Fínsnechta Fledach
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Fínsnechta Fledach (died circa 695) was High King of Ireland.
Fínsnechta belonged to the southern Síl nÁedo Sláine sept of the Uí Néill and was King of Brega, in modern County Meath, Ireland. He was a grandson of Áed Sláine. He became King of Brega and High King circa 675, after killing his predecessor, and first cousin, Cenn Fáelad in battle at Aircheltra, a place which is not identified.
He appears to have faced resistance from the King of Leinster, a battle near Lagore being recorded in 676. He fought Béc Bairrche, King of Ulster, in 678. In June 684 Ecgfrith, the King of Northumbria, sent an army under Berht to Ireland which laid waste to the plain of Brega, the heart of Fínsnechta's kingdom. The reasons for the sending of the army are unclear. The hostages taken in the raid were later returned through the offices of Adomnán.
In 687 the Annals of Ulster say that Fínsnechta abdicated to become a monk, but he left the clerical life and resumed the kingship in 688.
He was killed in battle, along with his son Bresal, fighting against his kinsmen Áed son of Dlúthach and Congalach son of Conaing Cuirre. Congalach succeeded Fínsnechta as King of Brega, and Loingsech mac Óengusso, of the northern Cenél Conaill branch of the Uí Néill, was the next High King. Fínsnechta was survived by a son named Ailill who was killed in 718.
The earliest surviving list of High Kings of Ireland, that in the Baile Chuinn Cétchathaigh was apparently compiled in Fínsnechta's reign.
[edit] References
- The Annals of Ulster, volume 1. CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts. Retrieved on 2007-02-10.
- Byrne, Francis John, Irish Kings and High-Kings. Batsford, London, 1973. ISBN 0-7134-5882-8[[[Category:695 deaths]]
