Ulaid

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The Ulaid or Ulaidh (singular Ulad or Uladh) were a people of early Ireland who gave their name to the Irish Province of Ulster. They may appear in Ptolemy's 2nd century Geographia as the Voluntii. Their capital was traditionally at Emain Macha near modern Armagh. Their territory at its height extended as far south as the River Boyne and as far west as County Leitrim, but by early Christian times they were pressed by the northern Uí Néill (a branch of The Connachta) and they were reduced to eastern County Down, where they became known as the Dál Fiatach and the Dál nAraidi.

According to the Annals of the Four Masters, the reduction of the Ulaid began in AD 331, when the Three Collas defeated their king Fergus Foga in the Battle of Achadh Leithdheirg in County Monaghan. They seized all their territory west of the Newry River and Lough Neagh, and burned Emain Macha. After that, Emain was abandoned, and Fergus Foga was the last Ulaid king to rule there.

T. F. O'Rahilly believed the Ulaid were a branch of the Érainn. Their ruling dynasty claimed descent from the legendary king Rudraige (3).

The Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology concerns the heroes of the Ulaid and their wars against Connacht around the time of Christ. However the name "Connacht" in this context appears to be an anachronism. Connacht is usually supposed to have taken its name from the Connachta, the descendants of Conn Cétchathach, who is supposed to have lived several centuries later than the events of the Ulster Cycle. Cóiced Ol nEchmacht is sometimes given as an earlier name of the province.