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There have been no Gaelic queens of all Ireland since the late 12th century, following the complex sequence of the Norman invasion of Ireland, Treaty of Windsor (1175), and death of the last true High King of Ireland, Rory O'Connor, in 1198. However, there were many provincial Gaelic queens in subsequent centuries until the final Tudor conquest in 1603. Between 1171 and 1541, the kings of England claimed the title lord of Ireland. The Crown of Ireland Act 1542 declared Henry VIII of England and his successors to be kings of Ireland.[ citation needed ]
Queen | Husband's Reign | Spouse | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
Brigid ingen Cobthaig | 564–566 | Ainmuire mac Sétnai | Daughter of Cobthaig of the Uí Cheinnselaig. She was the mother of Cobthaig. |
Eithne | 595–600 | Áed Sláine | She may have been mother to Áed's recorded children: at least six sons, including Diarmait and Blathmac, and a daughter named Rontud. |
Findelb ingen Chellaig | 665–669 | Sechnassach | Probably daughter of Cellach Cualann, king of Leinster (died 715) of the Uí Máil. She was probably the mother of Bé Fáil, Murgal and Mumain, all being daughters. |
Muirenn ingen Cellaig | 694–701 | Loingsech mac Óengusso | Daughter of Cellach Cualann, king of Leinster (died 715) of the Uí Máil. She was the mother of Flaithbertach, was later High King, and Fergal. |
? ingen Congal Cendmagair | 709–718 | Fergal mac Máele Dúin | Daughter of Congal Cennmagair, High King of Ireland (died 710) of the Cenél Conaill. According to Fáistine Fergaile meic Máele Dúin ("Fergal mac Máele Dúin's Prophecy") to have been an illicit union; she was mother of Áed Allán. |
? | Of the Ciannachta. According to Fáistine Fergaile meic Máele Dúin ("Fergal mac Máele Dúin's Prophecy"), she was mother of Niall Frossach. | ||
Ailbíne ingen Ailello | 739–758 | Domnall Midi | Daughter of Ailello of Ard Ciannacht, a minor kingdom of the coast north of the River Boyne. Only recorded wife of Domnall Midi. |
Dunlaith ingen Flaithbertaich | 759–765 | Niall Frossach | Daughter of Flaithbertach mac Loingsig, High King of Ireland (died 765) of the Cenél Conaill. She was mother of Áed Oirdnide, and died in 798. |
Bé Fáil ingen Cathail | 766–792 | Donnchad Midi | Daughter of Cathal mac Muiredaig, eponym of the Leth Cathail in Ulster. She was mother of Óengus and Máel Ruanaid, and her death in 801 is recorded in the Annals of Ulster: "Be Fáil daughter of Cathal, Donnchad's queen, died.". |
Euginis ingen Donnchada | 793–817 | Áed Oirdnide | Daughter of Donnchad Midi, High King of Ireland (died 797) of the Clann Cholmáin. She died in 802. |
Maedhbh ingen Indrechtach | Daughter of Indrechtach mac Muiredaig, King of Connacht (died 723) of the Uí Briúin. Also known simply as Medb. According to the 12th century Banshenchas (Lore of Women), she was mother of Niall Caille, and died in 798. | ||
Gormflaith ingen Donnchada | 823–846 | Niall Caille | Daughter of Donnchad Midi, High King of Ireland (died 797) of the Clann Cholmáin. She was mother of Áed Findliath, and died in 861 and the notice of her death in the Annals of Ulster calls her "a most charming queen of the Irish". |
Queen | Husband's Reign | Spouse | Remarks |
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Queen | Husband's Reign | Spouse | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
Gormlaith Rapach ingen Muiredach | 855–879 | Áed Findliath | Daughter of Muiredach mac Eochada, King of Ulster (died 839) of the Dal Fiatach. Known as "the Harsh". According to the 12th century Banshenchas (Lore of Women), she was mother of Domnall mac Áeda and Eithne ingen Áeda. |
Land ingen Dúnlainge | Daughter of Dúngal mac Fergaile, King of Osraige (died 842) and sister of Cerball mac Dúnlainge. She was widow of High King Máel Sechnaill. According to the 12th century Banshenchas (Lore of Women), she was mother of Domnall mac Áeda and Eithne ingen Áeda. She died in 842. | ||
Máel Muire ingen Cináeda | Daughter of Cináed mac Ailpín, King of the Picts (died 858) of the House of Alpin. She was mother of Niall Glúndub by her first marriage. According to Annals of Ulster, she died in 913. She remarried after her husband's death. | ||
Gormlaith ingen Flainn | 879–916 | Flann Sinna | Daughter of Flann mac Conaing, King of Brega (died 868) of the Síl nÁedo Sláine. She was mother of Donnchad Donn. [1] |
Eithne ingen Áeda | Daughter of Áed Findliath, High King of Ireland (died 879) of the Cenél nEógain. She was mother of Máel Ruanaid. She was also married to Flannácan, King of Brega, by whom she had a son named Máel Mithig, although whether this preceded her marriage to Flann is unclear. It is likely that Flann divorced Eithne in order to follow the tradition of marrying his predecessor's widow, Eithne's stepmother. Eithne died as a nun in 917. [2] | ||
Máel Muire ingen Cináeda | Daughter of Cináed mac Ailpín, King of the Picts (died 858) of the House of Alpin. She was mother of Domnall mac Flainn, King of Brega, and Lígach ingen Flainn (died 923). According to Annals of Ulster, she died in 913. | ||
Gormlaith ingen Flainn | 916–919 | Niall Glúndub | Daughter of Flann Sinna, High King of Ireland (died 879) of the Clann Cholmáin. Was the widow of Cerball mac Muirecáin, the King of Leinster and before that Cormac mac Cuilennáin, the King of Munster. Legend depicted her as a tragic figure; she was resorted to begging from door to door after Niall's death. She was mother of Muirchertach mac Néill. The Annals of Ulster record her death in 948. |
Cainnech ingen Canannáin | 919–944 | Donnchad Donn | Daughter of Canannán mac Flaithbertach, King of the Cenél Conaill of Tír Connaill. She died in 929. |
Órlaith íngen Cennétig | Daughter of Cennétig mac Lorcáin, King of the Dál gCais of Thomond. She was killed in 941, apparently on Donnchad's order, perhaps due to a sexual relationship between her and her stepson Óengus. | ||
Dublemna ingen Tigernán | Daughter of a Tigernán, a lord or king of Bréifne of the Ua Ruairc. She died in 943. | ||
Gormflaith ingen Murchada | 980–1002 | Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill | Daughter of Murchad mac Finn, king of Leinster, and also widow of Olaf Cuaran, the Viking king of Dublin and York. She remarried to Brian Boru. |
Mór | 1002–1014 | Brian Boru | Daughter of Gilla Brigte Ua Maíl Muaid of the Cenél Fiachach. Mother of his successor Murchad mac Brian, who was slain with his father at the Battle of Clontarf. |
Echrad | Mother of his successor Tadc mac Briain. | ||
Gormflaith ingen Murchada | Daughter of Murchad mac Finn, king of Leinster. Widow of Olaf Cuaran, the Viking king of Dublin and York, and former wife of Máel Sechnaill. Mother of his successor Donnchad mac Brian, later King of Munster. She was said to be his true love, having mistakeningly challenged his authority one too many times, they divorced. Though she is said to be the cause of his death, she was also said to be the one to mourn him the most. She died in 1030. | ||
Dub Choblaig | Daughter of a king of Connacht. Mother of Cénnetig mac Briain (Kennedy). | ||
Máel Muire ingen Amlaíb | 1014–1022 | Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill (second reign) | Daughter of Amlaíb Cuarán of the Norse-Irish Uí Ímair, she is the first known Queen of Ireland of Norse descent. Máel Muire died in 1021, a year before her husband, to whom she may have been wed for over two decades. The Annals of Clonmacnoise actually style her Queen of Ireland. [3] |
Cacht ingen Ragnaill | died 1064 (with opposition) | Donnchad mac Briain | Possibly sister of Echmarcach mac Ragnaill, king of Dublin, also of the Uí Ímair. The marriage was in 1032. [4] Cacht died in 1054, styled Queen of Ireland. [5] |
Derbforgaill ingen Donnchad | died 1072 (with opposition) | Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó | Daughter of Donnchad mac Briain, king of Munster of the Dál gCais. |
Dubchoblaig of the Uí Cheinnselaig | died 1086 (with opposition) | Toirdelbach Ua Briain | Of the Uí Cheinnselaig. Mother of Diarmait Ua Briain, perhaps named for her kinsman and Toirdelbach's protector Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó. She died in 1088 |
Derbforgaill of Osraige | Mother of Tadc and Muirchertach. | ||
Gormlaith of Ua Fógarta | Of the Ua Fógarta. | ||
Causantín mac Áeda was an early King of Scotland, known then by the Gaelic name Alba. The Kingdom of Alba, a name which first appears in Constantine's lifetime, was situated in what is now Northern Scotland.
Kenneth MacAlpin or Kenneth I was King of Dál Riada (841–850), and King of the Picts (848–858), of likely Gaelic origin. According to the traditional account, he inherited the throne of Dál Riada from his father Alpín mac Echdach, founder of the Alpínid dynasty. Kenneth I conquered the kingdom of the Picts in 843–850 and began a campaign to seize all of Scotland and assimilate the Picts, for which he was posthumously nicknamed An Ferbasach. He fought the Britons of the Kingdom of Strathclyde and the invading Vikings from Scandinavia. Forteviot became the capital of his kingdom and Kenneth relocated relics, including the Stone of Scone from an abandoned abbey on Iona, to his new domain.
Dál Riata or Dál Riada was a Gaelic kingdom that encompassed the western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel. At its height in the 6th and 7th centuries, it covered what is now Argyll in Scotland and part of County Antrim in Northern Ireland. After a period of expansion, Dál Riata eventually became associated with the Gaelic Kingdom of Alba.
There are four provinces of Ireland: Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster. The Irish word for this territorial division, cúige, meaning "fifth part", suggests that there were once five, and at times Meath has been considered to be the fifth province. In the medieval period, however, there were often more than five. The number of provinces and their delimitation fluctuated until 1610, when they were permanently set by the English administration of James I. The provinces of Ireland no longer serve administrative or political purposes but function as historical and cultural entities.
Donald III was King of Alba (Scotland) from 1093–1094 and 1094–1097. He was known as Domnall Bán or "Donald the Fair", anglicized as Donalbain.
Máel Coluim mac Cinaeda was King of Alba (Scotland) from 1005 until his death in 1034. He was one of the longest-reigning Scottish kings of that period.
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 legendary figures.
The Kingdom of Desmond was a historic kingdom in southwestern Ireland. It was founded in 1118 by Tadhg Mac Cárthaigh, King of Munster when the Treaty of Glanmire formally divided the Kingdom of Munster into Desmond and Thomond. It comprised all of what is now County Cork and most of County Kerry. Desmond was ruled by the Mac Cárthaigh (MacCarthy) dynasty. Other clans within the kingdom included the O'Sullivans and O'Donovans. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland in the late 12th century, the eastern half of Desmond was conquered by the Anglo-Normans and became the Earldom of Desmond, ruled by the Fitzmaurices and FitzGeralds—the famous Irish family known as the Geraldines. The king of Desmond, Diarmaid Mac Cárthaigh submitted to Henry II of England, but the western half of Desmond lived on as a semi-independent Gaelic kingdom. It was often at war with the Anglo-Normans. Fínghin Mac Carthaigh's victory over the Anglo-Normans at the Battle of Callann (1261) helped preserve Desmond's independence. The kings of Desmond founded sites such as Blarney Castle, Ballycarbery Castle, Muckross Abbey and Kilcrea Friary. Following the Nine Years' War of the 1590s, Desmond became part of the Kingdom of Ireland.
Heaney is a surname of Irish origin. It is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic Ó hEignigh, thought to be based on the Gaelic Eochaidh a personal name meaning "horseman". It was mistakenly thought to derive from Éan, Gaelic for Bird. Versions of it are written in the Annals from the 8th century and has a diverse array of modern derivations and origins.
The Kingdom of Alba was the Kingdom of Scotland between the deaths of Donald II in 900 and of Alexander III in 1286. The latter's death led indirectly to an invasion of Scotland by Edward I of England in 1296 and the First War of Scottish Independence.
The Pictish Chronicle is a name used to refer to a pseudo-historical account of the kings of the Picts beginning many thousand years before history was recorded in Pictavia and ending after Pictavia had been enveloped by Scotland.
The Dalcassians are a Gaelic Irish clan, generally accepted by contemporary scholarship as being a branch of the Déisi Muman, that became very powerful in Ireland during the 10th century. Their genealogies claimed descent from Tál Cas. Their known ancestors are the subject of The Expulsion of the Déisi tale and one branch of their blood-line went on to rule the petty kingdom of Dyfed in Wales during the 4th century; probably in alliance with the Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus.
The High Middle Ages of Scotland encompass Scotland in the era between the death of Domnall II in 900 AD and the death of King Alexander III in 1286, which was an indirect cause of the Wars of Scottish Independence.
The Uí Ímair, also known as the Ivardynasty or Ivarids, was a Norse-Gael dynasty which ruled much of the Irish Sea region, the Kingdom of Dublin, the western coast of Scotland, including the Hebrides and some part of Northern England, from the mid 9th century.
Gofraid ua Ímair or Guthfrith of Ivar was a Hiberno-Scandinavian and Viking leader who ruled Dublin and briefly Viking Northumbria in the early 10th century. He was a grandson of Ímar and a member of the Uí Ímair. Gofraid was most probably among those Vikings expelled from Dublin in 902, whereafter he helped his kinsman Ragnall conquer Northumbria. Another kinsman, Sitric Cáech, became ruler of Dublin around the same time. Ragnall died in 920, and so the following year Sitric left Dublin to rule in Northumbria, and Gofraid succeeded Sitric as ruler of Dublin. Sitric's early reign was marked by raids he conducted against the Gaelic (Native-Irish), including one at Armagh.
Tubridy, less commonly known as Tubrid and Tuberty, is a Gaelic Irish clan from Munster. The sept is most common along the West Coast of County Clare, but has also had some presence in County Waterford and County Tipperary. The Tubridys of Thomond are thought to have originated as scribes, as a sept of the Dál gCais, kindred to clans such as the O'Brien, O'Grady and MacNamara. The name means "descendant of Tiobraide", with the Gaelic language word tiobraid meaning "a well". Although to this day, Ireland remains the core location for the clan, it has also spread in diaspora to Great Britain, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada since the 19th century.
Cobhlaith Mór Ní Conchobhair, Gaelic Lady, died 1395, Ireland.