Hey Clan!

In our last installment of the Clans of Ireland Series, I introduced you to the Dal Cais. Now, we’ll learn about the Eoganacht of Cashel.

Breaking Down the Name

Eoganacht Caisel or Eoganacht Cashel (pronounced: Owen-acht Kash-el), comes from the Irish meaning “people of Eóghan” (Eóghan means “born of the yew tree”), and Cashel comes from the Irish, Caiseal, which derives from the Latin word castellum, meaning, castle or stone fortress.

There’s a lot to that name, isn’t there?

Fun Fact:

You may recognize two common surnames from Irish families who can claim descent from the Eoganacht Cashel: McCarthy and O’Sullivan.

Eoganacht Rule

In the previous post covering the Dal Cais clan, we discussed the Eoganacht Cashel’s significant position as rulers over the province of Munster or Mumhain. However, the Eoganacht Cashel remained only a stronger branch of the Eoganacht dynasty as a whole. So they never continually ruled over Munster. Understanding the true arrangement of their reign requires that we dig a little deeper into the complicated entanglements which ultimately led to the unraveling of their control.

The Eoganachta were divided into several groups spread strategically throughout the kingdom of Munster. The most powerful king from any one of these sister clans was eligible to lay claim to Cashel’s throne. Historians refer to this as a “loose hegemony”, or in basic terms, one group dominating over another.

Around the 5th century, the Eoganachta came to power and maintained this loose dominance until the late 10^th century. During this period, the stronger sister clans of the Eoganacht Cashel alternated with them to provide a provincial king for Munster.

These clans were:

• Eoganacht Aine or Ui Enna Aine,
• Eoganacht of Desmond (Eóganacht Raithlind, or Uí Echach Muman)
• Eoganacht Locha Lein, also known as Eoganacht Iarlauchra and Ui Chaibre Luachra
• Eoganacht Glennamnach (Kings of Glennamain), later the Ui Chaim and Eoganacht Fer Maige

Apart from royal succession bouncing back and forth between those primary clans, the Eoganacht’s loose rule allowed for a mix of sub-kingdoms (túatha) to rise within their dominion. Lesser kings ruled these and lived under varying degrees of subordination to different branches of the Eoganacht.

Aside from the Dal Cais, one of their most important sub-kingdoms belonged to the Ui Fidgente, a clan claiming the right of dynastic kingship through the Eoganacht Locha Lein. While we won’t discuss the Ui Fidgente clan until a later blog post, it’s worth noting that they played a major part in crumbling the power of the Eoganachta.

A Unified Munster Under the Eoganacht?

A united Munster was the key to ultimate control in Ireland during the 10^th century. Yet, under the Eoganachta it remained weak and divided. Only an extraordinarily strong king could command the loyalties of what amounted to more than twenty clans and their territories.

Hypothetically, a domino effect could occur under a united Munster. If those twenty-plus clans joined under Munster’s king, then naturally the kingdom of Osraige (Ossory) would succumb to him as well. The combination of Munster and Ossory could then take control of west and south Leinster, followed by south Connacht and the túatha east of the Shannon River where no natural boundary between Munster and the province of Meath existed.

Meath held the seat of Ireland’s high kingship. If Meath fell to a Munster king, then it was only a matter of time before Dublin and the northern Ui Neill clans of Ireland bent the knee.

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Where Did the Eoganacht Cashel Live?

The fortress of Cashel became the dominant residence of the Eoganacht Cashel. In fact, during the 10^th century, it was firmly established as the seat of Eoganachta rule. Traditionally, they built their first seat in the lands of the Eoganacht Aine at their fortress near Cnoc Áine, present-day Knockainy. After the mythical establishment of Cashel by Conall Corc, and later when one of the Eoganacht Cashel’s famous forebearers was baptized by St. Patrick, Cashel became the favored center of the realm. Christianity also played a dominant role in Cashel’s political landscape as several of its kings were also bishops or abbots.

If you travel to the present-day Rock of Cashel, you’ll see it sits upon the limestone crag where the original royal residence of the Eoganacht once stood. According to Patrick Gleeson, the recent years of quarrying in the area have made it difficult to discern Cashel’s original boundaries. Evidence suggests that the entire limestone crag was once enclosed. In fact, like many royal duns or fortresses of the day, Cashel possessed several concentrically round enclosures.

Extending beyond Cashel’s fortress, the Eoganacht Cashel dominated the rich lands of what is now the barony of Middlethird, County Tipperary. Apart from a few exceptions, they produced most of Munster’s kings.

Next, we’ll briefly discuss the 10th-century rulers, including the last to hold the throne.

The Fall of Chellachan and Cashel’s Interregnum

The stories of Cashel’s 10th-century kings are swiftly told…

902 AD

Cormac mac Cuiulennain became king after his predecessor, Cenn Gecain, was killed in a struggle between rival families among the Eoganacht Cashel. Cormac was a bishop king who was suspected to be appointed to the throne by the Ui Neill. But if this was ever the case he quickly turned on them.

Cormac’s opposition to the Ui Neill resulted in the loss of his royal hostages in 905 and 906. This spurred him to attack the Ui Neill and eventually campaign against them and Connacht. He later fell in battle against the combined forces of Leinster and the Ui Neill at Belach Mugna.

914 AD

Flaithbertach (Flaherty) assumed Cashel’s kingship. He retired to the church in 922, but was captured by the Norse of Luimnech in 923 and later died in 944.

922 AD

Flaithbertach was succeeded by Lorcán mac Condligán, whose reign was unknown. One source lists it as long as nine years, another, only a year and a half. So Cashel experienced an interregnum, or lapse in kingship, afterward.

Enter Chellachan of Cashel

The first mention of Chellachan comes from a source in the annals recording his raid on Clonmacnois in 936. This was a longstanding tradition marking the beginning of a Mumhain king’s rule. Yet the annals don’t reference Chellachan as King of Cashel until 939.

Chellachan mac Buadachán, according to one colorful account, was the illegitimate son of the wife of the coarb (apparent heir, usually an abbot or bishop) of Cashel. The rest of the tale seemingly portrays much of Chellachán’s heroic exploits in true propagandistic fashion. If there is truth to his origins, then one can assume the beginning of his rule, and indeed, even the decision to elect him as king was marked with great controversy.

Trouble marred Chellachan’s kingship. While he was certainly able in many respects, often he acted recklessly, and sometimes treacherously.

First, he waffled between opposition and alliance with the Norse kings in his realm. Later on, he joined forces with the Norse of Waterford and the Deisi Muman to raid Meath and Leinster’s borders.

The raid cost Chellachan dearly.

In 940, likely spurred by Donnchad (Donough) mac Flann Sinna, High King of Tara, Muirchertach mac Neill, King of Ailech and the high king’s heir, took the hostages of Leinster and Munster. This was the typical move of a king when he desired to claim the allegiance of a túath or province.

Chellachan lashed out and attacked Ossory, winning back their submission. But during the course of the following year, Muirchertach harried their territory until both Ossory and the Deisi submitted to him once again.

In a rage, Chellachan attacked the Deisi for their perceived betrayal. His disciplinary action took matters too far and the Deisi decided to join forces with Ossory, their former enemies, and fight Chellachan. They were victorious. King Chellachan suffered heavy losses and to make matters worse, Muirchertach chose to make a circuit of Ireland with 1,000 of his chosen warriors in order to claim all the provincial kings as hostages.

The clans of Munster gave Chellachan over to Muirchertach, who put him in chains and took him along with the rest of the provincial kings to submit to King Donough of Tara. The show of prowess gained Muirchertach notoriety and he was later dubbed Muirchertach of the Leather Cloaks.

Defiance of the Dal Cais

After Chellachan regained his freedom from the Ui Neill, he returned to discover the Dal Cais had turned against him, and their petty king, Cennedigh mac Lorcan, was vying for his throne. Chellachan took immediate action to re-establish himself by raiding the monasteries of Clonfert and Clonmacnois in 951, a decisive attack on the lands of the Ui Maine and Delvna, the latter being allied with the Dal Cais.

Further raids by the Danes of Luimnech slowed the Dal Cais’ military efforts in 952, when Cennedigh mac Lorcan was slain.

Unfortunately for King Chellachan, he did not enjoy a lasting reign afterward.

Chellachan died in 954. The Eoganacht dissolved quickly in dynastic feuds. The first successor of Cashel’s throne was, Mael Forthartaig, who was killed by the Ossory in 957. He was followed by Dub da Boiren mac Donaill of the Eoganacht Raithlind in Desmond. He was slain in a segmentary struggle in 959. Oddly enough, his successor, Fer Graid, died in the same manner in 961.

Last came Chellachan’s son, Donough. True to form, his rule was short-lived. His brother murdered him in 963. Another interregnum followed where the Eoganacht refused to acknowledge a claimant for Cashel’s throne.

A New Rule on the Horizon

While the Eoganacht Cashel’s power slowly disintegrated, two strong contenders for Munster’s rule arose. Mael Muadh (Molloy) mac Bran of the Eoganacht Raithlin in Desmond, and Mathgamhain (Mahon) mac Cennedigh of the Dal Cais. Though from the previous post you know he proved abler, Mahon’s triumph over Cashel came at a cost. This, all at the hands of Molloy mac Bran.

Their contention became the stuff of legend.

Coming Next:

The Eoganacht Raithlin of Desmond.

Sources

• Ireland Before the Normans – Donnchadh O’Corráin
• The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill
• Sun Dancing – Geoffrey Moorhouse
• Making Provincial Kingship in Early Ireland : Cashel and the Creation of Munster – Patrick Gleeson
• The Rise of the Dal Cais – John V. Kelleher 
• North Munster Studies: Essays in Commemoration of Monsignor Michael Moloney. Edited by: Etienne Rynne. The Thomond Archaeological Society, Limerick, 1967.John Ryan, S.J.
• The Annals of the Four Masters