Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaelic kingdom that encompassed the western seaboard of Scotland and northeastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel. At its height in the 6th and 7th centuries, it covered what is now Argyll ("Coast of the Gaels") in Scotland and part of County Antrim in Northern Ireland.Clancy, Thomas Owen, "Philosopher King: Nechtan mac Der Ilei," SHR 83 (2004): 135–149 After a period of expansion, Dál Riata eventually became associated with the Gaelic Kingdom of Alba.Oxford Companion to Scottish History pp. 161–162, edited by Michael Lynch, Oxford University Press. .
In Argyll, it consisted of four main kindreds or tribes, each with their own chief: the Cenél nGabráin (based in Kintyre), the Cenél nÓengusa (based on Islay), the Cenél Loairn (who gave their name to the district of Lorn) and the Cenél Comgaill (who gave their name to Cowal). The hillfort of Dunadd is believed to have been its capital. Other royal forts included Dunollie, Dunaverty and Dunseverick. Within Dál Riata was the important monastery of Iona, which played a key role in the spread of Celtic Christianity throughout northern Britain, and in the development of insular art. Iona was a centre of learning and produced many important manuscripts. Dál Riata had a strong seafaring culture and a large naval fleet.
Dál Riata is said to have been founded by the legendary king Fergus Mór (Fergus the Great) in the 5th century. The kingdom reached its height under Áedán mac Gabráin ( 574–608). During his reign Dál Riata's power and influence grew; it carried out naval expeditions to Orkney and the Isle of Man, and assaults on the Brittonic kingdom of Strathclyde and Anglian kingdom of Bernicia. However, King Æthelfrith of Bernicia checked its growth at the Battle of Degsastan in 603. Serious defeats in Ireland and Scotland during the reign of Domnall Brecc (died 642) ended Dál Riata's "golden age", and the kingdom became a client of Northumbria for a time. In the 730s the Pictish king Óengus I led campaigns against Dál Riata and brought it under Pictish overlordship by 741. There is disagreement over the fate of the kingdom from the late 8th century onwards. Some scholars have seen no revival of Dál Riatan power after the long period of foreign domination ( 637 to 750–760), while others have seen a revival under Áed Find (736–778). Some even claim that the Dál Riata usurped the kingship of Fortriu. From 795 onward there were sporadic Viking raids in Dál Riata. In the following century, there may have been a merger of the Dál Riatan and Pictish crowns. Some sources say Cináed mac Ailpín (Kenneth MacAlpin) was king of Dál Riata before becoming king of the Picts in 843, following a disastrous defeat of the Picts by Vikings.Smyth—and Bannerman, Scottish Takeover—present this case, arguing that Pictish kings from Ciniod son of Uuredech and Caustantín onwards were descendants of Fergus mac Echdach and Feradach, son of Selbach mac Ferchair. Broun's Pictish Kings offers an alternative reconstruction, and one which has attracted considerable support, e.g. Clancy, "Iona in the kingdom of the Picts: a note", Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 57–67. The kingdom's independence ended sometime after, as it merged with Pictland to form the Kingdom of Alba.
Latin sources often referred to the inhabitants of Dál Riata as Scots (Scoti), a name originally used by Roman and Greek writers for the Irish Gaels who raided and colonised Roman Britain. Later, it came to refer to Gaels, whether from Ireland or elsewhere.Charles-Edwards, Early Christian Ireland, pp. 159–160, considers whether the Latin terms Scotti and Atacotti refer to the confederations in Ulster and Leinster, respectively. The etymology of Scotti, and its Gaelic roots, if any, are uncertain. The term in late Classical sources is either specifically linked to raiders from Ireland, or is geographically ambiguous. In sharp contrast, no clear reference pointing to Scotti in Scotland in the Roman period has been found. Despite several references listing different combinations of Picti, Scotti, Hiberni, Attecotti and Saxons together as later Roman Britain's archetypal enemies, it is worth noting that 'Scotti' and 'Hiberni' are never listed together, confirming that they were then, as they were later, alternative names for the Irish or confederations of the Irish. Regardless of the original sense, or its modern popularity, to use the term "Scot" in this context invites confusion. They are referred to herein as Gaels or as Dál Riatans.See 1066 And All That, p. 5, for a parody of the confusion the word "Scot" engenders in this context.
Name The name comes from Old Irish and means "the portion of Riata". Dál is part of the names of other Irish territories, such as Dál Fiatach and Dál gCais. Riata is the genitive of a tribal name or deity name. Bede wrote that the kingdom was named after its founder, a man called Reuda. Some Old Gaelic texts say that the kingdom was named after the Corcu Réti, descendants of Domangart Réti. Another legend says that it was named after one Cairbre Riata.
The Dalradian geological series, a term coined by Archibald Geikie in 1891, was named after Dál Riata because its outcrop has a similar geographical reach to that of the former kingdom.
People, land and sea
Dál Riata spanned the North Channel and included parts of western Scotland and north-eastern Ireland. In Scotland, it corresponded roughly to Argyll (from Airer Goídel, "coast of the Gaels") and later grew to include Skye. In Ireland, it took in the north-east of County Antrim, roughly corresponding to the baronies of Cary and Glenarm.Boyd, Hugh Alexander. Irish Dalriada. The Glynns: Journal of The Glens of Antrim Historical Society. Volume 76 (1978).
The modern human landscape of Dál Riata differs a great deal from that of the first millennium. Most people today live in settlements far larger than anything known in early times, while some areas, such as Kilmartin, and many of the islands, such as Islay and Tiree, may well have had as many inhabitants as they do today. Many of the small settlements have now disappeared so that the countryside is far emptier than was formerly the case, and many areas that were formerly farmed are now abandoned. Even the physical landscape is not entirely as it was: sea levels have changed, and the combination of erosion and silting will have considerably altered the shape of the coast in some places, while the natural accumulation of peat and human-made changes from peat-cutting have altered inland landscapes.See McDonald, Kingdom of the Isles, pp. 10–20, for a short discussion of the geography of Dál Riata in Scotland.
As was normal at the time, subsistence farming was the occupation of most people. Oats and barley were the main cereal crops. Pastoralism was especially important, and transhumance (the seasonal movement of people with their livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures) was the practice in many places. Some areas, most notably Islay, were especially fertile, and good grazing would have been available all year round, just as it was in Ireland. Tiree was famed in later times for its oats and barley, while smaller, uninhabited islands were used to keep sheep. The area, until lately, was notable for its inshore fisheries, and for plentiful shellfish, therefore seafood is likely to have been an important part of the diet.Campbell, Saints and Sea-kings, pp. 22–29; Foster, Picts, Gaels and Scots, pp. 49–59.
The Senchus fer n-Alban lists three main kin groups in Dál Riata in Scotland, with a fourth being added later:The Senchus is translated in Bannerman, Studies, pp. 47–49; previously published in Celtica, vols. 7 (1966) – 9 (1971); earlier translations in Anderson, ESSH, vol. 1, pp. cl–cliii and Skene, Chronicles of the Picts and Scots.
The Cenél nGabráin (kindred of Gabrán) in Kintyre, who claimed descent from Gabrán mac Domangairt The Cenél nÓengusa (kindred of Óengus) in Islay and Jura, who claimed descent from Óengus Mór mac Eirc The Cenél Loairn (kindred of Loarn) in Lorne, perhaps also Mull and Ardnamurchan, who claimed descent from Loarn mac EircBroun, ""Dál Riata", notes that the Senchus treats the Cenél Loairn differently. In fact, it lists the three (actually four) thirds of the Cenél Loairn as the Cenél Shalaig (or Cenél Fergusa Shalaig), Cenél Cathbath, Cenél nEchdach and Cenél Muiredaig. Even the compiler of the Senchus doubts whether their eponymous founders Fergus Shalaig, Cathbad, Eochaid and Muiredach were all sons of Loarn mac Eirc. The Cenél Comgaill (kindred of Comgall) in Cowal and Bute, a later addition, who claimed descent from Comgall mac Domangairt.Bannerman, Studies, p. 110, dates the separation of the Cenél Comgaill from the Cenél nGabráin to around 700. They may have expanded eastwards into Strathearn during the 8th century.
The Senchus does not list any kindreds in Ireland, but does list an apparently very minor kindred called Cenél Chonchride in Islay descended from another son of Erc, Fergus Becc. Another kindred, Cenél Báetáin of Morvern (later Clan MacInnes), branched off from Cenél Loairn about the same time that Cenél Comgaill separated from its parent kindred. The Morvern district was formerly known as Kinelvadon, after the Cenél Báetáin.Watson, Celtic Place-names of Scotland, p. 122. The Cenél Loairn may have been the largest of the "three kindreds", as the Senchus reports it being divided further into Cenél Shalaig, Cenél Cathbath, Cenél nEchdach, Cenél Murerdaig. Among the Cenél Loairn it also lists the Airgíalla, although whether this should be understood as being Irish settlers or simply another tribe to whom the label was applied is unclear. Bannerman proposes a tie to the Uí Macc Uais.Bannerman, Studies, pp. 115–118. See also Bannerman, Studies, pp. 120 & 122, noting that the Tripartite Life of Saint Patrick appears to refer to a "Cenél nÓengusa" in Antrim. The meaning of Airgíalla 'hostage givers' adds to the uncertainty, although it must be observed that only one grouping in Ireland was apparently given this name and it is therefore very rare, perhaps supporting the Ui Macc Uais hypothesis. There is no reason to suppose that this is a complete or accurate list.The Annals of Ulster, s.a. 670, refer to the return of the genus Gartnaith, i.e. the Cenél Gartnait, from Ireland to Skye. This Gartnait is presumed to be a son of Áedán mac Gabraín: see Broun, "Dál Riata". Bannerman, Studies, pp. 92–94, identifies this Gartnait as a son of Áedán, whom he sees as the same person as Gartnait, king of the Picts. No such son is named by Adomnán, in the annals, or by the Senchus. See also Adomnán, Life, II, 22, and note 258, where a certain Ioan mac Conaill mac Domnaill is said to have belonged to "the royal lineage of Cenél nGabráin". See also the discussion of the Cenél Loairn above.
Four sites in Dál Riata may have had royal associations: Dunadd, Dunollie, Dunaverty and Tarbert.L. Alcock, "Early historic fortifications in Scotland", in Guilbert (ed) 1981, pp. 150–180. Among them, Dunadd appears to have been the most important. It has been partly excavated, and weapons, quern-stones and many moulds for the manufacture of jewellery were found in addition to fortifications. Other high-status materials included glassware and wine amphorae from Gaul, and in larger quantities than found elsewhere in Britain and Ireland. Lesser centres included Dun Ollaigh, seat of the Cenél Loairn kings, and Dunaverty, at the southern end of Kintyre, in the lands of the Cenél nGabráin.Bannerman, Studies, pp. 111–118; Campbell, Saints and Sea-kings, pp. 17–28; Foster, Picts, Gaels and Scots, pp. 65–68. The main royal centre in Ireland appears to have been at Dunseverick (Dún Sebuirge).T. M. Charles-Edwards, Early Christian Ireland (2000), pp. 57–61.