Mac Shamhráin, Ailbhe

Eithne (d. 795), daughter of Donnchad Midi and queen-consort of Leinster, belonged to the Clann Cholmáin dynasty of the Southern Uí Néill. Her marriage to Bran Ardchenn (qv), an early representative of the Uí Muiredaig lineage of Uí…

Énnae Cennselach (5th cent.?), son of Labraid and putatively king of Leinster, was the eponymous ancestor of the south Leinster dynasty of Uí Chennselaig. A genealogical synchronism which makes Énnae coeval with …

Éogan (fl. c.570), monk of Kilnamanagh, bishop of Ardstraw, and saint in the Irish tradition, belonged in all probability to Dál nAuluim, a forshloinne (subject people) of the Ulaid. The genealogies represent Éogan as the son of Cainnech, son of Bishop Erc. If…

Éogan (d. 465), son of Niall, is the eponymous ancestor of the royal lineages of Cenél nÉogain. Éogan and his brothers Conall Gulban (qv) and Énnae have perhaps the best historical claim to represent the sons of…

Éogan Bél (d. 543), son of Cellach and overking of Connacht, probably belonged to the dynasty of Uí Fhiachrach. While an account in the Book of Leinster represents him as a son of the Uí Briúin dynast Duí Galach (alias Duí Tenga Uma?), the tradition that names his father as…

Éogan Mainistrech (‘of the monastery') (d. 834), abbot of Armagh, Clonard, and Monasterboice, was probably of midlands origin. His father had the rare personal name of Ainbthech, which is attested among the Delbna. Éogan himself may well have commenced his career as fer…

Éogan Már (‘the great’), according to Munster genealogical tradition, was son of Ailill Ólom (qv), a mythical king of Munster, and was the eponymous ancestor of the Éoganacht dynasties. Through a supposed liaison with Monchae the daughter…

Erard (Iorard, Urard) (d. 990), son of Cos, was celebrated as an important poet and as one of the principal learned men of pre-Norman Ireland. He seems to have spent his earlier career at Armagh: Geoffrey Keating (qv…

Erc (d. 513/15), bishop of Slane and saint in the Irish tradition, belonged to the obscure Munster population-group of Corco Auloimm. His father is named in the genealogies as Daig son of Branchú, and he shares his Corco Auloimm ancestry with St…

Ercnait (5th/ 6th cent.?), foundress of Dún dá Én and saint in the Irish tradition, belonged to the Cruithin lineage of Uí Nialláin, located in the vicinity of Armagh in what would later be the overkingdom of Airgialla. She belongs to the first generation of Irish religious…

Fáelán (d. c.645), son of Colmán Már and king of northern Leinster, was an early representative of Uí Dúnlainge and is viewed by many historians as the founder of that dynasty's fortunes. According to the genealogies, his father was Colmán son of Cairpre, and his mother was…

Fáelán (d. 738), son of Murchad and overking of Leinster, belonged to the dynasty of Uí Dúnlainge. As is the case with his brothers Dúnchad (qv) and Bran Becc, the identity of Fáelán's mother is unknown; only the mother of their half-brother…

Fáilbe Flann (d. 637/9), son of Áed Dub and overking of Munster, belonged to the Éoganacht dynasty of Cashel. His father may have been a local ruler, but seems not to have achieved particular prominence. Neither the name of his mother nor that of his wife survives, but he had at…

Fainche (6th cent.), anchoress, abbess of Ros Airthir (Rossory, Co. Fermanagh), and saint in the Irish tradition, most likely belonged to the dynasty of Cenél Lóegaire. Later medieval genealogies (Book of Lecan and Leabhar Breac) name her father as Crimthann son of Guaire –…

Fedelmid (Feidlimid) (p. 770?–847), son of Crimthann and king of Cashel, belonged to the dynasty of Éoganacht Chaisil. A retrospective entry in the Annals of Inisfallen places his birth at 770, which is perhaps a little early. His father, a descendant of Fíngen (a seventh-…

Fer-dá-Chrích (d. 748), also known as Áed grandson of Aithmet, was abbot of Dairinis and a prominent member of the Céli Dé reform movement in the eighth-century Irish church. The familiar name ‘Fer-dá-Chrích’ (man of two districts) was accorded to several distinguished…

Ferdomnach (d. 952), grandson of Máenach, and abbot of Clonmacnoise and of Glendalough, belonged to the kindred of Corco Moga (Corcamoe, barony of Killian, Co. Galway). It is possible that his father was Rechtabra (d. 948) son of Máenach, a priest of Clonmacnoise and airchinnech…

Fergal (d. 722), son of Máel-dúin and king of Tara, belonged to the Uí Néill dynasty of Cenél nÉogain. His father Máel-dúin died as king of his line in 681; his mother was Cacht daughter of Cellach (qv) son of Máel-Cobo of Cenél Conaill. Fergal…

Fergal (d. 966), grandson of Ruarc, son of Art and overking of Connacht, belonged to the dynasty of Uí Briúin Bréifne. His grandfather Ruarc (d. 898) and great-uncle Flann (sl. 910), both sons of Tigernán, in turn ruled the Connacht–Ulster border kingdom of Bréifne; but it is not…

Fergus Mór (‘the great’) (d. 503), son of Erc and putatively king of Dál Riata, was an early representative of this dynasty in Co. Antrim and ancestor of the later Cenél nGabráin kings in Scotland. There is no record of his mother or his wife, but he is said to have had eleven…

Fethgna (d. 874), abbot of Armagh, belonged to the lineage of Uí Echdach from which sprang the ecclesiastical family of Clann Sínaig; his father is named as Nechtan, but his mother is not recorded. Fethgna was initially bishop of the Patrician community and, in that capacity, he…

Fiachnae (d. 789), son of Áed Rón and overking of Ulaid, a member of the Cenél Demmáin lineage of Dál Fiatach, was prominent in restoring his dynasty's fortunes and in countering the designs of the powerful Uí Néill kings. His father, Áed Rón (…

Fiachnae Lurgan (‘of Lurga’ [placename?]) (d. 626), son of Báetán and overking of Ulaid, belonged to the lineage of Uí Choíldub within the dynasty of Dál nAraide. Fiachnae, whose grandfather Eochaid is numbered among the overkings of Ulaid, had a brother, Fiachra Cáech (d. 608), and…

Fiannamail (d. 680), son of Máel-tuile and overking of Leinster, belonged to the dynasty of Uí Máil. Although his great-uncle Crimthann Cualann (qv) had died in 633 as overking of Leinster, Fiannamail's immediate predecessor in the Uí…

Fínán (d. 661), monk of Iona and bishop of Lindisfarne, was Irish-born, apparently the son of one Rímid, and was probably of Ulster origin, although his genealogy is not preserved. A priest of the Columban community, he travelled to Northumbria in 652 to take up episcopal office as…