- Cellach Cualann
Cellach Cualann mac Gerthidi (died 715) was the last
Uí Máil king of Leinster . Cellach'sbyname is derived from the land of "Cualu" which lay aroundGlendalough .The name Uí Máil may mean "grandsons of the princes". This, along with their ownership of certain objects symbolic of the kingship of Leinster, has suggested that they may once have been considered the rightful rulers of Leinster, at least by themselves. Alternatively, Uí Máil may have derived their name from the
Glen of Imaal , in the west of modernCounty Wicklow , which lay in the centre of their historic lands.Cellach's father was not king of Leinster, but his second cousin
Fianamail mac Máele Tuile (died 680) was. Cellach succeeded his cousin as king of Uí Máil when Fiannamail was murdered by a servant named Fochsechán, probably on the orders ofFínsnechta Fledach . ["Annals of Tigernach" AT 680.3] The kingship of Leinster passed to theUí Dúnlainge in the person ofBran Mut mac Conaill who died in 693, to be followed as king by Cellach.Reign
Immediately after the death of Bran Mut a battle between the Leinstermen and their western neighbours the
kingdom of Osraige is recorded, but Cellach is not associated with this. ["Annals of Ulster" AU 693.4] Cellach was one of the guarantors of theCáin Adomnáin (Law of Adomnán) in 697 promulgated at theSynod of Birr .In 704 he warred with his northern neighbours, the
Uí Néill ofClann Cholmáin , led by Bodbchath mac Diarmata Déin, and ofSíl nÁedo Sláine , led byFogartach mac Néill . The Battle of Claenath, fought nearClane in modernCounty Kildare , was a victory for Cellach, with Bodbchath killed and Fogartach fled. ["Annals of Ulster" AU 704.4] In 707 the Uí NéillHigh King of Ireland Congal Cennmagair campaigned in Leinster and obtained Cellach's submission to his authority. ["Annals of Ulster" AU 707.7]In 709, aided by British allies—usually presumed to be mercenaries, exiled members of the warbands of the British kingdoms conquered by expansionist
Northumbria —he fought a battle at "Serg" where his sons Fiachra and Fiannamail were killed. "Serg" is unidentified,Whitley Stokes translates it as "the battle of the Hunt". The "Annals of Tigernach " locate it somewhere in the "fortuatha" of Leinster, that part of the province east of theWicklow Mountains . ["Annals of Tigernach" AT 709.2] His adversaries are not named. Cellach's death in 715 is reported without comment by theIrish annals .Family
His first wife was Mugain ingen Failbe of Ui Bairrche. Their daughter Conchenn (died 743) married
Murchad mac Brain Mut (died 727), his successor as king of Lienster. Mugain was also the mother of his sons Fiachra and Fianamail slain in 709. Cellach's wife Bé Fáil, the third of four, was the daughter ofSechnassach , theHigh King of Ireland . Several of his sons died in his lifetime. His daughters married well. Muirenn (died 748) was the mother of High KingCináed mac Írgalaig and perhaps of Cináed's successorFlaithbertach mac Loingsig by a second marriage. Derbforgaill, wife of Fínsnechta Fledach, was probably Cellach's daughter. His daughter Caintigern (SaintKentigerna ) was by his fourth wife, also Caintigern, daughter ofConaing Cuirre of the Síl nÁedo Sláine.Of Cellach's surviving sons, Áed was killed in 719 near
Fennor , County Kildare, Crimthann died in battle, "at an immature age" according to the "Annals of Ulster " in 726, and Eterscél in 727 fighting againstFáelán mac Murchado . His two grandsons Cathal and Ailill were slain in 744.Notes
References
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* Byrne, Francis John, "Irish Kings and High-Kings." Batsford, London, 1973. ISBN 0-7134-5882-8
* Charles-Edwards, T.M., "Early Christian Ireland." Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2000. ISBN 0-521-39395-0
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