Conall mac Taidg

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Conall mac Taidg was a king in Scotland in the years around 800. The byname Conall Coem refers to this Conall.

He is mentioned twice in the Annals of Ulster. The first report has him defeated by Caustantín mac Fergusa of Fortriu in 789, this in "a war between the Picts themselves", the normal form of words for internecine strife. On this basis, Conall may have been king of the Picts from 787 to 789, but this is uncertain. The second report, in 807, tells of his defeat and death at the hands of his namesake Conall mac Áedáin in Kintyre.

Conall is thought to be mentioned in the Duan Albanach: "The two years of Conall of glorious career, And the four of another Conall." The other Conall is presumed to be Conall mac Áedáin.

The question of what Conall was king of is not definitely settled, but the most recent reconstructions would make him a king, or sub-king, in Dál Riata, between 805 and 807 approximately. The name of king or kings who reigned in Dál Riata, if any did, between the death of Donncoirce in 792, and the coming to power of Conall, are unknown.

Conall is not named in extant genealogies, so his ancestry beyond the name of his father, Tadg, is unknown.

[edit] References

• Anderson, Alan Orr, Early Sources of Scottish History A.D 500–1286, volume 1. Reprinted with corrections. Paul Watkins, Stamford, 1990. ISBN 1-871615-03-8
• Broun, Dauvit, "Pictish Kings 761–839: Integration with Dál Riata or Separate Development" in Sally M. Foster (ed.), The St Andrews Sarcophagus: A Pictish masterpiece and its international connections. Four Courts, Dublin, 1998. ISBN 1-85182-414-6