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See alsoLeinster; Máel-Sechnaill I; Munster;
Osraige; Viking Incursions
CERBALL MAC MUIRECCÁIN (d. 909)
The last strong Uí Dúnlainge king of the Laigin in the
period before the Battle of Clontarf, Cerball mac
Muireccáin belonged to the lineage of Uí Fáeláin. His
father Muireccán, styled rex Naiss & Airthir Liphi(king
of Naas and the eastern Liffey-Plain), was slain by the
Vikings in 863. Of his brothers, Domnall, his predecessor-
but-one in the kingship, was killed by his own retainers
in 884, while Máelmórda, who fell fighting the Vikings
at Cenn Fuait (perhaps Confey, Co. Kildare) in 917, was
ancestor of most of the later Uí Fáeláin rulers.
It seems that, especially in the earlier years of his
reign, Cerball struggled to enforce his authority against
counter-claims by rival Uí Dúnlainge lineages—
including Uí Muiredaig and Uí Dúnchada. The
acknowledgement as tánaisteof Bran (d. 894), son of
his immediate predecessor Muiredach of Uí Dúnchada,
perhaps represented a concession to that lineage. Aside
from intradynastic challenges, Cerball faced a pro-
tracted conflict with the neighboring kingdom of
Osraige, ruled by the sons of Cerball mac Dúngaile.
A poem in the Book of Leinster, “The Quarrel about
the Loaf,” which tells of contention between an old
woman of Leinster and a Munster soldier over billeting
rights, is a metaphoric account of a border dispute
concerning Mag Dála, a plain in south County Laois.
The poem preserves a catalogue of Cerball’s subkings,
and it is probably significant that all but one are from
north Leinster dynasties. Uí Dúnlainge was apparently
under considerable strain by the late 890s; a garbled
entry in AFM, as viewed by Byrne, records the cele-
bration by Diarmait son of Cerball mac Dúngaile of the
Óenach Carmain, in effect a claim on the overkingship
of Laigin. Confronted by such pressures, Cerball mac
Muireccáin sought alliance with Clann Cholmáin, a
powerful lineage of the Southern Uí Néill. He married
Gormlaith daughter of Flann Sinna, king of Tara, but
it is not stated that she was the mother of his son
Cellach (sl. 924). His wife, according to a poem in
theBook of Leinster, arranged the murder of Cellach
Carmain and his wife Aillenn—dynastic rivals who
perhaps belonged to Uí Muiredaig.
Clearly, Cerball did benefit from his alliance with
the Uí Néill over king. In 902, with forces from the
midland kingdom of Brega, he attacked Dublin and
expelled its Hiberno-Scandinavian rulers. For a time,
at least, one major threat to Uí Dúnlainge had been
removed. Four years later, he joined his father-in-law,
Flann Sinna, in a preemptive strike against Osraige
and Munster. They pillaged their way from Gabrán
(Gowran, Co. Kilkenny) across to Limerick. When
the Munstermen retaliated in 908, Cerball supported
Flann in blocking an invasion force at Belach Mugna
(Ballaghmoon, Co. Kildare); the fatalities included
Cormac mac Cuilennáin, king of Cashel, and Cellach
son of Cerball mac Dúngaile, king of Osraige.
The accounts of Cerball’s death are difficult to rec-
oncile. Whether or not he sustained wounds at Belach
Mugna, as claimed by a text in the Book of Leinster
(which also alleges that he mistreated his wife,
Gormlaith), he died the following year. A colorful story
in the so-called Fragmentary Annalstells of a horse-
riding accident at Kildare, whereby he fell backward
onto his own spear, which was held by a servant. The
Book of Leinsterkinglist echoes the line concerning a
fall onto a spear—perhaps a metaphor for assassination—
however, the invariably staid AUmerely records in
somber tone that he “died of a sickness.” There is a
strong tradition that he was buried at Cell Corbbáin,
probably located in the vicinity of Naas, County Kildare,
where he is said to have maintained his court.
Certainly Cerball made a marked impression on the
historical consciousness of Leinster. He is the subject
of several praise-poems ascribed to Dallán mac Móre,
reputedly his court poet, and of elegies attributed to
Dallán and to Gormlaith. One poem, the “Song of
Cerball’s Sword,” credits him with a strike against the
Uí Néill royal site of Knowth, which appears fanciful
in the light of the surviving record. It is doubtful
whether, earlier in his reign, he would have had the
resources to invade the Uí Néill realms or, in the later
years reason to do so, given his alliances with the kings
of Tara and Brega. However, his achievement in bringing
relative stability to Uí Dúnlainge, in stalling Osraige
expansion, and in removing—albeit temporarily—the
threat from Scandinavian Dublin was presumably
noted. Even AU styles him rex optimus Laginentsium—
a most excellent king of Leinster.
AILBHE MACSHAMHRÁINReferences and Further Reading
Best, R. I., O. Bergin, and M. A. O’Brien, eds. The Book of
Leinster. 6 vols. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Stud-
ies, 1954–1983, pp. (i) 182, 223–225; (iv) pp. 955–958.CERBALL MAC MUIRECCÁIN (d. 909)