Tir Conaill (Ua Domnaill)

Who he is

Name

Eicnechan Ua Domnaill (Egneghan O'Donnell)

Title

King of Tir Conaill (Cenel Conaill)

Since

Not pinned: after the deaths of Flaithbertach Ua Mael Doraid and of his successor Echmarcach Ua Dochartaig (killed by de Courcy's army at Cnoc Nascain) in 1197, and certainly king by 1200-01

Born

Not pinned

Family

Father of Domnall Mor Ua Domnaill (king 1208-41); the first Ua Domnaill to hold the kingship of Cenel Conaill

Confidence

low

The Annals of Ulster for 1197 call the dead Flaithbertach Ua Mael Doraid king of Cenel Conaill, Cenel nEogain and Airgialla, and say Echmarcach Ua Dochartaig took the kingship at once and lasted a fortnight before de Courcy's army killed him. Eicnechan sends a fleet of thirteen ships against the Clann Diarmata and Mac Lochlainn, beats the Ui Ruairc at Leckymuldory and kills Conchobar Bec Mac Lochlainn (Four Masters 1200, probably 1200-01). Dies 1207.

What it holds

• Tir Conaill from the Swilly to the Erne, inaugurated at Kilmacrenan
• Claims over Cairpre Droma Cliab (north Sligo) and Fir Manach

How it was acquired

The kingship passed from the Ui Mael Doraid to the Ui Domnaill after 1197.

Allies and rivals

Rival of Ua Neill (Cenel Conaill tried to make Ua hEignigh king of Fir Manach in 1199 and was forced to submit); enemy of the Ui Ruairc and the Meic Lochlainn.

How things stand that morning

Independent; whether Eicnechan is already king that morning is not pinned, but no rival is recorded.

Wealth

Cattle, fisheries and the sea.

Military

The Cenel Conaill hosting and a fleet.

Threats

• Ua Neill
• De Courcy's raids
• The Ui Ruairc

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. 1200-01 (Four Masters 1200)Defeats the Ui Ruairc at Leckymuldory (Conchobar na Glaisfene Ua Ruairc drowned) and kills Conchobar Bec Mac Lochlainn.Depends on: War with Breifne and the Meic Lochlainn Stopped by: Peace

Places of note

• Kilmacrenan: Inauguration place of the Ui Domnaill (Doon Rock)

Where the sources disagree

• Who ruled Cenel Conaill between 1197 and about 1200 is not settled in the sources we could read; we could not confirm a period of rule by Aed Ua Neill. Eicnechan is named as king for 1200 in the Four Masters.

Evidence: The Four Masters and Mac Carthaigh's Book; the accession is not pinned.

On the map: Approximate.

Primary sources for Tir Conaill

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 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