Eochu (or Eochaid) Uairches, son of
Lugaid Íardonn
Lugaid Íardonn, son of Énna Derg, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. His epithet, Old Irish for "dark brown", came from the colour of his hair. He succeeded his father, who had died of pla ...
, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a
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 ...
. After Lugaid was overthrown and killed by
Sírlám
Sírlám, son of Finn mac Blatha, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He took power after killing his predecessor, Lugaid Íardonn, in Ráth Clochair. His name means "long hand" or "long arm", ...
, Eochu was driven into exile overseas, but he returned after twelve years, killed Sírlám with an arrow, and took the throne. His epithet is obscure: the ''
Lebor Gabála Érenn
''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of Ireland's Taking"; Modern Irish spelling: ''Leabhar Gabhála Éireann'', known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'') is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language inten ...
'' says he gained it because of his exile, while
Geoffrey Keating
Geoffrey Keating (; – ) was an Irish historian. He was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, and is buried in Tubrid Graveyard in the parish of Ballylooby-Duhill. He became a Catholic priest and a poet.
Biography
It was generally believed unt ...
explains it as meaning "bare canoes", because he had canoes for a fleet, in which he and his followers used to plunder neighbouring countries. He ruled for twelve years, before he was killed by
Eochu Fíadmuine and
Conaing Bececlach. The ''Lebor Gabála'' synchronises his reign with that of
Artaxerxes I of Persia
Artaxerxes I (, ; ) was the fifth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, from 465 to December 424 BC. He was the third son of Xerxes I.
In Greek sources he is also surnamed "Long-handed" ( ''Makrókheir''; ), allegedly because his ri ...
(465–424 BC). The chronology of Keating's ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' dates his reign to 633–621 BC, that of the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' to 856–844 BC.
['']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 ...
'
M4344
/ref>
References
Legendary High Kings of Ireland
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