Dál Fiatach
The
Dál Fiatach were a group of related tribes located in north-east
Ulster in the
Early Christian and
Early Medieval periods of the history of
Ireland. They are thought to be related to the
Darini of
Ptolemy's
Geographia.
The kingdom of
Ulaid in the time of the Dál Fiatach was reduced from late pre-Christian times, when it had extended south and west to cover most of Ulster. By c. 400, the kingdom included the lands which would become
County Louth,
County Down and
County Antrim, as well as parts of
Armagh and
Tyrone. County Down was the centre of the Dál Fiatach lands, and the chief royal site and religuous centre of the Dál Fiatach was at
Downpatrick.In later times,from the 9th century,
Bangor, originally controlled by the neighbouring
Dál nAraidi, became the main religious site patronised by the kings.
Every known king of Dál Fiatach became king of Ulaid, but they did not monopolise the kingship as the
cruithne tribes of Dál nAraidi supplied a number of kings. Among the more influential early Dál Fiatach kings were :-
*
Báetán mac Cairill, (d. 581) (probably High-king of Ireland)
* Áed Róin (d. 732)
* Fiachnae, son of Áed Róin (d. 789)
* Byrne, Francis John,
Irish Kings and High-Kings. Batsford, London, 1973. ISBN 0-7134-5882-8
* Duffy, Seán (ed.),
Atlas of Irish History. Gill & Macmillan, Dublin, 2nd edn, 2000. ISBN 0-7171-3093-2
*
Kings of Ulster
