The Skaggs-Files

Events

Parents

Families

Pedigree

1. Mugmedon, Eochaid
   1. of Britain, Cairenn Chasdubh
      1. Noigiallach, Niall
         1. of Britain, Roighneach
            1. mac Colla, Fiachrach Cassain of Munster
            2. mac Niall, Eoghan of Ailech
            3. mac Niall, Loegaire
            4. of Tethba, Maine
            5. mac Neil, Conall Cremthainne of Uisnech in Mide
            6. mac Niall, Cairpre of Ireland
            7. mac Neill, Endae
            8. Cremthainne, Conall
         2. Meann, Inne ingen Luigheach
            1. mac Neill, Fiachu

Ancestors

Source References

1. RCKarnes: http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db=arciek&id=I09564&style=TABLE Carrie's Family Tree
2. RCKarnes: http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=arciek&id=I09568 Carrie's Family Tree
   1. • Source text:

        ID: I09568
        Name: Niall NOIGÍALLACH
        Sex: M
        Name: Niall "of the Nine Hostages" MACEOCHAID
        Birth: in Ireland
        Death: BET 405 AND 455 in not Ireland 1
        Occupation: BET 368 AND 395 High King of Ireland (or 376-405) 1
        Note:
        Niall of the Nine Hostages was a High King of Ireland who was active early-to-mid 5th century, dying - according to the latest estimates - around 450/455. He is said to have made raids on the coastlines of Britannia and Gaul: these raids are usually credited with bringing Saint Patrick to Ireland as a boy according to some hagiographical sources.

        The fourth and youngest son of Eochaid Mugmedon, an Irish High King, and Cairenn, the enslaved daughter of a British king, he was the eponymous ancestor, through his sons Conall Gulban, Endae, Eogan, Coirpre, Lóegaire, Maine of Tethba, Conall Cremthainne and Fiachu Fiachach, of the Uí Néill dynasties.

        According to legend, Niall was the son of the High King Eochaid Mugmedon and his second wife, Cairenn, daughter of Sachell Balb, king of Britain. When Cairenn became pregnant, Eochaid's first wife, Mongfind, was consumed with jealousy and made Cairenn do heavy work in the hope of forcing her to miscarry. Out of fear of Mongfind, Cairenn exposed her baby, but he was rescued and fostered by Torna the poet. Niall returned to Tara as an adult and rescued his mother from the heavy labour Mongfind had imposed on her.

        Mongfind demanded that Eochaid name a successor, hoping it would be one of her sons. Eochaid gave the task to a druid, Sithchenn, who devised a contest between the brothers, shutting them in a burning forge, telling them to save what they could, and judging them based on the objects they emerged with. Niall, who emerged carrying an anvil, was deemed greater than Brion, with a sledgehammer, Fiachrae with bellows and a pail of beer, Ailill with a chest of weapons, and Fergus with a bundle of wood. Mongfind refused to accept the decision.

        Sithchenn made the five brothers weapons and they went out hunting. Each brother in turn went looking for water, and found a well guarded by a hideous hag who demanded a kiss in return for water. Fergus and Ailill refused and returned empty-handed. Fiachra gave her a peck, but not enough to satisfy her. Only Niall kissed her properly, and she was revealed as a beautiful maiden, the Sovereignty of Ireland. She granted Niall not only water but the kingship for many generations. Fiachra was granted a minor royal line. After that, Mongfind's sons deferred to Niall.
        (This "loathly lady" motif appears in myth and folklore throughout the world. Variations of this story are told of the earlier Irish High Kings Lugaid Laigde and Conn Cétchathach; and in Arthurian legend of Sir Gawain, as told by Geoffrey Chaucer in the Wife of Bath's Tale).
        Another tale tells of Mongfind's attempt to poison Niall, but she died after accidentally taking the poison herself.
        There are various versions of how Niall gained his epithet Noígiallach. The oldest is that he took a hostage from each of the nine tuatha or petty kingdoms of the Airgialla. The later, better known story is that he took a hostage from each of the five provinces of Ireland (Ulster, Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Meath), and one each from the Scots, Saxons, Britons, and French (or one each from Dalriada, Caledonia, Strathclyde and Northumbria).
        Irish sources describe Niall's expeditions to Britain and France, and his reign, as given in the Irish Annals, is roughly contemporaneous with the foundation of Dalriada in Scotland by Irish migrants and the raids by "Scots" on late Roman and post-Roman Britain.
        According to later tradition, during one of his many raids on Britain, Niall is believed to have captured the future Saint Patrick and brought him in bondage to Ireland. Many years later Saint Patrick suceeded in escaping to Britain. After many years of study, he returned to Ireland, and played an important early role in the conversion of the Irish to Christianity.

        The traditional date for Niall's death is ca. 405, but many modern historians prefer a later date, about 450 or 455. There are various traditions regarding the circumstances of his death. The earliest has him dying at sea in the English Channel, at the hands of the Leinster king Eochaid mac Enna, as he was attempting a raid on Armorica (modern Brittany) in Roman Gaul. Other sources say he died in battle against the Picts in Scotland, or even in the Alps. All traditions are unanimous that he died outside of Ireland. According to legend his followers carried his body back to Ireland, fighting seven battles along the way, and whenever they carried Niall's body before them they were unbeatable.
        (Wikipedia)

         

        Father: Eochaid MUGMEDON
        Mother: *Cairenn Chasdubh of BRITAIN b: ABT 291

        Marriage 1 Roighneach Of BRITAIN
        Children
        Conall GULBAN
        Endae MACNÉILL
        *Eogan MACNÉILL
        Coirpre MACNÉILL
        Lóegaire MACNÉILL
        Maine of TETHBA
        Conall CREMTHAINNE
        Fiachu FIACHACH

        Sources:
        Title: 1Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

      • Citation:

        arciek@juno.com

3. Florida Irish Heritage center
   1. • Source text:

        Millions of people around the world today are descendants of Niall of the Nine Hostages, the legendary 5th century A.D. High King of Ireland. Wherever the Irish settled, also live Niall’s posterity. Niall was a wise, stout and warlike man, fortunate in all his achievements and conquests, and was therefore called “Mór“ (meaning “Great”). He was also called “Niall Naoi-Ghiallach”, meaning “Niall of the Nine Hostages”, from the nine royal hostages held by him from lands and peoples that he had conquered and made tributary: Munster; Leinster; Connacht; Ulster; Britain; the Picts; the Dal Riada; the Saxons and the Morini (a people of France near Calais and Piccardy).

        Niall was the son of Eochaid Mugmedón, King of Tara, and Carthan Cais Dubh (also known as Carinna, who was supposedly the daughter of the Celtic King of Britain). According to legend:

        “Young Niall had to survive the malice of his wicked stepmother, Mongfhinn, who left him naked upon a hillside to die. He was found and raised by a wandering bard named Torna Eices. In a prophecy, “Sithchenn the Smith” foretold that Niall would eventually become High King. As a young man, Niall encountered an old hag, who demanded that he and his companions give her a kiss; only Niall had the courage to do so; then the hag turned into a beautiful woman named Flaithius (Royalty), the personification of sovereignty and then prophesied that Niall would become the greatest of Ireland’s High Kings.”

        Niall succeeded his uncle Crimthann to become the 126th High King of Ireland. The Irish Annals of the Four Masters states that “Niall began to reign in 379. He was not only the paramount king of Ireland, but one of the most powerful to ever hold that office, and was therefore one of the few Irish kings able to mobilize great forces for foreign expeditions.” Niall travelled to Scotland in order to extend his power and to obtain alliances with the Scots and Picts. He supposedly organized the Dal Riada, which became the name for this conglomeration of Irish, Scots and Picts. He marched to Laegria and sent a fleet to Armorica (France) to plunder. Keating, in his History of Ireland, states that “St. Patrick was brought as a captive to Ireland in the ninth year in the reign of Niall” while Niall was on a raiding expedition to Scotland and France. An Irish fleet went to the place where Patrick (then age 16 and known as Mewyn Succat) lived and, as was the custom of Irish raiders, brought a large number of hostages back to Ireland with them, including Patrick, his two sisters, Lupida and Daererca and approximately 200 other children.

        Niall married twice. His first queen was Inne, the daughter of Luighdheach; and his second queen was Roigneach. Niall had at least twelve sons:

        1. Eoghan – who gave his name to the kingdom of Tir Eoghain (Tyrone), ancestor of the O’Cahan, O’Cane, O’Daly, O’Crean, Grogan, O’Carolan, O’Gormley and O’Luinigh. Eoghan was baptized by St. Patrick at the Grianan Aileach, and his foot was pierced by the Bacchal Iosa during the ceremony. Eoghain’s son and heir Muireadach (Murray) married Earca, daughter of King Loarn of Dal Riada in Scotland, and by her had many sons and daughters; one of whom was Fergus Mór Mac Earca. From this Fergus Mór descended the kings of Scotland, and through his descendant Queen Matilda, the kings of England, including the royal houses of Plantagenet and Stuart.

        2. Laeghaire (Leary) – the 128th High King, in the 4th year of whose reign St. Patrick returned to Ireland to spread the Christian faith in A.D. 432;

        3. Conall Crimthann – ancestor of the O’Melaghlin kings of Meath;

        4. Conall Gulban – ancestor of the O’Donnell princes, lords, and earls of the territory of Tirconnell (Donegal), and of the O’Boyle, O’Dogherty and O’Gallagher;

        5. Fiacha – ancestor of the O’Molloy, O’Donechar and Donaher (Dooner), and for whom the territory from Birr to the Hill of Uisneach in Meath is called “Cineal Fiacha” and ancestor of the MacGeoghagan lords of that territory;

        6. Main – whose patrimony was all the land from Lochree to Loch Annin, near Mullingar, and from whom are descended the Fox lords of the Muintir Tagan territory, the MacGawley, O’Dugan, O’Mulchonry and O’Henergy;

        7. Cairbre – ancestor of the O’Flanagan of Tua Ratha and “Muintir Cathalan” (Cahill);

        8. Fergus – ancestor of the “Cineal Fergusa” (Ferguson) and O’Hagan;

        9. Enna;

        10. Aongus (Æneas);

        11. Ualdhearg; and

        12. Fergus Altleathan.

        During his long reign, High King Niall pillaged Wales, Scotland, England and France. Irish annalist Keating stated that “Niall having taken many captives returned to Ireland and proceeded to assemble additional forces and sent word to the chief of the Dal Riada, requesting him to follow with all his host to France.” Niall set out on this new adventure with Gabhran, chief of the Dal Riada, to plunder France. Also with this group was Eochaida (son of Enna Cinsalach, King of Leinster), who had been banished from Leinster, and who had ambitions to replace Niall as the next High King of Ireland. Niall marched with his victorious army of Irish, Scots, Picts, and Britons into France, in order to aid the Celtic natives expel the Roman Legions, and to conquer that portion of the Roman Empire. Encamped on the River Leor (now called the Lianne) near Boulogne-sur-mer in 405 A.D., as Niall sat by the riverside, he was assassinated by Eochaida, supposedly in revenge for some “wrong” done to him by Niall. The spot on the River Lianne where Niall was murdered is still called the “Ford of Niall.” Niall had been High King of Ireland for twenty-seven years. He played an important role in breaking Roman power in Britain and France. Keating states that “Wales ceased to be controlled by the central government from 380-400 due to Niall.”

        Niall died a pagan, but after the spread of Christianity in Ireland, his descendants (the Uí Néill) became foremost in promoting and endowing the early Christian Church in Ireland; and nearly 300 of them were canonized as saints. He was the founding ancestor of the great Uí Néill (O’Neill) royal dynasty that would control most of Ireland for the next 1200 years as kings, chieftains, earls, abbots and bishops. For nearly 700 years, the Uí Néill stronghold was the Grianan Aileach, a massive ring fort still standing atop Greenan Mountain, five miles west of modern day Londonderry (Derry):

        Curiously, part of Niall’s story occurred in England in 1919. That year, archeologists discovered a hoard of Roman silver, dating from Emperor Valens (365-378 A.D.) to the early reign of Emperor Honorius (395-423 A.D.). This find was comparable to 1,506 Roman silver coins from a 1854 excavation in County Londonderry, which dated from the reign of Emperors Constantius II to Honorius. The hoard created great debate among English historians as to how these coins came to be in England. These and other hoards had coins from earlier times up to Honorius, but none beyond. There were approximately 13 finds altogether. Who brought these coins to England and Northern Ireland? After Roman Emperor Theodosius I died, Franks, Saxons, Picts, Scots and Irish began to sack the European Continent. Honorius eventually succeeded his father Theodosius as Roman Emperor and then sent the Roman legions, under the command of the Vandal Stilcho north to deal with the raiders. Stilcho was successful in putting down raiders on the Continent, but he could not stop the raiders coming from Ireland. The Roman historian Claudian makes it clear that “the most formidable onslaught had come from Ireland under one powerful leader acting in co-operation with the Picts and Saxons.” Professor Sir William Ridgeway stated that the coins found in the excavations mentioned above were brought back by Niall’s companions after his death and buried. The interest created by the coin hoards helped uncover much that is now known about Niall.

        Even 1600 years after the assassination of King Niall, a surprisingly large percentage of the population of northern and western Ireland remain his posterity. A study, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics (February 2006 issue), conducted at Trinity College Dublin, revealed that a striking percentage of men in Ireland and Scotland share the same chromosome, suggesting that one in twelve Irishmen are descendants of Niall. In this study of the Y chromosome, which is passed down only through the male line, scientists found a hotspot in northwest Ireland where 21.5% of the male population carry Niall’s genetic fingerprint, says Brian McEvoy, member of the research team at Trinity College.

        This hotspot coincides with the historic stronghold of the Uí Néill.
        “The Y chromosome in question appears to trace back to just one person” says McEvoy. “There are certain surnames that seem to have come from the Uí Néill. We studied the association between those surnames and the genetic profile. It is his (Niall’s) family.”

        Modern surnames tracing their ancestry back to Niall include (but are not limited to) (O’)Boyle, Bradley, (O’)Cahan, Campbell, (O’)Cane, Cannon, (O’)Carolan, (O’)Connor, (O’)Crean, (O’)Daly, (O’)Devlin, (O’)Dogherty, (O’)Donaher (Dooner), (O’)Donechar, (O’)Donnell, (O’)Dugan, Ferguson, (O’)Flanagan, (O’)Flynn, (Mc)Kee, (O’)Donnelly, Egan, (O’)Gallagher, (Mc)Gawley, (O’)Gormley, (Mc)Geoghagan, Grogan, (O’)Hagan (O’)Henergy, Hynes, (O’)Kane, (O’)Lunney, (Mc)Caul, (Mc)Caully, (Mc)Govern, (Mc)Loughlin, (Mc)Manus, (O’)Melaghlin, (Mc)Menamin, (O’)Molloy, (O’)Mulchonry, (O’)Neill, (O’)Reilly, (O’)Rourke and Quinn.

        The study also confirmed the genealogical and oral traditions of Gaelic Ireland, and is a “powerful illustration of the potential link between prolificacy and power.” Though medieval Ireland was Christian, divorce was allowed, people married early and concubinage was practiced. Illegitimate sons were claimed by their fathers and their rights were protected by law....

4. The History Files - Nial of the Nine Hostages
   1. • Source text:

        Historical Ireland

        Post-Ptolemy (second century AD), the four or five Irish kingdoms with which we are familiar began to appear (Connacht, Laigin, Mide, Munster, and Ulaid), but each of these kingdoms were composed of multiple tribes and few of them were formally united or ruled by a single king. Instead they consisted of many tribes and clans which sometimes bonded together during times of need (outside invasion or revenge attacks) but who fought each other for much of the rest of the time. Then in the late fourth century, Niall of the Nine Hostages apparently dominated much of Ireland. His descendants, the Uí Neill, used a descent system to describe themselves, and this appears to have been adopted by most of the island. The last holdout may have been the Fir Domnann (the Dumnonii Men), possibly one of several British tribes who saw fragments of their number move to Ireland.

        Coverage here of the early Irish tribes is a snapshot, figuratively taken by Ptolemy. Readers should keep in mind the fact that the locations of Ptolemy's tribes cannot always be transferred to locations of the kingdoms that succeeded them. Some tribes were apparently wiped out, while others, such as the Domnonn and Concani/Gangani moved large distances. Those tribes quickly became the clans and nascent kingdoms of historic Ireland, and the process of their transformation has largely been lost to history.

        Ireland's historical period can be said to begin with High King Niall Noígillach. Whilst not being entirely proven to be fully historical himself, it is generally accepted that there was a real figure at the centre of the various sagas surrounding him. He perhaps lived up to half a century later than the position given to him in the mythological king list, although this is constantly being reviewed. In fact, all of the dates for the early historical high kings are largely later constructions and should be viewed with some scepticism.

        Following Niall's accession and domination of Ireland, each of his brothers established themselves as kings. Brion gained Connacht, and was soon replaced by Fiachrae before the family began conquering other kingdoms. Niall's son Eógan founded the kingdom of Ailech, while another, Conall Gulban, founded the kingdom of Tír Chonaill, and Coirpre seems to have led the Southern Uí Neill into Mide. All of Niall's direct descendants were counted as members of the Uí Neill, literally the grandsons of Niall.

        368 - 395
        Niall Noígillach of the Nine Hostages
        Son. Ruled from Tara. First non-legendary high king?

        c.390
        By now the territory of the Deceangli and Ordovices in Britain is under severe threat by waves of Irish raiders. The situation is so bad that much of the land of these tribes is incorporated into a new territory when Cunedda Wledig and his branch of Romanised Venicones are transferred from the Manau dependency of the Guotodin to secure North Wales from the raiders. They are extremely successful, and the kingdom of Gwynedd is formed by them.

        5th century?
        The Laigin interest in Tara, the seat of the high kings, probably becomes a thing of the past when the Southern Uí Neill clan (whose northern kin are beginning to advance on the borders of Ulaid) take over the area known as Brega in which Tara lies, probably in this century. In doing this they apparently push back the old Leinster descent-named tribe known as the Laigin to the area south of the River Liffey, and separate them from their kin the Uí Failghe.

        At this time the title of high king (if it exists at all outside of later romantic fiction) is purely a matter of hierarchy. The authority of the Irish kings is determined by how much they rule. Village chiefs are at the bottom, followed by clan chiefs, tribal chiefs, rulers of minor kingdoms, kings of the so-called 'five provinces' (or kingdoms), and finally the high king himself. He is merely the most powerful warrior of his time, the biggest chief, but he does not rule a united Ireland except as at the head of possible coalitions formed in times of need.

        404/405
        Attacks on the south coast of Britain by Niall are best associated with this year. It is Niall who is in effect the dynasty founder of the Uí Neill, who use a descent system to describe themselves which appears in time to be adopted by most of the island. This system replaces the more traditional tribal system to such an extent that the relationships between the earlier tribes and the later kingdoms are largely lost.

      • Citation:

        Where The Record Is Found (Citation)
        (Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from the Historia Brittonum (The History of the Britons), Nennius (J A Giles, Ed & Trans, 1841, published as part of Six Old English Chronicles (Henry G

5. Dictionary of Irish Biography
   1. • Source text:

        Niall Noígiallach (‘of the nine hostages’) (5th cent.?), putatively king of Tara, is eponymous ancestor of the Uí Néill dynasties. According to genealogical tradition, his father was Eochaid Mugmedón, a king of the Connachta (claimed by later sources to have reigned as king of Tara); his mother, Cairenn (Carina), is said to have been of British birth and is alternatively represented as a princess or as a slave. Niall is assigned four half-brothers; three of these, sons of his father's wife Mongfhind (allegedly a sister of Crimthann son of Fidach of the Érainn who, according to some traditions, was king of Tara), are named as Brión (qv), Fiachrae, and Ailill – from whom descended respectively the dynasties of Uí Briúin, Uí Fhiachrach, and Uí Ailello, all of provincial importance in the early historical period. The descendants of the fourth half-brother, Fergus, were apparently of lesser importance.

        Niall's wives included Indiu daughter of Lugaid, and Rígnach daughter of Meda, both traced to Dál Fiatach. Altogether, he is credited with fourteen sons, of whom eight are accorded significance as eponymous ancestors of the group of dynasties later known as Uí Néill. These include Conall Gulban (qv), Éogan (qv), and Énnae, as ancestors of the ‘Northern Uí Néill’, and Cairpre (qv), Conall Cremthainne (qv), Lóegaire (qv), Fiachu, and Maine, as ancestors of the ‘Southern Uí Néill’. The identification of several of these individuals as sons of Niall seems to be the product of genealogical engineering carried out sometime between the sixth and eighth centuries, the purpose being to link the dynasties in question to the power-structures of the period. There are indications that the two Conalls were duplicates of each other, and that the northern and southern dynastic groupings emerged gradually – probably from the mid seventh century onwards. Chronological difficulties were exacerbated by various propagandists representing dynasties that claimed descent from sons of Niall, as they sought to bring their eponymous ancestors into direct contact with St Patrick (qv) in order to bolster their political legitimacy.

        It was claimed that although he was the youngest of Eochaid's sons, Niall himself attained a royal dignity of a higher order than that of his father or brothers in being the first of his line to attain the kingship of Tara. He is included as such in the Old Irish regnal poem ‘Baile Chuinn’ and in the later ‘Baile in Scáil’. One story, doubtless invented to explain the suzerainty later enjoyed by his descendants, relates how he impressed his father by salvaging the anvil and smith's tools from a burning forge, while his brothers settled for items of lesser value. In the Middle Irish tale ‘Echtra mac nEchdach Mugmedóin’, Niall manfully embraces an ugly hag whom his brothers could scarcely bring themselves to kiss; she is thereupon transformed into a beautiful maiden, the personification of sovereignty. Till well into the twentieth century, historians believed that Niall was responsible for the initial Connachta expansion into the north-west, otherwise assigned to the first three of his ‘sons’ named above, and for the settlement of the midlands by the others. In an effort to explain his sobriquet, Niall was represented as the recipient of hostages from the nine Cruthin kingdoms of mid-Ulster, which later formed the mesne-kingdom of Airgialla. Conquest of the Connacht–Ulster marchlands was accredited to his brother Brión, whose descendants (it is said) included the Uí Briúin dynasties of Bréifne and of Mag Aí, which later produced the royal line of Ua Conchobair.

        Traditions linking Niall to raids on Roman Britain were embroidered in the tenth century by the poet Cináed Ua hArtacáin (qv). It was believed that he met his end on such an expedition, slain in Muir nIcht (the English Channel) by a Leinster king, Eochaid son of Énnae Cennselach (qv). In some sources his death is assigned to 404 (which helped to synchronise some of his alleged sons with St Patrick), but it might be more reasonable to suggest a date around the middle of the fifth century. Clearly there are serious difficulties in reconciling the chronologies assigned to Niall and his sons. It is surely significant that a supposed ‘Testament of Niall’ bequeaths his sovereignty and primacy to his sons Conall and Crimthann, probably to be identified with Conall Gulban and Conall Cremthainne, who may be seen as duplicates. According to the Middle Irish king-lists, Niall was succeeded in the kingship by his nephew, Nath Í son of Fiachrae.

        Contributed by
        Mac Shamhráin, Ailbhe

         

      • Citation:

        Sources
        AU; AFM; Bk Leinster, i, 93; vi, 1466, 1467, 1485; O'Brien, Corpus geneal. Hib., 131, 133, 147, 159, 162, 278, 425; M. C. Dobbs, ‘The Ban-Shenchus’, Rev. Celt., xlvii (1930), 303; xlviii (1931), 179, 215, 216; Keating, Forus feasa, i, 280–81, 296–9; DNB; MacNeill, Phases Ir. hist., 129, 130, 157; O'Rahilly, Ir. hist and myth., 209–34; Mac Niocaill, Ire. before vikings, 9, 12, 16; Byrne, Ir. kings, 70–86, 94; McCone, Pagan past, 109, 182, 236, 249; Ó hÓgáin, Myth, 322–4; Bhreathnach, Tara bibliog., 97 (§153); Jaski, Early Ir. kingship, 163–9; A. Mac Shamhráin & P. Byrne, ‘Prosopography I: kings named in Baile Chuinn Chétchathaig and the Airgíalla charter poem’, E. Bhreathnach (ed.), The kingship and landscape of Tara (2005), 159–224; A. Connon, ‘Prosopography II: a prosopography of the early queens of Tara’, Bhreathnach (ed.), Kingship and landscape, 225–327; P. Byrne, ‘Niall Noígiallach’, S. Duffy (ed.), Medieval Ireland: an encyclopedia (2005), 353–4; ODNB

6. John O'Donovan: Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by The Four Masters
   1. • Page: pages 124-133
      • Source text:

        The Age of Christ, 379. The first year of Niall of the Nine Hostages, son of Eochaidh Muighmheadhoin, in the sovereignty of Ireland.
        The Age of Christ, 405. After Niall of the Nine Hostages, son of Eoch- aidh Muighmheadhoin, had been twenty-seven years in the sovereignty of Ireland, he was slain by Eochaidh, son of Enna Ceinnseallach, at Muir

7. Baile Chuinn -a prophecy of the future Kings of Ireland
   1. • Source text:

        Baile Chuinn Cétchathaigh
        "The Frenzy of Conn Cétchathach"

        Date

        before 695 (the death of Fínnachta Fledach mac Dúnchado--the last king positively identified in the text). See Murphy 1952.
        Characters

        Conn Cétcathach, king of Ireland and eponymous ancestor of Dál Cuinn (prehistoric ancestors of the Connachta and Uí Néill)
        See the summary for the kings mentioned in the text.

        Notes
        This text is part of the Cycle Conn Cétchathach.
        It is not a story but a prophesy uttered by Conn listing the kings who will succeed him. There is no narrative frame and much of the language is difficult.
        See also Baile in Scáil where a similar prophecy is put into a narrative frame.

        Summary

        The text is headed by the sentence Incipit Baile Chuind Chétchathaigh ("Here begins the Frenzy of Conn Cétchathach") and is followed by a list of the kings who will drink the ale of sovereignty after him. Included in this list are little snippets of information about each king. They appear in the following order. (Dynastic affiliations and obits do not appear in the text itself but have been added here for the sake of convenience):
        Art mac Cuinn (Dál Cuinn) who will die at Mucruime
        Mac Con moccu Lugde Loígde (Corco Loígde), who will die at Brí
        Corbmac (aka Cormac mac Airt of Dál Cuinn), who will die at Scoilicc
        Coirpre (Liphechair mac Cormaic of Dál Cuinn)
        Fiechri (?)
        Dáire Drechlethan (?)
        Fécho / Fiechæ (=? Fiacha Sraiptine, son of Cairpre Liphechair)
        Muiredach Tírech (son of Fiacha Sraiptine)
        Crimthand (mac Fidaig of Clanna Dergthened)
        Niell /Níall (Noígíallach, eponymous ancestor of the Uí Néill)
        Loígaire (mac Néill, eponymous ancestor of Cenél Loígairi, a minor branch of the Southern Uí Néill, d. 463)
        Coirpre ( =? Coirpre mac Néill)
        Ailill (Molt mac Nath Í of the Uí Fíachrach of Connacht, d. 482)
        Lugaid (mac Loígairi of Cenél Loígairi, d. 507)
        Mac Ercéne (=? Muirchertach mac Ercae of Cenél nÉogain, a branch of the Northern Uí Néill, d. 536)
        Óengarb (=? Tuathal Máelgarb of Cenél Coirpri, a minor branch of the Uí Néill, d. 544)
        Aíd (mac Ainmuirech of Cenél Conaill, d. 598. However, it is possible that this Aíd and the following Aíd Olláin are in apposition and only one king by that name is intended)
        Aíd Olláin (=? Áed Allán mac Domnaill of Cenél nÉogain, d. 612.)
        Diermait / Dermad (mac Cerbaill of the Southern Uí Néill, d. 565. He is listed out of order here.)
        Féachno (=? Fiachna, the father of Suibne Menn of Cenél nÉogain. As Murphy notes, he is not normally listed among the kings of Tara.)
        Suibne (Menn mac Fiachnai of Cenél nÉogain, d. 628)
        Domnall (mac Áedo of Cenél Conall, a branch of the Northern Uí Néill, d. 642)
        Blathmac (mac Áedo Sláine, of Síl nÁedo Sláine of the Southern Uí Néill, d.665)
        Diarmait (mac Áedo Sláine, of Síl nÁedo Sláine of the Southern Uí Néill, d.665)
        ? Éilimm (Ollfínsnechta--it is not clear if this word is to be taken as a proper name. See Murphy p. 149, n. 10)
        Snechta Fína (= Fínnachta Fledach of Síl nÁedo Sláine, d. 695)
        Flann Asail (a conjectured king)
        Furbaide (a conjectured king)
        Cailech (a conjectured king)
        Glúnsalach (a conjectured king)

8. Wikiwand: Niall of the Nine Hostages
   1. • Source text:

        Niall Noígíallach (Irish pronunciation: [ˈniːəl noɪˈɣiːələx], Old Irish "having nine hostages"),[1] or in English, Niall of the Nine Hostages, was a prehistoric Irish king, the ancestor of the Uí Néill family that dominated Ireland from the 6th to the 10th century. Irish annalistic and chronicle sources place his reign in the late 4th and early 5th centuries, although modern scholars, through critical study of the annals, date him about half a century later. He is presumed to have been a real person, but most of the information about him that has come down to us is legendary.

9. Wikiwand: Annals of Inisfallen
   1. • Source text:

        The Annals of Inisfallen are a chronicle of the medieval history of Ireland. There are more than 2,500 entries spanning the years between 433 and 1450. The manuscript is thought to have been compiled in 1092, as the chronicle is written by a single scribe down to that point but updated by many different hands thereafter.[1] It was written by the monks of Innisfallen Abbey, on Innisfallen Island on Lough Leane, near Killarney in Munster, but made use of sources produced at different centres around Munster as well as a Clonmacnoise group text of the hypothetical Chronicle of Ireland.

10. Library Ireland -O'Neill Family Genealogy
    1. • Source text:

         Once Eochaid the son of Enna Cennselach went from the house of Niall of the Nine Hostages, son of Eochaid Mugmedon, southward to his own land, that is, Leinster. Then it befell that in order to ask for food he went to the house of Niall’s poet. That was Laidcenn, son of Bairchid, the chief-poet of Niall. The young man was refused hospitality by the poet.

         The same Eochaid came again from the south, destroyed the stronghold of the poet, and killed his only son, Leat son of Laid­cenn. Thereupon for a whole year the poet kept satirizing and lampooning the men of Leinster and cursing them, so that neither grass nor corn grew with them, nor a leaf, to the end of a year.

         Then Niall went to Leinster on a raid, and he said that he would not go from them so long as he was alive, or until Eochaid were given him as a pledge and hostage. And this had to be done. So Eochaid was taken to Ath Fadat in Gothart Fea on the bank of the Slaney, and was left there before Niall, with a chain around his neck, and the end of the chain through the hole of a stone pillar. Nine champions advanced towards him to slay him. “Woe”’ said Eochaid, “this is bad indeed!” With that he gave himself a twist, so that the chain broke in two. He seized the iron bolt that was through the chain, and advanced to meet them. He plied the bolt on them so that the nine fell. The other men turned before him down the hill. Those of Leinster pursued them and slaughtered them, so that they fell.

         Thereupon Niall came southward once more and reached Inis Fail. “A guarantee shall be given from the men of Leinster,” said Laidcenn, “and let Eochaid come that he may be seen by us at this river for so long as a cow is being milked.”

         “Let it be done!” said Bocbaid.

         Then his arms were taken away from him. The poet began to revile the men of Leinster and Eochaid, so that they melted away before him. As he was reviling them, Eochaid let fly at him a champion’s stone which he had in his belt, so that it hit the crown of his forehead and lodged in his skull. Thus it was that Laidcenn was killed. Whence the quatrain was sung:

         A champion’s handstone-’tis well known--
         was hurled...
         Eochaid son of Enna threw it
         at Laidcenn the son of Bairchid.

         After having raided Leinster, Niall went home, and Eochaid was exiled from Ireland so long as Niall reigned. He wandered until he came to the house of Erc the son of Eochaid Munremur, king of Scotland.

         Niall, however, went to obtain kingship as far as Gaul and Italy, and be was called “of the Nine Hostages” because he had five hostages from Ireland, and one hostage each from Scotland and from the Saxons, the Britons and the Franks, whence it is said:

         Eochaid’s son of high dignity, noble Niall fiercest shout,
         Seized the sway of kingship of Erin and of Alba.
         He had a hostage from each province throughout the land of Erin,
         He brought to his will without severance four hostages out of Mba.
         Hence he was called among the hosts of battlesome warriors,
         In the row of bountiful kings, combative Niall of the Nine Hostages.

         Now, when they came to the Alps, there was a great river before them, to wit, the Loire of the Alps. They were unable to cross it, and sat down on its banks. As they were there, they saw a single warrior coming towards them. A crimson five-folded cloak was about him. In his hands he held two five-pronged spears. A bent- rimmed shield with a boss of gold was on him. On his belt hung an ivory-hilted sword. His hair was in plaits over his back. “Wel­come to the hero whom we do not know!” said Niall.

         “It is for this we have come,” said he.

         “What is it for which thou hast come?” said Niall.

         “I have come from the Romans to have speech with thee,” said he, “and this day fortnight their hostages will come to thee. Until they come, here am I as a preliminary hostage for thee.”

         Others say that their hostages were trysted to the house of Erc son of Eochaid Munremur, the king of Scotland, and that it is there Niall was killed among the bards of the Picts as he was exhibiting his shape to them. Or that it may have been the maidens of the Franks who desired him to exhibit his shape.

         Then Erc went towards the assembly. “I shall go with thee,” said Eochaid, “to see my brother in his royal seat before the men of the world.” When they had arrived, Erc said: “That is he yonder!” There was a glen between them. Without the knowledge of Erc, Eochaid shot an arrow from the bow, so that the king fell, dead from that single shot. Thereupon the Franks attacked the Gaels, and the men of Scotland stood by the latter for the sake of their kinship. So they came to Ireland, carrying the body of their king with them. And seven battles were fought in the presence of the dead king.

         It was Torna the poet, of Carrac Luacbra, who had fostered Niall.’ Now, when he heard the report that his foster-son had been slain, his foster-brother Tuirn son of Torna said:

         When we used to go to the gathering with the son of Eochaid Mugmedon, As yellow as the primrose was the hair upon the head of Cairenn’s son.

         Cairenn the curly-black, daughter of Sachell Balb, king of the Saxons, was the mother of Niall.
         Said his foster-mother:

         His white teeth, his red lips, ...under anger,
         His shape like a fiery blaze surmounting warlike Erin.
         The hue of his cheeks at all times, even and symmetrical as they were,
         Like the foxglove, like a calf’s blood--a feast without a flaw! like the top-branches of a forest in May.
         Like the moon, like the sun, like a firebrand was the splendor of Niall,
         Like a dragon-ship from the wave without a fault was Niall the son of Eochaid Mugmedon.
         This is a yearnful music, the wail of every mouth in Kerry:
         It brings grief upon us in our house for the death of Niall grandson of Muircertach.
         That great delight, ‘twas great ease to be in the company of my dear foster-son,
         When with the son of Eochaid--'twas no small thing! we used to go to the gathering.

         They say, however, that grief for Niall carried off Torna.

         By a man of Leinster, then, Niall was killed. Whence is said:

         Niall, Eochaid’s son, great in fight--
         Erin and Scotland are in affliction:
         He through whom a swift Saxon arrow
         was put by Eochaid, son of glorious Enna.

         That is the Death of Niall son of Eochaid, and of Laidcenn son of Bairchid, by the hand of Eochaid son of Enna Cennselach.

11. Partial Family Tree of Niall Mor
12. Wikipedia Niall Mor "of the Nine Hostages"
    1. • Source text:

         Niall Noígíallach (Old Irish pronunciation: [ˈniːəl noɪˈɣiːələx], Old Irish "having nine hostages"),[1] or in English, Niall of the Nine Hostages, was an Irish king, the ancestor of the Uí Néill dynasties that dominated the northern half of Ireland from the 6th to the 10th century. Irish annalistic and chronicle sources place his reign in the late 4th and early 5th centuries, although modern scholars, through critical study of the annals, date him about half a century later. He is presumed by some to have been a real person, or at the very least semi-historical but most of the information about him that has come down to us is regarded as legendary.

         Historicity and dates
         Niall is presumed, on the basis of the importance of his sons and grandsons, to have been a historical person,[5]:70 but the early Irish annals say little about him. The Annals of Inisfallen date his death before 382, and the Chronicon Scotorum to 411.[6] The later Annals of the Four Masters dates his reign to 379–405,[7] and the chronology of Geoffrey Keating's Foras Feasa ar Éirinn to 368–395.[8]

         However, the early annals record the activities of his sons between 429 and 516, an implausibly long time-span for a single generation, leading scholars like Kathleen Hughes[6] and Francis J. Byrne[5]:pp. 78–79 to conclude that the events of the later half of the 5th century have been extended backwards to accommodate as early a date as possible for the arrival of Saint Patrick, with the effect of pushing Niall back up to half a century. Hughes says "Niall himself must have died not before the middle of the fifth century".[6] Byrne, following James Carney, is a little more precise, dating his death to c. 452.[5]:81

         Niall is placed in the traditional list of High Kings of Ireland. However, the traditional roll of kings and its chronology is now recognised as artificial. The High Kingship did not become a reality until the 9th century, and Niall's status has been inflated in line with the political importance of the dynasty he founded.[5]:70

         T. F. O'Rahilly argues that Niall and his sons were responsible for the breakup of the ancient kingdom of Ulster and the creation of the kingdoms of Tír Chonaill and Tír Eoghain, and the satellite kingdom of the Airgíalla.[9]:222–232 O'Rahilly and Byrne argue that the literary sources, though late and garbled, preserve genuine traditions that Niall led raids on Britain, and perhaps died on one.[5]:76–78[9]:220

         Professor Dáithí Ó hÓgáin seems to indicate that Niall was likely a descendant of the Gaulish seafaring tribe of the Veneti, who originated in south-east Armorica (modern Brittany, France). Some of these sailors probably migrated to Cornwall, and later to south-eastern Ireland where they became known as the Venii and grew in power. They worshipped a ram god and sometimes called themselves Ghaisonli ('spear-men'), possibly to compete in propaganda with the Lagini ('lance-men').

         The southern Venii came to be known as the Eoghanacht, while another group of them migrated north and formed a new kingdom west of the River Shannon where they became known as the Connachta after a revered leader named Conn. These Connachta later extended their power eastward into the plain of Meath, and under the leader Teutovalos Teachtmhar overthrew the kingship of the Lagini at Tara around AD 300. As the Celtic language in Ireland transformed into Irish between AD 400–500, Venii became Féni, and were also known to have called themselves Gaídhil (from Common Celtic *wēdelos, Brythonic gwddel, Goidelic *wēdus to Old Irish Goídel - meaning savage woodsman, wild, raider). The Primitive Irish Vendo is a cognate with Finn, and the Fianna were landless, aristocratic young men and women who had not yet come into their inheritance of land. Niall, the son of Ivocatus Magumedonus ('Eochaidh the Slave-Ruler'), of course came to lead the Connachta in the fifth century AD.[10]

         Early life
         A legendary account of Niall's birth and early life is given in the possibly-11th-century tale Echtra mac nEchach Muimedóin ("The adventure of the sons of Eochaid Mugmedón"). In it, Eochaid Mugmedón, the High King of Ireland, has five sons, four, Brión, Ailill, Fiachrae and Fergus, by his first wife Mongfind, sister of the king of Munster, Crimthann mac Fidaig, and a fifth, Niall, by his second wife Cairenn Chasdub, daughter of Sachell Balb, king of the Saxons. While Cairenn is pregnant with Niall, the jealous Mongfind forces her to do heavy work, hoping to make her miscarry. She gives birth as she is drawing water, but out of fear of Mongfind, she leaves the child on the ground, exposed to the birds. The baby is rescued and brought up by a poet called Torna. When Niall grows up he returns to Tara and rescues his mother from her labour.[11][12]

         Although it is anachronistic for Niall's mother to have been a Saxon, O'Rahilly argues that the name Cairenn is derived from the Latin name Carina, and that it is plausible that she might have been a Romano-Briton.[9]:216–217 Keating describes her not as a Saxon but as the "daughter of the king of Britain".[8] Mongfind appears to have been a supernatural personage: the saga "The Death of Crimthann mac Fidaig" says the festival of Samhain was commonly called the "Festival of Mongfind", and prayers were offered to her on Samhain eve.[13]

         Accession
         Seeing Niall's popularity among the nobles, Mongfind demands that Eochaid name a successor, hoping it will be one of her sons. Eochaid gives the task to a druid, Sithchenn, who devises a contest between the brothers, shutting them in a burning forge, telling them to save what they can, and judging them based on which objects they choose to save. Niall, who emerges carrying an anvil, is deemed greater than Brión, with a sledgehammer, Fiachrae with bellows and a pail of beer, Ailill with a chest of weapons, and Fergus with a bundle of wood. Mongfind refuses to accept the decision.

         Sithchenn takes the brothers to the smith, who makes them weapons, and sends them out hunting. Each brother in turn goes looking for water, and finds a well guarded by a hideous hag who demands a kiss in return for water. Fergus and Ailill refuse and return empty-handed. Fiachrae gives her a quick peck, but not enough to satisfy her. Only Niall kisses her properly, and she is revealed as a beautiful maiden, the Sovereignty of Ireland. She grants Niall not only water but the kingship for many generations – twenty-six of his descendants will be High Kings of Ireland. Fiachrae is granted a minor royal line – two of his descendants, Nath Í and Ailill Molt, will be High Kings.[11]

         This "loathly lady" motif appears in myth and folklore throughout the world. Variations of this story are told of the earlier Irish high king Lugaid Loígde, in Arthurian legend – one of the most famous versions appears in both Geoffrey Chaucer's The Wife of Bath's Tale and the related Gawain romance, The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell – and in John Gower's Middle English poem Confessio Amantis.[14]

         In another story, the succession is not settled when Eochaid dies, and Mongfind's brother Crimthann takes the high kingship. But while he is away on a tour of his lands in Scotland, Mongfind's sons seize Ireland. Crimthann returns to Ireland intending to give battle. Mongfind, purporting to make peace between her brother and her sons, holds a feast, at which she serves Crimthann a poisoned drink. Crimthann refuses to drink it unless she does too; they both drink, and both die. Niall succeeds to the High Kingship, and Brión becomes his second in command.[13] Another version has Mongfind try to poison Niall, but she takes the poison herself by mistake.[15]

         While Niall is high king, his brothers establish themselves as local kings. Brión rules the province of Connacht, but Fiachrae makes war against him. Brión defeats Fiachrae and hands him over as a prisoner to Niall, but Fiachrae's son Nath Í continues the war and eventually kills Brión. Niall releases Fiachrae, who becomes king of Connacht and Niall's right-hand man. Fiachrae and Ailill then make war against Crimthann's son Eochaid, king of Munster. They defeat him and win great spoil, but Fiachrae is wounded in the battle and dies of his wounds shortly afterwards. The Munstermen renew the battle, capture Ailill and cut him to pieces, and war continues between Munster and Connacht for many years.[13]

         Family and descendants
         Keating credits Niall with two wives: Inne, daughter of Lugaid, who bore him one son, Fiachu; and Rignach, who bore him seven sons, Lóegaire, Éndae, Maine, Eógan, Conall Gulban, Conall Cremthainne and Coirpre.[8] These sons are the eponymous ancestors of the various Uí Néill dynasties: Eógan of the Cenél nEógain and Conall Gulban of the Cenél Conaill, making up the northern Uí Néill; Fiachu of the Cenél Fiachach dynasty, Lóegaire (the king who Saint Patrick is said to have converted) of the Cenél Lóegaire, Maine of the Uí Maine, Eógan of the Cenél nEógain, Conall Cremthainne of the Clann Cholmáin and the Síl nÁedo Sláine, and Coirpre of the Cenél Coirpri, making up the southern Uí Néill.[5]

         Death
         The Lebor Gabála Érenn says there was war between Niall and Énnae Cennsalach, king of Leinster, over the bórama or cow-tribute first imposed on Leinster by Tuathal Techtmar.[16] Énna's son Eochaid is named as Niall's killer in all sources, although the circumstances vary. All sources agree he died outside Ireland. The earliest version of the Lebor Gabála says Eochaid killed him on the English Channel, later versions adding that Niall was invading Brittany when this happened. Keating, quoting a Latin Life of Saint Patrick, says that Niall led Irish raids on Roman Britain, and in one of those raids Patrick and his sisters were abducted. Keating associates these raids with those mentioned by Gildas and Bede, and deduces that, since some Irish sources say Patrick was abducted from Brittany, that Niall's raids must have extended to continental Europe as well.[8]

         In the saga "The Death of Niall of the Nine Hostages", Eochaid's enmity with Niall begins when he is refused hospitality by Niall's poet, Laidcenn mac Bairchid. He makes war and destroys the poet's stronghold, killing his son Leat[17] (Keating has it that Laidchenn was a druid, and that Eochaid killed his son after he used defamatory language towards him).[8] Laidchenn responds by satirising Leinster so that no corn, grass or leaves grow there for a year. Then Niall makes war against Leinster, and peace is concluded on the condition that Eochaid is handed over. Niall chains Eochaid to a standing stone, and sends nine warriors to execute him, but Eochaid breaks his chain and kills all nine of them with it. He then kills Laidchenn by throwing a stone which lodges in his forehead. Niall exiles him to Scotland. The story then becomes confused. Niall makes war in Europe as far as the Alps, and the Romans send an ambassador to parlay with him. Abruptly, the tale then has Niall appearing before an assembly of Pictish bards in Scotland, where he is killed by an arrow shot by Eochaid from the other side of the valley. Keating has Eochaid shoot Niall from the opposite bank of the river Loire during his European campaign. His men carry his body home, fighting seven battles on the way, and his foster-father Torna dies of grief. His body is said to have been buried at Ochann, now known as Faughan Hill at Jordanstown, a few miles west of Navan in County Meath.[15] He is succeeded by his nephew Nath Í.

         Byrne suggests that Niall's death took place during a raid on Roman Britain. Irish tradition had forgotten that the Romans once ruled Britain, and relocated his remembered confrontations with the Empire to continental Europe, with Alba, the ancient name for Britain, being confused with Elpa, the Alps, or being understood with its later meaning of Scotland.[5] A poem by the 11th-century poet Cináed Ua hArtacáin in the Book of Leinster credits Niall with seven raids on Britain, on the last of which he was killed by Eochaid "above the surf of the Ictian Sea";[5][18] a poem attributed to the same poet in Lebor na hUidre credits him with going to the Alps seven times.[9]

         Family and descendants
         Keating credits Niall with two wives: Inne, daughter of Lugaid, who bore him one son, Fiachu; and Rignach, who bore him seven sons, Lóegaire, Éndae, Maine, Eógan, Conall Gulban, Conall Cremthainne and Coirpre.[8] These sons are the eponymous ancestors of the various Uí Néill dynasties: Eógan of the Cenél nEógain and Conall Gulban of the Cenél Conaill, making up the northern Uí Néill; Fiachu of the Cenél Fiachach dynasty, Lóegaire (the king who Saint Patrick is said to have converted) of the Cenél Lóegaire, Maine of the Uí Maine, Eógan of the Cenél nEógain, Conall Cremthainne of the Clann Cholmáin and the Síl nÁedo Sláine, and Coirpre of the Cenél Coirpri, making up the southern Uí Néill.[5] The O'Higgins family claims descent from the Southern branch of Uí Néill. Famous descendants include Niall's great-great-grandson Saint Columba, Saint Máel Ruba, the Kings of Ailech, the Kings of Tir Eogain, and the Kings of Tír Conaill.[19] The Scottish Clan Ewen of Otter, Gilchrist; Clan Lamont; the MacSorleys of Monydrain,[20] (of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg a branch of Clan Donald); Clan Maclachlan; Clan MacNeil of Barra, and the MacSweens all claim a descent from an Irish prince of the O'Neill dynasty, Ánrothán Ua Néill/Anrothan O'Neill, son of Áed, son of Flaithbertach Ua Néill, King of Ailech and Cenél nEógain, who left Ireland for Kintyre in the 11th century and died 1036. The O'Rourke Clan claim descent from High King of Ireland Eochaid Mugmedon through his son Brión (whence the Uí Briúin), the half-brother of High King Niall of the Nine Hostages, the acclaimed ancestor of the Uí Néill.

         Spurious genetic suggestions
         Geneticists at Trinity College, Dublin found that 21 percent of men from north-western Ireland, 8 percent from all of Ireland, a substantial percentage of men from western and central Scotland, and about 2 percent of men from New York bore the same Y-chromosome haplotype. The geneticists estimated that about 2–3 million men bear this haplotype. Moore et al. concluded that these men descend from "a single early-medieval progenitor" and proposed that this could be Niall.[21][22] According to the PBS documentary series Finding Your Roots, Bill O'Reilly, Stephen Colbert, Colin Quinn, Bill Maher, and the show's host, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. all display STR markers consistent with the Irish Modal Haplotype.[23] The series suggested that Niall may have been the most fecund male in Irish history.

         This suggestion is no longer plausible. Niall does not have verifiable remains that can be tested. Furthermore, the paper examined only 17 STR loci, which are not a reliable means of verifying descent, as SNPs, which define haplogroups and subclades, would be.[24] Indeed, more recent estimates indicate that the R1b-M222 subclade marked by the Moore et al. haplotype likely originated in the 2nd millennium BC, long before Niall is claimed to have lived, so his descendants would only represent a minority of men in this group even if Niall had been a historical figure.[25]

         Origin of his epithet
         There are various versions of how Niall gained his epithet Noígíallach. The saga "The Death of Niall of the Nine Hostages" says that he received five hostages from the five provinces of Ireland (Ulster, Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Meath), and one each from Scotland, the Saxons, the Britons and the Franks.[17] Keating says that he received five from the five provinces of Ireland, and four from Scotland.[8] O'Rahilly suggests that the nine hostages were from the kingdom of the Airgialla (literally "hostage-givers"), a satellite state founded by the Ui Néill's conquests in Ulster, noting that the early Irish legal text Lebor na gCeart ("The Book of Rights") says that the only duty of the Airgialla to the King of Ireland was to give him nine hostages.[9]

       • Citation:

         Bhreathnach, Edel (2005), The Kingship and Landscape of Tara, Dublin: Four Courts Press, ISBN 1-85182-954-7
         Burke, Bernard (1976), Burke's Irish family records, London: Burke's Peerage, ISBN 0-85011-018-1
         Byrne, Francis John (2001), Irish Kings and High-Kings, Dublin: Four Courts Press, ISBN 1-85182-196-1
         Thomas Charles-Edwards, Charles-Edwards, Thomas (2007), Early Christian Ireland, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-052136395-2
         Cross, Tom Peete and Clark Harris Slover (eds.), "The Adventures of the Sons of Eochaid Mugmedon", in Ancient Irish Tales. Henry Holt and Company. 1936. pp. 508–513.
         Ambassador Walter Curley, Vanishing Kingdoms: The Irish Chiefs and their Families. Dublin: Lilliput Press. 2004.
         Myles Dillon, The Cycles of the Kings. Oxford. 1946. (Four Courts Press edition, 1995.)
         Duffy, Seán (ed.), Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. 2005.
         FitzPatrick, Elizabeth (2004), Royal Inauguration in Gaelic Ireland c. 1100–1600: A Cultural Landscape Study, Boydell Press,

13. John O'Hart: Irish Pedigrees Vol. 1: The Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation
    1. • Page: John O Hart, Irish Pedigrees Vol I (P. Murphy and Son, New York, 1915), page 709. (Jump to page 749-755)
       • Citation:

         the O'Neill Pedigree -four branches

14. Niall Naoighiallach "of the nine hostages" mac Echdach, "Find A Grave Index"
    1. • Page: "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:W6PM-6RT2 : 6 March 2021), Niall of the Nine Hostages, ; Burial, , ; citing record ID 201083959, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
       • Source text:

         Niall Noígíallach (Old Irish pronunciation: [ˈniːəl noɪˈɣiːələx], Old Irish "having nine hostages"),or in English, Niall of the Nine Hostages, was an Irish king, the ancestor of the Uí Néill dynasties that dominated the northern half of Ireland from the 6th to the 10th century. Irish annalistic and chronicle sources place his reign in the late 4th and early 5th centuries, although modern scholars, through critical study of the annals, date him about half a century later. He is presumed by some to have been a real person, or at the very least semi-historical but most of the information about him that has come down to us is regarded as legendary. Following a 2006 hypothesis by Moore et al.suggesting that his Y chromosomal signature had been discovered, popular science journalists and genetic testing companies began promoting the idea that millions of men alive today have an unbroken descent from Niall. However, more recent dating of the haplotype and corresponding SNP mutation M222 strongly indicates that all men carrying this signature are instead male-line descendants of a single man who lived several thousand years ago, well before the lifetime of Niall, essentially debunking the "Niall hypothesis".[4] If Niall was a real life figure, he may have belonged to this male lineage, but this is not certain. Notably, many O'Neills and McShanes (a surname associated with a line of O'Neill cadets) arise from an entirely different lineage.

       • Citation:

         Name Niall Noígíallach mac Echdach
         Alias Niall of the Nine Hostages
         Death Date 405
         Birth Date 361
         Event Type Burial
         Photograph Included Y
         Note Contains Biography

         https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/201083959/niall-no%C3%ADg%C3%ADallach_mac_echdach

15. KF9B-RWZ FamilySearch.org