Brión (or Brían), son of
Eochaid Mugmedón, was a legendary and possibly historical Irish king, fl. 4th/5th century.
Biography
The older half-brother of Niall Noígíallach (
Niall of the Nine Hostages) and one of the three brothers whose descendants were known as the
Connachta, Brión is said to have been king of
Connacht
Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...
. According to the traditional Irish chronology, his father died in 362. Brión's descendants, 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 th ...
, gave rise to many
Kings of Connacht and its ruling families over the next thousand years. A descendant of his via the
Uí Briúin Ai was
Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair, who became
High King of Ireland in 1166.
"The Violent Death of Crimthann mac Fidaig and of the Three Sons of Eochaid Muigmedón" gives the story of the sons of Eochaid Mugmedón. According to this saga, Brión was the favorite son of his mother
Mongfind, sister of
Crimthann mac Fidaig (d. 367), the king of
Munster. She wanted Brión to succeed Eochaid but upon his death, war broke out with her stepson Niall Noígíallach (d. 405). When she realized the war was not going in her favor she arranged for Crimthann to become high king and sent Brión away to learn soldiering. On Brión's return after seven years, Mongfind poisoned her brother in order to get the throne for Brión.
However, Niall acquired the throne and made Brión his champion and levier of his rents and hostages. Brión took the throne of Connacht leading to war with his brother
Fiachrae. Brión defeated Fiachrae at the Battle of Damchluain (near
Tuam
Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...
,
County Galway
County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...
) who was taken captive to Tara. However, Fiachrae's son
Nath Í rallied forces and defeated Brión who was slain at a second Battle of Damchluain. Brión was buried at Ross Camm. Fiachrae was released and became the new king of Connacht.
Descendants
According to Tirechan, Patrick visited the "halls of the sons of Brión" at Duma Selchae in Mag nAí, but does not give their names. An equivalent passage in the ''Vita Tripartita'', possibly of 9th-century origin, names six sons. "A series of later sources dating from the eleventh century onward, meanwhile, enumerates Brión's progeny as no less than twenty-four. No doubt the increasing power of the Ui Briúin was responsible for this dramatic swelling of the ranks, as tribes and dynasties newly coming under Ui Briúin sway were furnished with ancestries that would link them genealogically to their overlords. Into this category fall the Ui Briúin Umaill, and likely also the Ui Briúin Ratha and Ui Briúin Sinna." (p. 485, "Ui Briúin", Anne Connon, in "Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia").
Children
*Duach Galach
[''Comparison of the two Dau; Galach and Tengae Umai'', Michael Rowley, 202]
/ref>
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brion mac Echach Mugmedoin
Cycles of the Kings
Kings of Connacht
Nobility from County Roscommon
5th-century Irish monarchs
4th-century Irish monarchs