Áedán mac Gabráin Áedán mac Gabráin ( pronounced in Old Irish ) was a king of Dál Riata from circa 574 until circa 609 . The kingdom of Dál Riata was situated in modern Argyll and Bute , Scotland , and parts of County Antrim , Ireland . Genealogies record that Áedán was a son of Gabrán mac Domangairt . He was a contemporary of Saint Columba , and much that is recorded of his life and career comes from hagiography such as Adomnán of Iona ' s " Life of Saint Columba " . Áedán appears as a character in Old Irish and Middle Irish language works of prose and verse , some now lost . The Irish annals record Áedán ' s campaigns against his neighbours , in Ireland , and in northern Britain , including expeditions to the Orkney Islands , the Isle of Man , and the east coast of Scotland . As recorded by Bede , Áedán was decisively defeated by Æthelfrith of Bernicia at the Battle of Degsastan . Áedán may have been deposed , or have abdicated , following this defeat . His date of death is recorded by one source as 17 April 609 . Sources . The sources for Áedán ' s life include Bede ' s " Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum " ; Irish annals , principally the " Annals of Ulster " and the " Annals of Tigernach " ; and Adomnán ' s " Life of Saint Columba " . The " Senchus fer n - Alban " , a census and genealogy of Dál Riata , purports to record his ancestry and that of his immediate descendants . None of these sources are contemporary . Adomnán ' s work was written in the very late 7th century , probably to mark the centenary of Columba ' s death . It incorporates elements from a now lost earlier life of Columba , " De virtutibus sancti Columbae " , by Cumméne Find . This was written perhaps as early as 640 . However , neither the elements incorporated from Cumméne ' s work nor Adomnán ' s own writings can be treated as simple history . Bede ' s history was written some 30 years after Adomnán ' s . The surviving Irish annals contain elements of a chronicle kept at Iona from the middle of the 7th century onwards , so that these too are retrospective when dealing with Áedán ' s time . The Rawlinson B 502 manuscript , dated to c . 1130 , contains the tale " Gein Branduib maic Echach ocus Aedáin maic Gabráin " ( " The Birth of Brandub son of Eochu and of Aedán son of Gabrán " ) . In this story , Áedán is the twin brother of Brandub mac Echach , a King of Leinster who belonged to the Uí Cheinnselaig kindred . Áedán is exchanged at birth for one of the twin daughters of Gabrán , born the same night , so that each family might have a son . " The Prophecy of Berchán " also associates Áedán with Leinster . John Bannerman concluded that " [ t ] here seems to be no basis of fact behind these traditions . " Francis John Byrne suggested that the " Echtra " was written by a poet at the court of Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó , an 11th - century descendant of Brandub , and was written to cement an alliance between Diarmait and the Scots king Máel Coluim mac Donnchada ( " Malcolm III " ) , who claimed to be a descendant of Áedán . A lost Irish tale , " Echtra Áedáin mac Gabráin " ( " The Adventures of Áedán son of Gabrán " ) , appears in a list of works , but its contents are unknown . Áedán is a character in the epic " Scéla Cano meic Gartnáin " , but the events which inspired the tale appear to have taken place in the middle of the 7th century . He also appears in the tale " Compert Mongáin " . Áedán additionally appears in a variety of Welsh sources , making him one of the few non - Britons to figure into Welsh tradition . Neighbours . Áedán was the chief king in Dál Riata , ruling over lesser tribal kings . The " Senchus fer n - Alban " records the sub - divisions of Dál Riata in the 7th and 8th centuries , but no record from Áedán ' s time survives . According to the " Senchus " , Dál Riata was divided into three sub - kingdoms in the 7th century , each ruled by a kin group named for their eponym ous founder . These were the Cenél nGabráin , named for Áedán ' s father , who ruled over Kintyre , Cowal and Bute ; the Cenél Loairn of northern Argyll ; and the Cenél nÓengusa of Islay . Within these there were smaller divisions or tribes which are named by the " Senchus " . Details of the Irish part of the kingdom are less clear . Looking outward , Dál Riata ' s neighbours in north Britain were the Picts and the Britons of the " Hen Ogledd " , the Brythonic - speaking parts of what is now Northern England and southern Lowland Scotland . The most powerful British kingdom in the area was Alt Clut , later known as Strathclyde and Cumbria . Late in Áedán ' s life , the kingdom of Bernicia would become the greatest power in north Britain . In Ireland , Dál Riata formed part of Ulster , ruled by Báetán mac Cairill of the Dál Fiatach . The other major grouping in Ulster were the disunited tribes of the Cruithne ( or Picts ) , later known as the Dál nAraidi . The most important Cruithne king in Áedán ' s time was Fiachnae mac Báetáin . Beyond the kingdom of Ulster , and generally hostile to it , were the various kingdoms and tribes of the Uí Néill and their subjects and allies . Of the Uí Néill kings , Áed mac Ainmuirech of the Cenél Conaill , Columba ' s first cousin once removed , was the most important during Áedán ' s reign . Reign . Adomnán , the " Senchus fer n - Alban " and the Irish annals record Áedán as a son of Gabrán mac Domangairt ( died c . 555 – 560 ) . A Welsh poem states that Áedán ' s mother was a daughter of King Dumnagual Hen of Alt Clut . The Welsh text " Bonedd Gwŷr y Gogledd " ( " The Descent of the Men of the North " ) also indicates a descent from Dumnagual , although the genealogy is much confused . Áedán ' s brother Eoganán is known from Adomnán and his death is recorded c . 597 . The " Senchus " names three other sons of Gabrán , namely Cuildach , Domnall , and Domangart . Although nothing is known of Cuildach and Domangart or their descendants , Adomnán mentions a certain Ioan , son of Conall , son of Domnall , " who belonged to the royal lineage of the Cenél nGabráin " , but this is generally read as meaning that Ioan was a kinsman of the Cenél nGabráin , and his grandfather named Domnall is not thought to be the same person as Áedán ' s brother Domnall . Áedán was about forty years old when he became king , following the death of his uncle Conall mac Comgaill in 574 . His succession as king may have been contested ; Adomnán states that Columba had favoured the candidacy of Áedán ' s brother Eoganán . Adomnán claims that Áedán was ordained as king by Columba , the first example of an ordination known in Britain and Ireland . In 574 , following the account of Conall ' s death , the " Annals of Ulster " and the " Annals of Tigernach " record a battle in Kintyre , called the Battle of Teloch , or Delgu . The precise location of the battle is unidentified . The annals agree that " Dúnchad , son of Conall , son of Comgall , and many others of the allies of the sons of Gabrán , fell . " In 575 , the " Annals of Ulster " report " the great convention of Druim Cett " , at Mullagh or Daisy Hill near Limavady , with Áed mac Ainmuirech and Columba in attendance . Adomnán reports that Áedán was present at the meeting . The purpose of the meeting is not entirely certain , but one agreement made there concerned the status of Áedán ' s kingdom . Áedán and Áed agreed that while the fleet of Dál Riata would serve the Uí Néill , no tribute would be paid to them , and warriors would only be provided from the Dál Riata lands in Ireland . The reason for this agreement is thought to have been the threat posed to Áedán , and also to Áed , by Báetán mac Cairill . Báetán is said to have forced the king of Dál Riata to pay homage to him at Rosnaree on Islandmagee . Áedán is thought to be the king in question , and Ulster sources say that Báetán collected tribute from Scotland . Following Báetán ' s death in 581 , the Ulstermen abandoned the Isle of Man , which they had captured in Báetán ' s time , perhaps driven out by Áedán who is recorded as fighting there c . 583 . Earlier , c . 580 , Áedán is said to have raided Orkney , which had been subject to Bridei son of Maelchon , King of the Picts , at an earlier date . Áedán ' s campaigns on the Isle of Man have sometimes been confused with the battle against the Miathi mentioned by Adomnán . The Miathi appear to have been the Maeatae , a tribe in the area of the upper river Forth . This campaign was successful , but Áedán ' s sons Artúr and Eochaid Find were killed in battle according to Adomnán . This battle may have taken place c . 590 and be recorded as the Battle of Leithreid or Leithrig . The " Prophecy of Berchán " says of Áedán : " Thirteen years ( one after another ) [ he will fight against ] the Pictish host ( fair the diadem ) . " The only recorded battle between Áedán and the Picts appears to have been fought in Circinn , in 599 or after , where Áedán was defeated . The annals mention the deaths of his sons here . It has been suggested that this battle was confused with the " Battle of Asreth " in Circinn , fought c . 584 , in which Bridei son of Maelchon was killed . This battle is described as being " fought between the Picts themselves " . A number of Welsh traditions point to warfare between Áedán and King Rhydderch Hael of Alt Clut , the north British kingdom later known as Strathclyde . Adomnán reports that Rhydderch sent a monk named Luigbe to Iona to speak with Columba " for he wanted to learn whether he would be slaughtered by his enemies or not " . A Welsh triad names Áedán ' s plundering of Alt Clut as one of the " three unrestrained plunderings of Britain " , and the poem " Peiryan Vaban " tells of a battle between Áedán and Rhydderch . The lost Irish epic " Orgain Sratha Cluada " is usually thought to refer to the attack on Alt Clut in 870 by Vikings , but MacQuarrie suggests that it may refer to an attack by Áedán on Rhydderch . Degsastan and after . Degsastan appears not to have been the first battle between Áedán and the Bernicians . The death of his son Domangart in the land of the Saxons is mentioned by Adomnán , and it is presumed that Bran died in the same otherwise unrecorded battle . Of the roots of this conflict , Bede mentions only that Áedán was alarmed by Æthelfrith ' s advance . Wherever the Battle of Degsastan was fought , Bede saw it as lying within Northumbria . The battle was a decisive victory for Æthelfrith , and Bede says , carefully , that " [ f ] rom that day until the present , no king of the Irish in Britain has dared to do battle with the English . " Although victorious , Æthelfrith suffered losses ; Bede tells us his brother Theodbald was killed with all his following . Theodbald appears to be called Eanfrith in Irish sources , which name his killer as Máel Umai mac Báetáin of the Cenél nEógain , son of High - King Báetán mac Ninnedo . The Irish poem " Compert Mongáin " says that the king of Ulster , Fiachnae mac Báetáin of the Dál nAraidi , aided Áedán against the Saxons , perhaps at Degsastan . The " Anglo - Saxon Chronicle " mentions that Hering , son of King Hussa of Bernicia , was present , apparently fighting with Áedán . After the defeat of Degsastan , the annals report nothing of Áedán until his death around six years later , perhaps on 17 April 609 , the date supplied by the " Martyrology of Tallaght " , composed c . 800 . The " Annals of Tigernach " give his age as 74 . The " Prophecy of Berchán " places his death in Kintyre and says " [ h ] e will not be king at the time of his death " , while the 12th century " Acta Sancti Lasriani " claims that he was expelled from the kingship . John of Fordun , writing in the 14th century , believed that Áedán had been buried at Kilkerran in Kintyre . Áedán ' s descendants . Áedán was succeeded by his son Eochaid Buide . Adomnán gives an account of Columba ' s prophecy that Eochaid ' s older brothers would predecease their father . Áedán ' s other sons are named by the " Senchus fer n - Alban " as Eochaid Find , Tuathal , Bran , Baithéne , Conaing , and Gartnait . Adomnán also names Artúr , called a son of Conaing in the " Senchus " , and Domangart , who is not included in the " Senchus " . Domangart too may have been a grandson rather than a son of Áedán , most likely another son of Conaing . The main line of Cenél nGabráin kings were the descendants of Eochaid Buide through his son Domnall Brecc , but the descendants of Conaing successfully contested for the throne throughout the 7th century and into the 8th . It has been suggested that Gartnait son of Áedán could be the same person as Gartnait son of Domelch , king of the Picts , whose death is reported around 601 , but this rests on the idea of Pictish matriliny , which has been criticised . Even less certainly , it has been argued that Gartnait ' s successor in the Pictish king - lists , Nechtan , was his grandson , and thus Áedán ' s great - grandson . Of Áedán ' s daughters , less is known . Maithgemm , also recorded as Gemma , married a prince named Cairell of the Dál Fiatach . The names of Áedán ' s wives are not recorded , but one was said to be British , and another may have been a Pictish woman named Domelch , if indeed the Gartnait son of Domelch and Gartnait son of Áedán are one and the same .