Mac Lochlainn

Who he is

Name

Conchobar Bec Mac Lochlainn (the leading claimant)

Title

Rival royal line of the Cenel nEogain

Since

1196, when Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn, king of Cenel nEogain, was treacherously killed by Conchobar Ua Cathain and the Cenel nEogain

Born

Not pinned

Family

The Meic Lochlainn, kings of the north and high kings in the twelfth century (Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn, d. 1166)

Confidence

medium

Conchobar Bec briefly replaces Aed Ua Neill in 1201 and is killed by Cenel Conaill soon after for violating Columba's shrine.

Overlord

The king of Tir Eogain

What it holds

• A party in Inishowen and round Derry

How it was acquired

Dynastic right.

Allies and rivals

Enemies of Aed Ua Neill and of Cenel Conaill.

How things stand that morning

Out of power.

Military

Their following.

Threats

• Aed Ua Neill
• Cenel Conaill

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 1201 (later course; the Four Masters say 1200)Conchobar Bec is made king in Aed's place, plunders Tir Enna, and is killed by the Cenel Conaill.Depends on: Aed's defeat in Connacht Stopped by: Aed staying home

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Annals.

On the map: Approximate.

Primary sources for Tir Eogain

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Annals of Loch Ce, Various (compiled for the Mac Diarmada of Moylurg) (compiled 1580s from older annals; the medieval section rests on a Connacht chronicle). The fullest Connacht account of the year: Cathal Carrach's seizure of the kingship, Cathal Crobderg's flight north, the Connacht expedition of de Courcy and the Ui Neill on Crobderg's behalf and its defeat, William de Burgh's role, and the devastation of the province's churches, with the names of the Connacht nobles and clergy who died. Read online
• Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters, Various; compiled by Micheal O Cleirigh and others (1632 to 1636, from medieval annals now partly lost). A seventeenth century compilation but it draws on lost medieval annals, so its 1200 entries add names and incidents missing elsewhere: the Connacht war and the English of Meath and Munster, the deaths of Irish kings and churchmen across the island, and raids in Thomond and Desmond. Read online
• Annals of Ulster, Various; compiled by Cathal Mac Maghnusa (compiled about 1498 from much older annals; the entries for 1200 derive from contemporary record). The most reliable Irish annal for the north. Read online
• The Topography of Ireland; The Conquest of Ireland, Gerald of Wales (Giraldus Cambrensis) (Topographia 1187 to 1188; Expugnatio 1189, revised later). The Conquest ends in 1185 and the Topography describes the island as Gerald saw it in 1183 to 1185, so neither covers 1200, but they explain the lordship of Ireland as John found it: the grants of Leinster and Meath, the de Courcy conquest of Ulster, the Irish kings and their customs, and Gerald's advice on governing the country. Read online