilkenny, and educated at Hunt's Academy, Waterford, was an Irish language scholar from Ireland.-Life:...

 noted that the pedigree of the Corcu Loígde, the leading historical descendants of the Dáirine, is corrupt for many of the generations preceding the legendary monarch Lugaid Mac Con
Lugaid mac Con
Lugaid Mac Con, often known simply as Mac Con, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He belonged to the Corcu Loígde, and thus to the Dáirine. His father was Macnia mac Lugdach, and his mother was Sadb ingen Chuinn, daughter of the former High...

.

Descent of the Clanna Dedad

Skipped generations are given in the notes.
  • Sen mac Rosin
    • Dedu mac Sin a quo Clanna Dedad
      • Íar mac Dedad
        Íar mac Dedad
        Íar mac Dedad was a legendary King of Munster. He is the father, or in some sources more distant ancestor, of Eterscél Mór, and grandfather of the famous Conaire Mór, both High Kings of Ireland....

        • Ailill Anglonnach
          • Éogan
            • Eterscél
              • Conaire Mór
                Conaire Mor
                Conaire Mór , son of Eterscél, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. His mother was Mess Búachalla, who was either the daughter of Eochu Feidlech and Étaín, or of Eochu Airem and his daughter by Étaín...

                 a quo Síl Conaire
                • Mug Láma
                  • Conaire Cóem
                    • Eochaid (Cairpre) Riata (Rigfhota), a quo
                      • Dál Riata
                        Dál Riata
                        Dál Riata was a Gaelic overkingdom on the western coast of Scotland with some territory on the northeast coast of Ireland...

                        • Erc of Dalriada
                          Erc of Dalriada
                          Erc was king of Irish Dál Riata until 474. He was the father of Fergus Mór and Loarn mac Eirc, and may have been the great-grandfather of Muirchertach mac Muiredaig. Confusion arises from the latter's matronym, Macc Ercae, said to come from his legendary mother Erca, daughter of Loarn mac Eirc....

                          • Fergus Mór
                            Fergus Mór
                            Fergus Mór mac Eirc was a legendary king of Dál Riata. He was the son of Erc.While his historicity may be debatable, his posthumous importance as the founder of Scotland in the national myth of Medieval and Renaissance Scotland is not in doubt...

                            • Domangart Réti
                              • Gabrán mac Domangairt
                                Gabrán mac Domangairt
                                Gabrán mac Domangairt was king of Dál Riata in the middle of the 6th century. He is the eponymous ancestor of the Cenél nGabraín.The historical evidence for Gabrán is limited to the notice of his death in the Irish annals...

                                , a quo
                                • Cenél nGabráin
                                  • House of Alpin
                                    House of Alpin
                                    The House of Alpin is the name given to the kin-group which ruled in Pictland and then the kingdom of Alba from the advent of Cináed mac Ailpín in the 840s until the death of Máel Coluim mac Cináeda in 1034....

                                  • House of Dunkeld
                                    House of Dunkeld
                                    The so-called House of Dunkeld, in Scottish Gaelic Dùn Chailleann , is a historiographical and genealogical construct to illustrate the clear succession of Scottish kings from 1034 to 1040 and from 1058 to 1290.It is dynastically sort of a continuation to Cenél nGabráin of Dál Riata, "race of...

                              • Comgall mac Domangairt
                                Comgall mac Domangairt
                                Comgall mac Domangairt was king of Dál Riata in the early 6th century. He was the son of Domangart Réti and grandson of Fergus Mór. The Annals of Ulster report his death in 538, 542 and 545, the Annals of Tigernach in 537.-Comgall:...

                                , a quo
                                • Cenél Comgaill
                          • Loarn mac Eirc
                            Loarn mac Eirc
                            Loarn mac Eirc was a legendary king of Dál Riata who may have lived in the 5th century.The Duan Albanach and the Senchus Fer n-Alban and other genealogies name Loarn's father as Erc son of Eochaid Muinremuir...

                            , a quo
                            • Cenél Loairn
                              • House of Moray
                                House of Moray
                                The so-called House of Moray is a historiographical and genealogical construct to illustrate the succession of rulers whose base was at the region of Moray and who ruled sometimes a larger kingdom...

                                • Mormaers of Moray
                          • Óengus Mór mac Eirc, a quo
                            • Cenél nÓengusa
                              Cenél nÓengusa
                              The Cenél nÓengusa were a kin group who ruled the island of Islay, and perhaps nearby Colonsay, off the western coast of Scotland in the early Middle Ages....

                    • Cairpre Músc, a quo
                      • Múscraige
                        Múscraige
                        The Múscraighe were an important Érainn people of Munster, descending from Cairpre Músc, son of Conaire Cóem, a High King of Ireland. Closely related were the Corcu Duibne, Corcu Baiscind, both of Munster, and also the Dál Riata of Ulster and Scotland, all being referred to as the Síl Conairi in...

                      • Corc Duibne, a quo
                        • Corcu Duibne
                          Corcu Duibne
                          The Corcu Duibne was a notable kingdom in prehistoric and medieval County Kerry, Ireland which included the Dingle Peninsula, the Iveragh Peninsula and connecting lands...

                    • Cairpre Baschaín, a quo
                      • Corcu Baiscind
                        Corcu Baiscind
                        The Corcu Baiscind were an early Érainn people or kingdom of what is now southern County Clare in Munster. They descended from Cairpre Baschaín, son of Conaire Cóem, a High King of Ireland. Closely related were the Múscraige and Corcu Duibne, both of Munster, and also the Dál Riata of Ulster and...

      • Dáire mac Dedad
        Dáire mac Dedad
        Dáire mac Dedad is the eponymous ancestor of the Dáirine of Munster and father of the legendary Cú Roí mac Dáire. These further associate him with the prehistoric Darini of Ulster. He is probably identical with Dáire Doimthech , an ancestor of the Corcu Loígde...

         / Dairi Sirchrechtaig / Dáire Doimthech
        Dáire Doimthech
        Dáire Doimthech, alias Dáire Sírchréchtach, son of Sithbolg, was a legendary King of Tara and High King of Ireland, and eponymous ancestor of the proto-historical Dáirine and historical Corcu Loígde of Munster. A son of his was Lugaid Loígde , an ancestor of Lugaid Mac Con...

        • Cú Roí mac Dáire
          • Lugaid mac Con Roí
            Lugaid mac Con Roí
            In the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, Lugaid mac Con Roí was the son of Cú Roí mac Dáire. He was also known as Lugaid mac Trí Con ....

          • Fuirme mac Con Roí
            • (F)Iatach Find
              Fiatach Finn
              Fiatach Finn mac Dáire, a distant descedant of Óengus Tuirmech Temrach, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a king of the Ulaid, later a High King of Ireland, and the eponymous ancestor of the early Medieval Ulster dynasty of the Dál Fiatach...

              , a quo
              • Dál Fiatach
                Dál Fiatach
                The Dál Fiatach were a group of related dynasties located in eastern Ulster in the Early Christian and Early Medieval periods of the history of Ireland.-Description:...

        • Dáirine
          Dáirine
          The Dáirine , later known dynastically as the Corcu Loígde, were the proto-historical rulers of Munster before the rise of the Eóganachta in the 7th century AD. They appear to have derived from the Darini of Ptolemy and to have been related to the Ulaid and Dál Riata of Ulster and Scotland...

          • Corcu Loígde
            Corcu Loígde
            The Corcu Loígde , meaning Gens of the Calf Goddess, also called the Síl Lugdach meic Itha, were a kingdom centered in West County Cork who descended from the proto-historical rulers of Munster, the Dáirine, of whom they were the principal royal sept...

      • Conganchnes mac Dedad
        Conganchnes mac Dedad
        Conganchnes mac Dedad is a hero mentioned in the legend of the death of Celtchar mac Uthechair; he does not, however, kill him, but is killed himself...

      • Conall Anglonnach mac Dedad, a quo
        • Conaille Muirtheimne
    • Eochaid (Echdach/Echach) mac Sin
      • Deitsin/Deitsini
        • Dlúthaich/Dluthaig
          • Dáire/Dairi
            • Fir furmi
              • Fiatach Finn
                Fiatach Finn
                Fiatach Finn mac Dáire, a distant descedant of Óengus Tuirmech Temrach, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a king of the Ulaid, later a High King of Ireland, and the eponymous ancestor of the early Medieval Ulster dynasty of the Dál Fiatach...

                  / Fiachach Fir Umai
                • Dál Fiatach
                  Dál Fiatach
                  The Dál Fiatach were a group of related dynasties located in eastern Ulster in the Early Christian and Early Medieval periods of the history of Ireland.-Description:...

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