The Delbhna Nuadat (Modern Irish: ''Dealbhna Nuad''; IPA:ˈdʲalˠəwnˠəˈn̪ˠuəd̪ˠ) were lords of a large section of what is now Athlone in

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

, situated between the Suca and Shannon rivers. A branch of the larger

Delbhna The Delbna or Delbhna were a Gaelic Irish tribe in Ireland, claiming kinship with the Dál gCais, through descent from Dealbhna son of Cas. Originally one large population, they had a number of branches in Connacht, Meath, and Munster in Ireland. ...

population group, they were from the early historic era a subject people of the Ui Maine. There are a handful of references to the Delbhna Nuadat in the annals. In 751, they were defeated at the battle of Bealach Cro by Crimthann, king of Ui Maine. Finn mac Arbh, Lord of Delbhna, was killed ''"and the Dealbhna were slaughtered about him."'' This battle appears to have been the culmination of a war between the Ui Maine and the Delbhna Nuadat for possession of Athlone. In 759, Diumasach, Lord of Delbhna Nuadat, drowned in an incident called ''"The shipwreck of the Dealbhna Nuadhat on Loch Ribh."'' An entry for 1048 states that ''"A predatory excursion was made by the royal heirs or chieftains of Ui-Maine into Dealbhna, where the royal chieftains were all slain, namely, Ua Maelruanaidh, Ua Flannagain, the Cleireach Ua Taidhg, and Mac Buadhachain, royal heir of Dealbhna Nuadhat."'' The chiefs of Delbhna Nuadat eventually took the surname O'Flannagain or O’Flanagan.

References

*''Irish Kings and High Kings'', Francis John Byrne, (page 237), Dublin, 1973.

External links

*http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlkik/ihm/uimaine.htm Ethnic groups in Ireland Medieval history of Ireland {{Europe-ethno-group-stub