Lugaid Mac Con

Lugaid Mac Con (also called Mac Con) is a legendary king of Ireland from old Irish stories and early records.

 Reign as High King 
Traditional sources say he ruled as High King of Ireland at about the same time as the Roman Emperor Commodus (AD 180–192).  
Other sources give different dates for his reign:  
 AD 173–203 (Annals of the Four Masters)  
 AD 195–225 (Geoffrey Keating)  
Mac Con had two sons, Fothad Cairpthech and Fothad Airgthech, who later became co–High Kings.Keating, Geoffrey. Foras Feasa ar Éirinn. pp. 1.41-42.

 Early life 
Mac Con came from the Corcu Loígde, an important people in early Ireland."The Genealogy of Corca Laidhe". Miscellany of the Celtic Society  
His father was Macnia mac Lugdach and his mother was Sadb, daughter of King Conn Cétchathach.  
After his father's death, his mother married Ailill Aulom, a powerful ruler in southern Ireland. Mac Con grew up in Ailill's household.

 Meaning of his name 
The name "Mac Con" means "son of a dog". According to legend, as a baby he was fed by a greyhound owned by Ailill Aulom.

 Exile and return 
Mac Con and his stepbrothers joined the rebel leader Nemed, who killed the earlier High King in battle.  
Later, Mac Con was wounded and driven into exile by his foster-father.  
During exile, he allied with a British prince named Benne Brit, raised an army, and returned to Ireland.  
He defeated the king Art mac Cuinn in the Battle of Maigh Mucruimhe and became High King.

 End of his reign 
Mac Con ruled for about thirty years.  
His downfall began when he made a bad judgment in a legal dispute involving a woman grazing her sheep illegally.  
This angered many nobles, including Cormac mac Airt, who overthrew him and became the new High King.

 Death 
After losing the throne, Mac Con fled to Munster to seek help but was betrayed by Ailill Aulom.  
Ailill killed him by biting him with a poisoned tooth during an embrace.  
Soon after, the poet Ferches mac Commáin killed Mac Con with a spear.  
After his death, Fergus Dubdétach became High King for one year, until Cormac mac Airt regained the throne."The Death of Mac Con". The Yellow Book of Lecan. Translated by Dillon, Myles. Publications of the Modern Language Association of America 60. 1945. pp. 340-45 (orig. and trans.) – via ucd.ie.

 Legacy 
Mac Con's two sons later ruled as co–High Kings.  
Some Irish families—such as the O'Driscolls, O'Learys, Coffeys, Hennessys, and Flynns—are said to descend from him, especially in County Cork.

 References