Cairbre Cinnchait or Caitchenn ("cat-head" or "hard head") was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. There is considerable differences in the sources over his ancestry and his place in the traditional sequence of High Kings. According to the ''

Lebor Gabála Érenn ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of the Taking of Ireland"), known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'', is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language intended to be a history of Ireland and the Irish fro ...

'', he succeeded to the throne after the previous incumbent, Conchobar Abradruad, was killed by Crimthann Nia Náir, and ruled for five years. The ''Lebor Gabála'' is unsure of his origins: it says "the learned reckon" he was of either the Luaigne of Tara, the

Tuatha Dé Danann The Tuath(a) Dé Danann (, meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu (Irish goddess), Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deity, ...

, the Catraige of Connacht, the Corcortri (descendants of the former High King Cimbáeth), or a descendant of Ír, son of Míl Espáine. His father's name is said to be Duthach. His wife was Mani, daughter of the king of 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 ...

, and they had a son, Morann mac Máin. He was succeeded by Feradach Finnfechtnach. His reign is synchronised with that of the Roman emperor

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavi ...

(AD 81–96). According to the ''

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or mediev ...

'', Crimthann became High King after he killed Conchobar, and Cairbre succeeded Crimthann "after he had killed all the nobility". Cairbre is here the leader of an uprising of the ''aithech-tuatha'' or "subject peoples". Three pregnant women of the nobility escaped the massacre: Baine, daughter of the king of Alba, who was the mother of Feradach Finnfechtnach; Cruife, daughter of the king of Britain, who was the mother of Corb Olum, ancestor of 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, ...

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 ...

; and Aine, daughter of the king of Saxony, who was the mother of Tibraide Tirech, ancestor of the

Dál nAraidi Dál nAraidi (; "Araide's part") or Dál Araide, sometimes Latinised as Dalaradia or Anglicised as Dalaray,Boyd, Hugh AlexanderIrish Dalriada ''The Glynns: Journal of The Glens of Antrim Historical Society''. Volume 76 (1978). was a Cruthin ki ...

. During Cairbre's reign crops failed, cows did not give milk, and there were no fish in the rivers. He died after ruling for five years, and was succeeded by Feradach Finnfechtnach, who must have been less than five years old. The chronology of the ''Annals'' dates his reign to AD 9–14.

Geoffrey Keating Geoffrey Keating ( ga, Seathrún Céitinn; c. 1569 – c. 1644) was a 17th-century historian. He was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, and is buried in Tubrid Graveyard in the parish of Ballylooby-Duhill. He became an Irish Catholic priest and ...

agrees that Crimthann succeeded Conchobar, but was succeeded by Feradach Finnfechtnach, Fíatach Finn and Fíachu Finnolach. Here it is Fíachu who is overthrown by Cairbre's uprising of subject peoples, and the pregnant noblewomen who escape are: Fiacha's wife Eithne, daughter of the king of Alba, the mother of Tuathal Techtmar; Beartha, daughter of the king of Britain and mother of Tibraide Tirech; and Aine, daughter of the king of the Saxons, mother of Corb Olom. Keating says Cairbre was either the descendant of a Scandinavian prince who came to Ireland with Labraid Loingsech, or of the

Fir Bolg In medieval Irish myth, the Fir Bolg (also spelt Firbolg and Fir Bholg) are the fourth group of people to settle in Ireland. They are descended from the Muintir Nemid, an earlier group who abandoned Ireland and went to different parts of Europe. ...

. He ruled for five years, died of plague, and was succeeded by Elim mac Conrach, who would eventually be overthrown by Fiacha's son Tuathal. The chronology of Keating's ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' dates his reign to AD 55–60.

References

External links

* Cairpre Cindchait and the Athach Tuatha * Anmand na n-Athachthuath * Ralph O'Connor, ‘Searching for the moral in Bruiden Meic Da Réo’, in Ériu, Vol. 56 (2006): pp. 119–121. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cairbre Cinnchait Legendary High Kings of Ireland