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 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 exclusivel ...

and High King of Ireland. 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 grandson ...

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 is 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 we ...

. 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 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 ancest ...

, the king of

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

. 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 monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

at Ard Macha (

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

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

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

, under Áed Róin of the

Dál Fiatach Dál Fiatach was a Gaelic dynastic-grouping and the name of their territory in the north-east of Ireland during the Middle Ages. It was part of the over-kingdom of Ulaid, and they were its main ruling dynasty for most of Ulaid's history. Their ...

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

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label=Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

, 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. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retain ...

. Áed Allán defeated the Ulaid, killing Áed Róin and the king of the Uí Echach Cobo, so gaining control of Conailli Muirthemne. In 737, Áed Allán met with the

Eóganachta The Eóganachta or Eoghanachta () were an Irish dynasty centred on 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 Desmond, ...

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

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following th ...

, 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 A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

—the battle of groans. The Annals of Ulster and the

Annals of Tigernach The ''Annals of Tigernach'' (abbr. AT, ga, Annála Tiarnaigh) are chronicles probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin and Old and Middle Irish. Many of the pre-historic entries come from the 12th-cen ...

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

, 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 Domhnall Mac Murchada (born c. 700, died 20 November 763), called Domnall Midi (Donald of Meath), was High King of Ireland. He belonged to the Clann Cholmáin branch of the Uí Néill. Clann Cholmáin's pre-eminence among the southern Uí Néi ...

Clann Cholmáin Clann Cholmáin is the dynasty descended from Colmán Már mac Diarmato, son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Part of the Southern Uí Néill — they were the kings of Mide (Meath) — they traced their descent to Niall Noígiallach and his ...

. 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

. 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