Dúnchad mac Fiachnai

Dúnchad mac Fiachnai (died circa 644)his death date is mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters, AFM 643 was King of Ulaid from the Dal Fiatach dynasty. He was the son of Fiachnae mac Demmáin (died 627), a previous king.Byrne, Table 6; Charles-Edwards, appendix XXI; Mac Niocaill, pg.155 He ruled from 637-circa 644.

The Dal Fiatach recovered the kingship of Ulaid after the Battle of Mag Roth in 637 and were to retain it until 674. Family strife was a common theme among the dynasty at this time. Dúnchad's mother was Cumne Dub ingen Furudráin of the Uí Tuirtri (a tribe of the Airgialla west of Lough Neagh in modern County Tyrone). She had previously been married to Dúnchad's great uncle Baetan mac Cairill (died 581) by whom she had children. These children were eliminated by Dúnchad's full brother Máel Dúin mac Fiachnai in 605.Annals of Ulster, AU 605.2; Annals of Tigernach, AT 604.3; Ó Cróinín, pg.217  However, the ambitions of Máel Dúin were not to be fulfilled as he was murdered by Dúnchad at Óenach Deiscirt Maige, probably in southern Muirthemne in modern County Louth.Ó Cróinín, pg.219

His son Congal Cennfota mac Dúnchada (died 674) was also a King of Ulaid.

Notes 

References 

 Annals of Ulster at  at University College Cork
 Annals of Tigernach at  at University College Cork
 Byrne, Francis John (2001), Irish Kings and High-Kings, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 
 Charles-Edwards, T. M. (2000), Early Christian Ireland, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,  
 Gearoid Mac Niocaill (1972), Ireland before the Vikings, Dublin: Gill and Macmillan
 Dáibhí Ó Cróinín (2005), A New History of Ireland, Volume One, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Other websites
CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at University College Cork

Category:644 deaths
Category:Kings and Queens of Ireland