Áed Allán (or Áed mac Fergaile) (died 743) was an 8th-century Irish

king of Ailech The Kings of Ailech were the over-kings of the Medieval Ireland, medieval Irish Provinces of Ireland, province of Ailech in north-western Ireland. It encompassed the territories of the Cenél nEógain and Cenél Conaill. After the battle of Cl ...

and

High King of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ) 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 was later sometimes assigned anachronously or to leg ...

. Áed Allán was the son of

Fergal mac Máele Dúin Fergal mac Máele Dúin (died 11 December 722) was High King of Ireland. Fergal belonged to the Cenél nEógain sept of the northern Uí Néill. He was the son of Máel Dúin mac Máele Fithrich (died 681), a King of Ailech, and great-grandso ...

and a member of the

Cenél nEógain Cenél is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Cenél Conaill, the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Conall Gulban, son of Niall Noígiallach defined by oral and recorded history * Cenél nEógain (in English, Cenel Eogan) is ...

, a branch of the

Northern Uí Néill The Northern Uí Néill was any of several dynasties in north-western medieval Ireland that claimed descent from a common ancestor, Niall of the Nine Hostages. Other dynasties in central and eastern Ireland who also claimed descent from Niall ar ...

. Fergal was killed, along with many others, at the battle of Almain, in 722. This battle had been fought against Murchad mac Brain of the Uí Dúnlainge, the king of

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

. The king of the Northern Uí Néill at this time was Flaithbertach mac Loingsig of the

Cenél Conaill Cenél is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Cenél Conaill, the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Conall Gulban, son of Niall Noígiallach defined by oral and recorded history *Cenél nEógain (in English, Cenel Eogan) is ...

. Áed Allán faced Flaithbertach in battle at Mag Itha in 734, and was defeated. Nonetheless, Flaithbertach abdicated or was deposed shortly after and joined the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

at Ard Macha (

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

). The chief requirement of a would-be High King was success in battle, and Áed Allán faced the

Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or (Irish language, Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic Provinces of Ireland, over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include , which ...

, under Áed Róin of the

Dál Fiatach Dál Fiatach was a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic dynastic-grouping and the name of their territory in the north-east of Ireland, which lasted throughout the Middle Ages until their demise in the 13th century at the hands of Normans in Ireland, Normans ...

at Faughart. The kings of the Ulaid controlled most of eastern

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

, while the Cenél nEógain heartland lay in

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Its county town is Omagh. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the cou ...

. Áed Allán defeated the Ulaid, killing Áed Róin and the king of the

Uí Echach Cobo Iveagh ( ; ) is the name of several historical territorial divisions in what is now County Down, Northern Ireland. Originally it was a Gaelic Irish territory, ruled by the ''Uí Echach Cobo'' and part of the overkingdom of Ulaid. From the 12th c ...

, so gaining control of Conailli Muirthemne. In 737, Áed Allán met with the

Eóganachta The Eóganachta (Modern , ) were an Irish dynasty centred on Rock of Cashel, Cashel which dominated southern Ireland (namely the Kingdom of Munster) from the 6/7th to the 10th centuries, and following that, in a restricted form, the Kingdom of De ...

king Cathal mac Finguine at

Terryglass Terryglass () is a village in County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the north-eastern shore of Lough Derg (Shannon), Lough Derg, near where the River Shannon enters the lough, on the R493 road. Terryglass is also a civil parish ...

, probably neutral ground not within the control of either king. Byrne says that it is unlikely that Cathal, king of

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

, acknowledged Áed Allán's authority — the Uí Néill had little enough influence in the south — but if Cathal had expected some benefit from the meeting, where he perhaps acknowledged the ecclesiastical supremacy of Armagh, he was to be disappointed. However, the clerics of Armagh may have been well satisfied as the Annals of Ulster, in the entry following that which reports the meeting of Áed Allán and Cathal, say that the law of Patrick was in force in Ireland. This presumably means that Áed Allán and Cathal agreed to the special treatment of the church, its lands and its tenants, as prescribed by the law of Patrick. In 738, Áed Allán fought against the armies of Leinster at the battle of Áth Senaig—the battle of groans. The Annals of Ulster and the

Annals of Tigernach The ''Annals of Tigernach'' (Abbreviation, abbr. AT, ) are chronicles probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin language, Latin and Old Irish, Old and Middle Irish. Many of the pre-historic entries come f ...

devote considerable space to the battle, in which Áed Allán was wounded and the Leinster king Áed mac Colggen of the Uí Cheinnselaig killed. Bran Bec of the Uí Dúnlainge, the son of that Murchad mac Brain Mut who had defeated Áed Allán's father in 722, was also killed. The ''Annals of Ulster'' say:

And men say that so many fell in this great battle that we find no comparable slaughter in a single onslaught and fierce conflict throughout all preceding ages.

This defeat seems to have crushed the Uí Chennselaig as, for almost three centuries after the battle of Áth Senaig, the Uí Dúnlainge dominated the kingship of Leinster. Áed Allán died in 743, in battle at Seredmag, defeated by Domnall Midi of Clann Cholmáin. The Annals quote a verse supposedly composed by Áed Allán on the day of battle:

If my dear God had spared me
On the shore of Loch Sailchedáin,
Were I to commit sin thereafter,
It would have been like giving valuables to a slave.

Áed Allán was succeeded as High King by Domnall Midi. According to some lists Niall Frossach followed him as King of Ailech, but others disagree. Flaithbertach's son Áed Muinderg is called '' rí in Tuaisceart''—King of the North, a title apparently meaning that he was acknowledged as chief ruler among the northern Uí Néill and perhaps as Domnall Midi's deputy—at his death in 764. His son Máel Dúin mac Áedo Alláin (died 788) later became king of Ailech.

References

* Byrne, Francis John, ''Irish Kings and High-Kings.'' Batsford, London, 1973. * Ó Cróinín, Dáibhí, ''Early Medieval Ireland: 400–1200.'' Longman, London, 1995.

External links

CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts
a
University College Cork
The Corpus of Electronic Texts includes the ''Annals of Ulster'', ''Tigernach'' and ''the Four Masters'' as well as Genealogies, and various Saints' Lives. Most are translated into English, or translations are in progress.

by Dan M. Wiley. {{DEFAULTSORT:Aed Allan 8th-century Irish people 743 deaths High Kings of Ireland People from County Tyrone 8th-century Irish monarchs