| The Cycles of the Kings | |
| Do bunad imthechta
Éoganachta Editions
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The sons of Éogan Taídlech (aka Mug Nuadat, aka Éogan Fitheccach) lead a great fleet to Ireland and land at Inber Colpthai, where the men of Ireland gather to meet them. The sailors and the locals establish a treaty, and the sailors buy food from the locals with silver. The locals notice their great wealth and invite them to come into the land. They take the son of the king, Éogan Taídlech, into fosterage in exchange for some of their treasure. This boy soon becomes the darling of Ireland. In time, Éogan is given three forts, all called Fithecc, and that is the reason he comes to be known as Éogan Fitheccach. Each of these forts has its own resident prophet. One day, Éogan asks one of these prophets what is in store for them, and the prophet tells him that in three years a great famine will strike Ireland. He is to sell his wealth for food. The other two prophets confirm this prediction, and Éogan does as he is advised. When the famine strikes, the men of Ireland come to Éogan and demand his help since they fostered him. They threaten to attack his fort, but Éogan demands a three-day truce, after which the people are too weak to resist. He then brings the nobles into his fort and feeds the commoners outside for the next three years. Then, the people make his son (Ailill?) a king. From this comes the Éoganacht dynasty, from the blessing the people bestowed on him for saving them from the famine. The word Éoganacht comes from eo (good) plus icht (deed), on account of the good deed Éogan did for the people, or it comes from eu (good) plus genes (generatio). (These are folk etymologies.) Next, the text relates the origins and adventures of Dál Cuinn: At the time the second Míl Espáine (in Míl Espáne tánaise) comes to Ireland, the three sons of Búan mac Lóegairi of Osraige--Ailill, Óengus, and Fíacc--are in possession of Tara. This Míl makes landfall at Trácht Delossath. He and his 150 soldiers raid Ireland and acquire territory and sovereignty for themselves by the sword, and that is how it has always been with them. The children of this second Míl Espáine are Dál Cuinn and Dál Fíatach. They are the ones who brought soil (úr) from Cathair Themis and left it at Tara (Temair), and this is how the hill gets its name; i.e., Temair < Teme + úr (another folk etymology). At some point after their arrival, Dál Cuinn and the Cruithin of Dál nAraide contest with one another for the kingship of the north, until an agreement is reached whereby the kingship alternates between them. This state of affairs lasts until the advent of Conn Cétchathach. Conn wins one hundred battles against
Dál nAraide, and
that is how he gets his epithet cétchathach
(< cét “100” + cath
“battle”). He is succeeded by his son
Art Óenfher who wins eighty battles.
Art, in turn, is succeeded by his son Cormac.
However, Cormac is expelled from Tara by Fíacha mac
Araide, the
king of Dál nAraide, and goes south to Fíachu Muillethan. Cormac submits to Fíachu in exchange
for his
help, and Fíachu then leads a host north and defeats
Fíacha Araide at Fochaird
Muirthemne. Then Cormac regains his
kingship and grants the land of the Cíannachta to Fiachu
Muillethan, who gives it to Connla mac Taidg. Others say that
Connla is not given this land until after the Battle of Crinna. The text ends by saying that Mug Roith is
given his choice of the lands of Munster because of a prophecy he
uttered concerning the Battle of Crinna, and he chooses Tír
Maige Féni. |
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| Copyright 2004 Dan M. Wiley. Last updated 08/03/04 | |