James Barry's The Baptism of King Cashel by St Patrick

Óengus mac Nad Froích (430-489) was an Eoganachta and the first Christian

King of Munster The kings of Munster ( ga, Rí Mumhan), ruled from the establishment of Munster during the Irish Iron Age, until the High Middle Ages. According to Gaelic traditional history, laid out in works such as the '' Book of Invasions'', the earliest ...

. He was the son of Nad Froich mac Cuirc by Faochan, a British lady (called daughter of the King of Britain). In Geoffrey Keating's ''History of Ireland'' Oengus is given a reign of 36 years which would place the start of his reign as early as 453.

Biography

He was baptized a Christian in the royal seat of Cashel by Saint Patrick himself and imposed a baptismal tax on the Christian converts of Munster for St. Patrick. It is mentioned that half of his numerous progeny were given into the church. St Patrick baptized him in blood by driving his crozier through the king's foot. The king became very devout and surrounded himself with clerics. In 489 the battle of Cenn Losnada in Mag Fea was fought in which he was slain. His wife Eithni Uathach ingen Cremthainn, called "the hateful", was also killed. She was a member of the Uí Cheinnselaig sept of the

Laigin The Laigin, modern spelling Laighin (), were a Gaelic population group of early Ireland. They gave their name to the Kingdom of Leinster, which in the medieval era was known in Irish as ''Cóiced Laigen'', meaning "Fifth/province of the Leinster ...

. The victors included Iollann mac Dunlaing, and Oilill, his brother of the

Uí Dúnlainge The Uí Dúnlainge, from the Old Irish "grandsons (or descendants) of Dúnlaing", were an Irish dynasty of Leinster kings who traced their descent from Dúnlaing mac Énda Niada. He was said to be a cousin of Énnae Cennsalach, eponymous ances ...

sept of Laigin, and Eochaidh Guinech of the

Uí Bairrche Uí Bairrche ( Modern Irish: ''Uí Bhairrche'', IPA: �iːˈwaːɾʲɾʲçə was an Irish kin-based group that originally held lands in the south of the ancient province of Leinster (or ''Cóiced Laigen'' "the Fifth of the Laigin"). Another south ...

sept of Laigin, and, according to the Annals of Tigernach,

Muirchertach Mac Ercae Muirchertach mac Muiredaig (died c. 534), called Mac Ercae, Muirchertach Macc Ercae and Muirchertach mac Ercae, was said to be High King of Ireland in the 6th century. The Irish annals contain little reliable information on his life, and the survi ...

, the Ui Neill

king of Ailech The Kings of Ailech were the over-kings of the medieval Irish province of Ailech in north-western Ireland. It encompassed the territories of the Cenél nEógain and Cenél Conaill. After the battle of Cloítech in 789 its kings were exclusively ...

. Óengus' head was given to Iollan. The reference to Muirchertach Mac Ercae as king of Ailech is unique to the Annals of Tigernach. A second entry in the Annals of Ulster with reference to the battle mentions Mac Ercae as victor, without reference to Ailech. According to Cormac McSparron the reference to Muirchertach Mac Ercae as king of Ailech in the Annals of Tigernach probably arises from an insertion made after 913. The reason for its insertion may have been an attempt to push the expansion of the Uí Neill and their taking of Aileach farther back into antiquity than was the case. Óengus appears in the 9th-century literary text ''

The Expulsion of the Déisi ''The Expulsion of the Déisi'' is a medieval Irish narrative of the Cycles of the Kings. It dates approximately to the 8th century, but survives only in manuscripts of a much later date. It describes the fictional history of the Déisi, a group ...

'', in which he grants land to the wandering

Déisi The ''Déisi'' were a socially powerful class of peoples from Ireland that settled in Wales and western England between the ancient and early medieval period. The various peoples listed under the heading ''déis'' shared the same status in Gaeli ...

horde. The story is set in the time of

Cormac mac Airt Cormac mac Airt, also known as Cormac ua Cuinn (grandson of Conn) or Cormac Ulfada (long beard), was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He is probably the most famous of the ancient High Kings ...

, who is said to have lived 200 years before Óengus. He also appears often in the varying vitae of St. Ciarán of Saigir as a major patron of the saint.

Issue

He was the ancestor of three major septs of the Eóganacht including the Cashel, Arithir Cliach, and Glendamnach lines. *

Feidlimid mac Óengusa Feidlimid mac Óengusa (455-500), or Feidlimid Dub, was an Eoganachta King of Munster in the early 6th century. He was the son of Óengus mac Nad Froích, the first Christian king of Munster. The chronology of the 6th-century kings of Munster in ...

, King of Munster (ancestor of the

Eóganacht Chaisil Eóganacht Chaisil were a branch of the Eóganachta, the ruling dynasty of Munster between the 5th and 10th centuries. They took their name from Cashel (County Tipperary) which was the capital of the early Catholic kingdom of Munster. They were ...

) *

Eochaid mac Óengusa Eochaid mac Óengusa (died 522) was a King of Munster from the ruling Eoganachta dynasty. He was the son of Óengus mac Nad Froích (died 489), the first Christian king of Munster. The chronology of the 6th century Munster kings is confusing in t ...

, King of Munster (ancestor of the

Eóganacht Glendamnach Eóganacht Glendamnach were a branch of the Eóganachta, the ruling dynasty of Munster during the 5th-10th centuries. They took their name from Glendamnach (Glanworth, County Cork). They were descended from Óengus mac Nad Froích (died 489), the ...

and Airthir Cliach) * Dub-Gilcach mac Óengusso, Prince of Munster *Uichtdhealdh, Queen of Connacht (married Ailill Molt)G.Keating *St. Kessog of Luss *St. Fáelán of Strathearn *Ousilla, according to legend the Queen of Kernow, AKA Isolde.

References

Notes

Bibliography

*''Annals of the Four Masters'' *''Annals of Ulster'' *G.Keating, ''History of Ireland'' *O'Keeffe, ''Book of Munster'' *''Early Christian Ireland'' by T. M. Charles-Edwards *

External links