Conchobar mac Taidg Mór (died 882) was a King of Connacht from the

Uí Briúin The Uí Briúin were a royal dynasty of Connacht. Their eponymous apical ancestor was Brión, son of Eochaid Mugmedon and Mongfind, and an elder half brother of Niall of the Nine Hostages. They formed part of the Connachta, along with the U ...

branch of the

Connachta The Connachta are a group of medieval Irish dynasties who claimed descent from the legendary High King Conn Cétchathach (Conn of the Hundred Battles). The modern western province of Connacht ( Irish ''Cúige Chonnacht'', province, literally ...

. He was the grandson of Muirgius mac Tommaltaig (died 815), a previous king. His father Tadg Mór (died 810) had been slain fighting in Muirgius' wars versus the minor tribes of

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and ...

. He was of the Síl Muiredaig sept of the

. The

Ó Conchobhair Ó, ó ( o- acute) is a letter in the Czech, Emilian-Romagnol, Faroese, Hungarian, Icelandic, Kashubian, Polish, Slovak, and Sorbian languages. This letter also appears in the Afrikaans, Catalan, Dutch, Irish, Nynorsk, Bokmål, Occitan, P ...

septs of

are named for him.

Biography

The exact dates of his reign are uncertain. According to the '' Book of Leinster'' king-list he is given a reign of 27 years which would synchronise to a reign of circa 855 to 882 The death of a co-ruler Mugron mac Máele Cothaid is mentioned in 872. Connacht was subject to the

High King of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ga, Ardrí na hÉireann ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and later sometimes assigned an ...

during this period. In 860 the men of Connacht participated in the expedition of the high king

Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid Máel Sechnaill mac Máel Ruanaida (Modern Irish: ''Maolsheachlann Mac Maolruanaidh''), also known as Máel Sechnaill I, anglicised as Malachy MacMulrooney (died 27 November 862) was High King of Ireland. The Annals of Ulster use the Old Irish ti ...

(died 862) of Clann Cholmáin against the northern Ui Neill. They halted at Mag Dumai, near Armagh, where their camp was attacked but they beat this attack off and the expedition ended without a clear victor. In 863 the new high king

Áed Findliath Áed mac Néill (died 879), called Áed Findliath ("fair-grey Áed"; Modern Irish: ''Aodh Fionnadhliath'') to distinguish him from his paternal grandfather Áed Oirdnide, was king of Ailech and High King of Ireland. He was also called Áed Olach ...

(died 879) of the Cenél nEógain made an expedition into Connacht to impose his authority. Conchobar fought as an ally of the high king Áed Findliath against Flann mac Conaing (died 868), King of Brega, and his Viking allies at the Battle of Cell Ua nDaigri in 868. Despite being outnumbered, they won the victory. Conchobar's vassal king, Mannachan, lord of Ui Briuin Na Sinna slew Flann; of which was said:

"Great the triumph for Mannachan, for the hero of fierce valour, to have the head of the son of Conaing in his hand, to exhibit it before the face of the son of Tadhg."

The '' Fragmentary Annals of Ireland'' record a Norse raid through Connacht on their way to

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

in 867 but they were ambushed and defeated by the Connachtmen. In 873 Connacht was attacked by Dúnchad mac Duib-dá-Bairenn (died 888), King of Munster and Cerball mac Dúnlainge (died 888), king of Osraige. The heir to Connacht, Abán son of Cinaed was killed with fire by Sochlachán son of Diarmait in 867 and in 872 his apparent co-ruler Mugron mac Máele Cothaid died. Conchobar himself died at an old age in 882, according to the annals.''Annals of Ulster'' AU 882.7. Conchobar had married Ailbe, daughter of the high king Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid. Conchobar's sons

Áed mac Conchobair Áed mac Conchobair (died 888) was a King of Connacht from the Uí Briúin branch of the Connachta. He was the son of Conchobar mac Taidg Mór (died 882), the previous king and was the first of his three sons to rule in succession. He was of the ...

(died 888),

Tadg mac Conchobair Tadg mac Conchobair (died 900) was a King of Connacht from the Uí Briúin branch of the Connachta. He was the son of Conchobar mac Taidg Mór (died 882), a previous king, the second of his three sons to rule in succession, succeeding his brother ...

(died 900) and Cathal mac Conchobair (died 925) were all Kings of Connacht. Cathal's descendants were known as the Ua Conchobair (modern O'Connor), the descendants of Conchobar. Another son was named Máel Cluiche (died 913).

Notes

References

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External links

CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts
a
University College Cork
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conchobar Mac Taidg Mor Kings of Connacht 882 deaths 9th-century Irish monarchs O'Conor dynasty Year of birth unknown