Amhalgaidh mac Cathal (died 1075) was King of

Maigh Seóla Maigh Seóla (), also known as Hy Briuin Seola, was the territory that included land along the east shore of Lough Corrib in County Galway, Ireland. It was bounded to the east by the Uí Maine vassal kingdom of Soghain and extended roughly ...

and

Iar Connacht West Connacht (; Modern Irish: ''Iar Connacht'') was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Galway, particularly the area known more commonly today as Connemara. The kingdom represented the core homeland o ...

Biography

Amhalgaidh was the son of the previous king, Cathal mac Ruaidhri, who appears to have died at

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 ...

in 1043. He was lord in 1051 when the annals state that:

''Amhalgaidh, son of Cathal, lord of West Connaught, was blinded by Aedh Ua Conchobhair, lord of East Connaught, after he had been held in captivity for the space of one year and upwards; after which he (Ua Conchobhair) fixed his residence in West Connaught.''

The

Annals of Inisfallen The ''Annals of Inisfallen'' () are a chronicle of the medieval history of Ireland. Overview There are more than 2,500 entries spanning the years between 433 and 1450. The manuscript is thought to have been compiled in 1092, as the chronic ...

state that in ''1048 Inis Locha Cime was sacked and razed by Ua Conchobuir, king of Connachta.'' From this point onwards, the Ua Conchobair kings of Connacht made their residence in Maigh Seola. While they still possessed lands on the east shores of

Lough Corrib Lough Corrib ( ; ) is a lake in the west of Ireland. The River Corrib or Galway River connects the lake to the sea at Galway. It is the largest lake within the Republic of Ireland and the second largest on the island of Ireland (after Lough Nea ...

, the

Muintir Murchada Muintir Murchada was the name of an Irish territory which derived its name from the ruling dynasty, who were in turn a branch of the Uí Briúin. The name was derived from Murchadh mac Maenach, King of Uí Briúin Seóla, who died 891. Overview ...

began to move into what is now known as

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

. Amhalgaidh died in 1075.

References

* ''West or H-Iar Connaught''

Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh Roderick O'Flaherty (; 1629–1718 or 1716) was an Irish historian. Biography He was born in County Galway and inherited Moycullen Castle and estate. O'Flaherty was the last ''de jure'' Tigerna, Lord of Iar Connacht, and the last recognised C ...

, 1684 (published 1846, ed.

James Hardiman James Hardiman (February 1782 – 13 November 1855), also known as Séamus Ó hArgadáin, was a librarian at Queen's College, Galway and an important historian. Hardiman is best remembered for his '' History of the Town and County of Galway'' (1 ...

). * ''Origin of the Surname O'Flaherty'', Anthony Matthews, Dublin, 1968, p. 40. * ''Irish Kings and High-Kings'', Francis John Byrne (2001), Dublin: Four Courts Press, * ''Annals of Ulster'' at CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at University College Cork {{DEFAULTSORT:Amhalgaidh mac Cathal Nobility from County Galway Year of birth unknown 1075 deaths 11th-century Irish monarchs