Sobairce, son of Ebric and a great great grandson of Míl Espáine, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, joint High King of Ireland with his brother Cermna Finn. The pair came to power after Cermna killed the previous incumbent, Eochaid Étgudach, in battle at Tara. They were the first High Kings to come from the

Ulaid Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or Ulaidh (Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include Ulidia, which is the Latin form of Ulaid, and in ...

. They divided the country between them, the border running from

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

. Sobairce ruled the northern half from Dún Sobairce (

Dunseverick , translit_lang1 = Irish , translit_lang1_type = Derivation: , translit_lang1_info = Dún Sobhairce , translit_lang1_type1 = Meaning: , translit_lang1_info1 = Sobhairce's fort , image_skyline = DunseverickCas ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

), Cermna the southern half from Dún Cermna (which Keating identifies as Downmacpatrick in

Kinsale Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a population of 5,281 ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns ar ...

). They ruled for forty years. Sobairce died at the hands of Eochaid Menn, son of the king of the

Fomorians The Fomorians or Fomori ( sga, Fomóire, Modern ga, Fomhóraigh / Fomóraigh) are a supernatural race in Irish mythology, who are often portrayed as hostile and monstrous beings. Originally they were said to come from under the sea or the ear ...

. Cermna was killed in the same year by

Eochaid Faebar Glas Eochaid Faebar Glas, son of Conmáel, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. His epithet means "blue-green sharp edge". According to the '' Lebor Gabála Érenn'', Geoffrey Keating's ''Foras Fe ...

, son of the previous High King Conmáel, in the battle of Dún Cermna. The ''

Lebor Gabála Érenn ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of the Taking of Ireland"), known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'', is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language intended to be a history of Ireland and the Irish fro ...

'' synchronises their reign with those of Laosthenes in

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the As ...

and

Rehoboam Rehoboam (; , ; , ; la, Roboam, ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the last monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel and the first monarch of the Kingdom of Judah after the former's split. He was a son of and the successor to Solomon and a ...

in Judah. The chronology of Geoffrey Keating's ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' dates their reign to 1155–1115 BC, that of the ''

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or mediev ...

'' to 1533–1493 BC.''

'
M3667-3707
/ref>

References

Legendary High Kings of Ireland {{Ireland-royal-stub