Óengus mac Colmáin Bec (died 621) [1] was an Irish king. He was the King of Uisnech in Mide from 618 to 621. [2] He belonged to the southern Uí Néill. According to the genealogies, he was a son of Colmán Bec (died 587), son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill (died 565). The later Caílle Follamain traced their descent through Óengus. [3]
Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth.
The Uí Néill are Irish and Scottish dynasties who claim descent from Niall Noigiallach, a historical King of Tara who died c. 405.
Genealogy, also known as family history, is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members. The results are often displayed in charts or written as narratives.
Contents
Before acquiring the rulership of Uisnech, the annals record Oengus' involvement in the feud between the rival midland dynasties of Clann Cholmáin and Síl nÁedo Sláine. In 612 he won the Battle of Odba (near Navan, Co.Meath) in which Conall Laeg Breg mac Áedo Sláine was slain. [4] This battle may have been caused by Conall's claims to succeed Áed Uaridnach as high king who died in 612. [5]
Clann Cholmáin is the dynasty descended from Colmán Már, son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Part of the Southern Uí Néill — they were the kings of Mide (Meath) — they traced their descent to Niall Noígiallach and his son Conall Cremthainne.
Síl nÁedo Sláine[ˈsʲiːlʲ ˈnaiðo ˈslaːnʲe] are the descendants of Áed Sláine, son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Part of the Southern Uí Néill—they were the kings of Brega—they claimed descent from Niall Noígiallach and his son Conall Cremthainne.
Conall Laeg Breg mac Áedo Sláine was a King of Brega from the Síl nÁedo Sláine branch of the southern Ui Neill. He was the son of the high king Áed Sláine mac Diarmato. He ruled from 604-612. He is not called King of Brega in the annals but is second in a poem on the rulers of Síl nÁedo Sláine in the Book of Leinster.
He acquired the throne of Uisnech in 618 succeeding Fergus mac Colmáin. According to the Annals of Ulster, Oengus was killed in 621. [6]
Fergus mac Colmáin was a King of Uisnech in Mide, Ireland, of the Clann Cholmáin. He was the son of Colmán Már mac Diarmato and brother of Suibne mac Colmáin, also kings of Uisnech. He ruled Uisnech from 600 to 618.
According to entries in the Irish annals reporting Óengus's death in 621, which incorrectly call him a son of Colmán Már, he was regis Nepotum Neill or ríg h-Úa Neill, that is king of the Uí Néill. This appears to be synonymous with the alternative titles of High King, King of Ireland, or that King of Tara. It is suggested that the explanation for this is that when Suibne Menn killed Máel Coba mac Áedo in 615, he supported Óengus's claims rather than taking power himself, or perhaps that Óengus was a deputy king in the south. [7]
Suibne Menn was an Irish king who is counted as a High King of Ireland.
Máel Coba was a High King of Ireland.
The king list in the Baile Chuind , created in late 7th century during the reign of the southern Uí Néill king Fínsnechta Fledach, apparently lists an Óengus—Glorious Óengus—as king following Suibne Menn. Another king list of Marianus Scotus includes Óengus as a high king. [8]
Fínsnechta Fledach mac Dúnchada was High King of Ireland. Fínsnechta belonged to the southern Síl nÁedo Sláine sept of the Uí Néill and was King of Brega, in modern County Meath, Ireland. He was a grandson of Áed Sláine. His father Dúnchad had died in 659. His byname "Fledach" meant "the bountiful" or "the festive".
His sons Máel Umai mac Óengussa and Colgu mac Óengussa were slain, as part of the southern Uí Néill feud, at the Battle of Cúil Caeláin in 635, by Diarmait mac Áedo Sláine (died 665). [9] His grandson, Fáelchú mac Máele Umai was slain at the Battle of Ogamain in 662 fighting on the side of Conaing Cuirre mac Congaile of Cnogba and Blathmac mac Áedo Sláine (died 665) versus the adherents of Diarmait mac Áedo Sláine. [10]
Diarmait was a son of Áed Sláine. According to the Irish annals, he was High King of Ireland.
Conaing mac Congaile, called Conaing Cuirre, was a King of Brega from the Síl nÁedo Sláine branch of the southern Ui Neill. He was the son of Congal mac Áedo Sláine, a previous king of Brega. The territory of Brega that he ruled was called Cnogba (Knowth) or North Brega which he ruled from 634 to 662.
Blathmac was a son of Áed Sláine. According to the Irish annals, he was High King of Ireland.
