Tir Eogain (Ua Neill)

Who he is

Name

Aed Meith Ua Neill (Aodh Meith, 'the fat'; also called Aed Macaem Toinlesc after his father)

Title

King of Tir Eogain (Cenel nEogain)

Since

Probably 1196, after the killing of Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn by the Cenel nEogain (not pinned)

Born

Not pinned

Family

Son of Aed Macaem Toinlesc Ua Neill, briefly king. Married Bean Mide, daughter of Ua hEignigh of Fir Manach, about 1199-1200 (she dies 1215); son Domnall Og; nephew Brian Ruad.

Confidence

high

First appears in 1199, leading five ships against the English at Larne while de Courcy was raiding northern Tir Eogain; beat de Courcy's English at Donaghmore on their third raid that year; forced Cenel Conaill and Ua hEignigh to submit when Cenel Conaill tried to make Ua hEignigh king of Fir Manach and Airgialla. Rules, with one interruption, until 1230.

What it holds

• The kingship of the Cenel nEogain, inaugurated at Tullaghoge
• Inishowen and Derry, the old Mac Lochlainn country
• The hostages of Ua hEignigh of Fir Manach and of the Airgialla (1199)
• Overlordship of the Ui Chathain of Ciannachta

How it was acquired

Election by the Cenel nEogain after 1196.

Allies and rivals

Son-in-law of Ua hEignigh; ally of Cathal Crobderg; enemy of John de Courcy and of the Meic Lochlainn party; rival of Cenel Conaill.

How things stand that morning

King and victorious; the Meic Lochlainn are waiting for a chance.

Wealth

Cattle, the Foyle and Bann fisheries, the church of Derry.

Military

The Cenel nEogain hosting and a fleet (five ships at Larne in 1199).

Threats

• De Courcy
• Conchobar Bec Mac Lochlainn and the Meic Lochlainn party
• 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.

In 1200

1. 1200 (not pinned)Successful raids on the English of Ulster.Depends on: De Courcy's weakness Stopped by: A truce
2. 1200 (not pinned)Shelters Cathal Crobderg, expelled from Connacht.Depends on: Crobderg's expulsion Stopped by: Crobderg keeping his throne

Later, on the likely course

1. 1201 (later course)Leads an army into Connacht for Crobderg and is beaten at Ballysadare by Cathal Carrach and de Burgh; his father-in-law Ua hEignigh is killed; the Cenel nEogain depose him for Conchobar Bec Mac Lochlainn, who is soon killed by Eicnechan Ua Domnaill, and Aed returns.Depends on: The Connacht expedition Stopped by: Staying at home

Places of note

• Tullaghoge: Inauguration site of the Cenel nEogain kings
• Donaghmore: Where Aed beat de Courcy's English in 1199

Where the sources disagree

• The Four Masters put the battle at Ballysadare in 1199 and Aed's deposition in 1200; Mac Carthaigh's Book has Ballysadare in 1201, which we follow.

Evidence: Wikipedia (from the Ulster annals and the DIB) and the annals; the accession year is a probability.

On the map: Approximate; the Clogher valley is disputed with Airgialla.

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