Domnall Brecc (Welsh: ''Dyfnwal Frych''; English: ''Donald the Freckled'') (died 642 in
Strathcarron) was king of
Dál Riata
Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaels, Gaelic Monarchy, kingdom that encompassed the Inner Hebrides, western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North ...
, in modern
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, from about 629 until 642. He was the son of
Eochaid Buide. He was counted as Donald II of Scotland by the scholar Fraxinius.
He first appears in 622, when the
Annals of Tigernach report his presence at the battle of Cend Delgthen (probably in the east midlands of Ireland) as an ally of
Conall Guthbinn of
Clann Cholmáin. This is the only battle known where Domnall Brecc fought on the winning side.
Domnall suffered four defeats after he broke Dál Riata's alliance with the
Cenél Conaill clan of the
Uí Néill. In
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, Domnall and his ally
Congal Cáech of the
Dál nAraidi were defeated by
Domnall mac Áedo
Domnall mac Áedo (died 642), also known as Domnall II, was an Irish king and son of Áed mac Ainmuirech and his consort Land, the daughter of Áed Guaire mac Amalgada of Airgíalla. Domnall was High King of Ireland from 628 until his death. He ...
of the
Cenél Conaill, the
High King of Ireland, at the
Battle of Mag Rath (
Moira, County Down) in 637. He also lost to the
Picts
The Picts were a group of peoples in what is now Scotland north of the Firth of Forth, in the Scotland in the early Middle Ages, Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and details of their culture can be gleaned from early medieval texts and Pic ...
in 635 and 638 and lastly to
Eugein I of Alt Clut at Strathcarron in 642, where he was killed.
A stanza interpolated into the ancient Welsh poem ''
Y Gododdin'' refers to these events:
I saw an array that came from Pentir,
And bore themselves splendidly around the conflagration.
I saw a second one, rapidly descending from their township,
Who had risen at the word of the grandson of Nwython.[Eugein was the grandson of Nwython ( Neithon).]
I saw great sturdy men who came with the dawn,
And the head of Dyfnwal Frych, ravens gnawed it.
Domnall's son
Domangart mac Domnaill was later to be king of Dál Riata and from him the later kings of the
Cenél nGabráin were descended. A second son, Cathasach, died c. 650, and a grandson of Domnall, also called Cathasach, died c. 688.
Notes
References
*
Anderson, Alan Orr, ''Early Sources of Scottish History A.D 500–1286'', volume 1. Reprinted with corrections. Paul Watkins, Stamford, 1990.
External links
CELT: Corpus of Electronic Textsa
University College Corkincludes the ''Annals of Ulster'', ''Tigernach'', ''the Four Masters'' and ''Innisfallen'', the ''Chronicon Scotorum'', the ''Lebor Bretnach'' (which includes the ''Duan Albanach''), Genealogies, and various Saints' Lives. Most are translated into English and other translations are in progress.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brecc, Domnall
642 deaths
Kings of Dál Riata
7th-century Irish monarchs
7th-century Scottish monarchs
Year of birth unknown