Conghalach Cnoghbha (older spelling: Congalach Cnogba or Congalach mac Máel Mithig) was

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 ...

, according to the lists in the

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' () or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' () are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Genesis flood narrative, Deluge, dated as 2,242 Anno Mundi, years after crea ...

, from around 944 to 956. Congalach is one of the twelve "kings of Ireland" listed in the hand of the original scribe of the Annals of Ulster. A member of the Síl nÁedo Sláine Kings of Brega, a branch of the southern Uí Néill, Congalach was a descendant in the tenth generation of Áed Sláine, which was presented as the basis for his kingship. Maternally, Congalach was a member of Clann Cholmáin, the dominant branch of the southern Uí Néill, a grandson of Flann Sinna and sister's son of his predecessor as High King Donnchad Donn. The Annals of Innisfallen, rather than having Congalach as sole High King, associate him with his frequent enemy Ruaidrí ua Canannáin of the Cenél Conaill. The

Irish annals A number of Irish annals, of which the earliest was the Chronicle of Ireland, were compiled up to and shortly after the end of the 17th century. Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days. Over ti ...

record Congalach at war with most of his neighbours, variously ally and enemy of the Norse-Gael king of

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Amlaíb Cuarán. Congalach eventually met his death fighting the Laigin and the Norse-Gaels of Dublin in 956, in an ambush at Dún Ailinne (

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

, s.a. 953; Annals of Ulster, s.a. 956.

Notes

References

* Byrne, Francis J., ''Irish Kings and High-Kings.'' B.T. Batsford, London, 1973. * McCarthy, Dan, "The Chronology of the Irish Annals" in ''Proceedings of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...

'', 1998, pp. 203–255
pdf
. * Woolf, Alex, "Pictish Matriliny Reconsidered" in ''The Innes Review'', volume XLIX, no. 2 (Autumn 1998), pp. 147–167. ISSN 0020-157X

External links

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

. The Corpus of Electronic Texts includes the ''Annals of Ulster'' and ''the Four Masters'', the ''Chronicon Scotorum'' and the ''Book of Leinster'' as well as Genealogies, and various Saints' Lives. Most are translated into English, or translations are in progress
Revised edition
of McCarthy's synchronisms at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

. 956 deaths Nobility from County Meath 10th-century High Kings of Ireland Year of birth unknown {{Ireland-royal-stub