Tipraiti mac Taidg (or Tipraite mac Taidg) (died 786) was a King of Connacht from the Uí Briúin branch of the Connachta. He was the grandson of Indrechtach mac Muiredaig Muillethan (died 723), a previous king and nephew of Áed Balb mac Indrechtaig (died 742). [1] He was of the Síl Muiredaig sept of the Uí Briúin. He ruled from 782 to 786.
Connacht, formerly spelled Connaught, is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of the country. Up to the 9th century it consisted of several independent major kingdoms.
The Uí Briúin were a royal dynasty of Connacht. Their eponymous apical ancestor was Brión, son of Eochaid Mugmedon and Mongfind, and an elder half brother of Niall of the Nine Hostages. They formed part of the Connachta, along with the Uí Fiachrach and Uí Ailello, putative descendants of Eochaid Mugmedon's sons Fiachra and Ailill. The Uí Ailello were later replaced as the third of the Three Connachta, by genealogical sleight of hand, by the Uí Maine.
The Connachta are a group of medieval Irish dynasties who claimed descent from the legendary High King Conn Cétchathach. The modern western province of Connacht takes its name from them, although the territories of the Connachta also included at various times parts of southern and western Ulster and northern Leinster. Their traditional capital was Cruachan.
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In 783 in the year of his accession occurred the promulgation of the law of Saint Patrick of Armagh in Cruachu by Tipraite and the abbot of Armagh, Dub-dá-Leithe. [2] This marked the mutual recognition of the claims of Armagh and of the Ui Briun in Connacht. [3] Tipraite's choice of Armagh over Iona shows a desire to pursue an independent ecclesiastical policy from that of Donnchad Midi mac Domnaill, the high king. [4]
Saint Patrick was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints being Brigit of Kildare and Columba. He is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Lutheran Churches, the Old Catholic Church, and in the Eastern Orthodox Church as equal-to-the-apostles and Enlightener of Ireland.
Donnchad mac Domnaill, called Donnchad Midi, was High King of Ireland. His father, Domnall Midi, had been the first Uí Néill High King from the south-central Clann Cholmáin based in modern County Westmeath and western County Meath, Ireland. The reigns of Domnall and his successor, Niall Frossach of the Cenél nEógain, had been relatively peaceful, but Donnchad's rule saw a return to a more expansionist policy directed against Leinster, traditional target of the Uí Néill, and also, for the first time, the great southern kingdom of Munster.
In 784 Tipraite defeated the Ui Fiachrach Aidhne at the Battle of Carn Conaill (near Gort). [5] Also, in 785 he defeated the northern Ui Fiachrach at the Battle of Muad (Moy River). [6] These victories established the dominance of the Ui Briun in Connacht.
