Date: About 0909 to about 0967
Location: Ireland
Surnames/tags: Ui_Briuin Sil_Cellach Ui_Maelruanaid

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Father 1.2 Children 1.3 Clann Name: 1.4 Surmised SNP: 2 Research Note 2.1 The 1st Seven Kings of Moylurg 3 Sources 3.1 WikiTree: 3.2 See Also:

Biography

Maelruanaidh Mor , first King of Moylurg, and ancestor to all subsequent Kings of Moylurg. He is usually assumed to have lived in or about the year 956.^[1] Mael Ruanaid was believed to have been the son of Tadg mac Cathal (King of Connacht 925–956) and brother to Conchobar mac Tadg, who succeeded as king in 967. However, DNA evidence shows the descendants of Mael Ruanaid are not genetically related to the Ui Conchobar dynastic family.^[2]

He could claim no less than ten ancestors as Kings of Connacht since the 6th century. Mael Ruanaid is said to have made a deal where, in return for abandoning any claim to the provincial kingship of Connacht, he would be given Magh Luirg (Moylurg)^[3]. His dynasty were known as the Clan Mulrooney, and later still took the surname of MacDermot.

While it is still only speculation, maybe it was the ultimate form of revenge by the Ó Conchobair to erase the Ó Maíl Rúanada of Cruffon's true history by grafting them onto the Ó Conchobair genealogies. From 956 to 1124, the proceeding 5 Kings of Maugh Luirg (Muirchertach mac Maelruanaidh Mor, Tadhg mac Muirchertach, Maelruanaidh mac Tadhg, Tadhg Mor mac Maelruanaidh, and Maelsechlainn mac Tadhg Mor) are very obscure. It is not until Diarmait (Dermot) mac Tadg Mor (d. 1159) that this family once again held some influence in Connacht; even then, they remained vassal of the O'Conchobhair Kings of Connacht.^[4]

Little is known about his son Muirchertach mac Maelruanaid (d. 967)^[5] who succeeded him as the 2nd King of Magh Luirg (Moylurg), who probably ruled for a very short time before his son Tadhg mac Muirchertach^[6] succeeded him.

The old genealogies and annals references to Mael Ruinaid Mor, the progenitor of the Ui Maelruanaid, as the son of Tadg mac Cathal Ua Conchobar, has been shown by recent DNA studies as not genetically possible. Therefore his descendants and the corresponding dates in which they lived are speculative. Data gathered by the Sons of Aodh FTDNA project^[7] the Dal Cuinn Group^[8], and Michael Rowley ^[9]suggest the Ui Maelruanaid are a separate branch of the Dal Cuinn Ui Briuin.

The date of birth for these early Irish are rarely given. The dates used for each individual is based on my system that uses 27 years per ‘generation’, 54 years between mutations. Since the date of death for many are approximations, any age at death over ~85 is adjusted one ‘generation’.

Father

• Unknown
  • (NOTE: DNA shows he is not the son of Tadg mac Cathal Ua Conchobar).

Children

• Muirchertach mac Mael Ruanaid Mor Profile

Clann Name:

• Ui Briuin, Maicne Eochaid Tirmcharna, Sil Cellach, Ui Maelruanaid

Surmised SNP:

• R1b-A6925

Research Note

The 1st Seven Kings of Moylurg

Few annalistic date references can be found for the early Moylurg kings. Based on the dates provided by Dr. Jaski, along with the DNA data from Comparative Analysis of the Descendants and DNA of Conn Cétchathach Ceadcatha^[10], a very rough yet logical chronology can be surmised:

1. Mael Ruanaid Mor, b. 909AD d. 973AD?, aged 64. Unknown length of reign.
2. Muirchertach mac Mael Ruanaid Mor, b. 936 d. 967, aged 31. Very short reign if indeed he was actually king. He died at The battle of Formaeil, at Rath-beg ^[11]
3. Tadg mac Muirchertach, b. 963 d.1040?, aged 77. This method presumes he was 4 years old when his father was killed, which is reasonable. However, according him a 'reign' of 73 years is unlikely. No doubt he was the heir, but it must be assumed someone ruled in his stead until he came of age.
4. Mael Ruanaid mac Tadg, b. 990 d. 1048? aged 58. Ruled @ 8 years.
5. Tadhg Mor mac Mael Ruanaid, b. 1044 d. 1124, aged 80. Once again, this method calculates his fathers death when he was 4. His actual reign is recorded to have started in 1120 which leaves a 76 year gap. His brother:
6. Maelsechlainn mac Tadhg Mor is in the kings list, the Annals of the Four Masters record Maelsechlainn with this terse entry: "Maelseachlainn, son of Tadhg, son of Maelruanaidh, lord of Magh-Luirg, was slain by the men of Breifne and Tighearnan Ua Ruairc." ^[12]
7. Diarmait mac Tadhg Mor, b. 1098 d. 1159, aged 61. His reign lasted 35 years. He is the progenitor of the MacDermot family, as well as its offshoot septs such as MacDermot Roe, McDonagh, and Crowley. ^[13]

Sources

1. ↑ Mael Ruanaid Mor Wiki [1]
2. ↑ Comparative Analysis of the Descendants and DNA of Conn Cétchathach Ceadcatha
3. ↑ "Moylurg, Airtech, and Tir Tuathail - Moylurg ( Magh Luirg ) was an area in the north of Co. Rosscommon roughly corresponding to the baronies of Boyle and Frenchpark. The descendants of Mhaoil ​​Ruanaidh (brother of Conor, a quo O'Conor) held sway in this vicinity, as princes of Moylurg. They are first represented as Uí Mhaoil ​​Ruanaidh and then as Mac Diarmata (MacDermot, et al)". [2]
4. ↑ Dermot mac Tadhg Mor Wiki [3]
5. ↑ Muirchertach mac Maelruanaid Wiki [4]
6. ↑ Tadhg mac Muirchertach Wiki [5]
7. ↑ Sons of Aodh FTDNA project [6]
8. ↑ Dal Cuinn Group [7]
9. ↑ DNA/Genealogy Comparisons, by Michael Rowley [8]
10. ↑ Comparative Analysis of the Descendants and DNA of Conn Cétchathach Ceadcatha
11. ↑ Annals of the Four Masters, AFM965.11[9]
12. ↑ Maelsechlainn mac Tadhg Mor, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [10]
13. ↑ Dermot mac Tadhg Mor, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [11]

WikiTree:

• Descent of Mael Ruanaid Mor
• Comparative Analysis of the Descendants and DNA of Conn Cétchathach Ceadcatha
• Medieval Project - Ireland
• Historical Sources of Ireland
• Kings of Magh Luirg

See Also:

• Early Irish Kingship Succession by Jaski Bart, Published by Four Courts Press, 2013, ISBN 1846824265 ISBN 9781846824265 [12]
• R1b-FGC5939 Haplogroup Comparison by Michael Rowley [13]
• Mac Dermot of Moylurg: The Story of a Connacht Family, Dermot Mac Dermot, 1996.