Lorcán mac Cellaig (flourished 848) was a King of Leinster of the Uí Muiredaig sept of the

Uí Dúnlainge The Uí Dúnlainge, from the Old Irish "grandsons (or descendants) of Dúnlaing", were an Irish dynasty of Leinster kings who traced their descent from Dúnlaing mac Énda Niada, a fifth-century King of Leinster. He was said to be a cousin of ...

branch of the Laigin. This sept had their royal seat at Maistiu ( Mullaghmast) in the south of modern

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 ...

. He was the son of Cellach mac Brain (died 834), a previous king. The succession of kings in Leinster is difficult to follow in his time. The king lists in the ''

Book of Leinster The Book of Leinster ( , LL) is a medieval Irish manuscript compiled and now kept in Trinity College Dublin. It was formerly known as the ''Lebor na Nuachongbála'' ("Book of Nuachongbáil"), a monastic site known today as Oughaval. In 2023 ...

'' have Lorcán succeed Ruarc mac Brain (died 862) of the Uí Dúnchada sept and followed by Túathal mac Máele-Brigte (died 854). According to these lists Ruarc ruled for 9 years (c.838-847) and Túathal for 3 (c.851-854). Lorcán's reign then corresponds to c.847-851.

Francis John Byrne Francis John Byrne (1934 – 30 December 2017) was an Irish historian. Born in Shanghai where his father, a Dundalk man, captained a ship on the Yellow River, Byrne was evacuated with his mother to Australia on the outbreak of World War II. A ...

suggests that the root of this apparent confusion lay in the fact that the Uí Dúnlainge kings exercised little real authority due to the aggressions of their western neighbour

Cerball mac Dúnlainge Cerball mac Dúnlainge (patronymic sometimes spelled ''Dúngaile'', ) (died 888) was king of Ossory in south-east Ireland. The kingdom of Ossory (''Osraige'') occupied roughly the area of modern County Kilkenny and western County Laois and lay b ...

(died 888),

King of Osraige The kings of Osraige (alternately spelled ''Osraighe'' and Anglicised as ''Ossory'') reigned over the medieval Irish kingdom of Osraige from the first or second century AD until the late twelfth century. Osraige was a semi-provincial kingdom in s ...

. Cerball, while unable to install himself as king of Leinster, was able to prevent any rival king exercising real power there. In 848 Lorcán led the Laigin in alliance with

Ólchobar mac Cináeda Ólchobar mac Cináeda (died 851) was King of Munster from 847 until his death. He may be the "king of the Irish" who sent an embassy to Frankish Emperor Charles the Bald announcing a series of victories over Vikings in Ireland in 848. Origins ...

(died 851) in a victory over the Vikings in the Battle of Sciath Nechtain near modern

Castledermot Castledermot () is an inland town in the south-east of Republic of Ireland, Ireland in County Kildare, about from Dublin, and from the town of Carlow. The N9 road (Ireland), N9 road from Dublin to Waterford previously passed through the villa ...

, County Kildare, in which fell the jarl Tomrair.''Annals of Ulster'', AU 848.5 Lorcán's father Cellach had also been aligned with Munster during the reign of

Feidlimid mac Cremthanin Fedelmid mac Crimthainn was the King of Munster between 820 and 846. He was numbered as a member of the Céli Dé, an abbot of Cork Abbey and Clonfert Abbey, and possibly a bishop. After his death, he was later considered a saint in some mar ...

(died 847).

Notes

References

* ''Annals of Ulster'' a
CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts
a
University College Cork
* ''Book of Leinster'',''Rig Laigin'' a

a
University College Cork
* Byrne, Francis John (2001), Irish Kings and High-Kings, Dublin: Four Courts Press,

External links

a
University College Cork
Kings of Leinster Kings of Uí Dúnlainge 9th-century Irish monarchs People from County Kildare {{Ireland-royal-stub