StoirmWorld's Alba

Who Were the Dalriada?

Dalriada was the name of the people who came here from Ireland and whom the Romans called the Scots. The earliest knowledge we have of them comes from when they were still in Ireland. At that time there were four septs or main families of the Erainn stock, who were considered to be a section of the original inhabitants of Eire.
These four septs were named the Muscraige, Corco Duibne, Corco Baiscind and Dal Riata, who came from three sons of Conaire Mor called Cairpre Musc, Cairpre Baschain and Cairpre Riata. These four septs of the Erainn migrated from Breg in the north of Ireland to Munster in the south. No reason is given as to why they travelled south, although it is probable that their own family lands could no longer contain them.
On arriving in Munster the Erainn allied themselves with a people known as the Eoganachta, to wage war against another people of Munster known as the Erna Mumaim and in doing so they managed to obtain land to live on. At some point a famine in Munster forced the Dal Riata sept of the Erainn to move back north into the ancient territory of the Ulaid, later to become known as Ulster. One of the other Erainn septs, the Corco Duibne, claimed the Munster land they left.
When the Dal Riata arrived in Ulaid they found two other peoples there. The Dal Fiatach who were also known as the Ulaid and the Dal nAraide also known as the Cruithne. Cruithne is also the name applied to the ancient Picts of Scotland. The Dal Fiatach and the Dal nAraide were constantly warring with one another over the rulership of their territory with the kingship falling into the hands of which ever one was the most powerful at the time. The portion of Dal Riata that remained in Ireland allied themselves to the Dal nAraide, helping to make them powerful, and Cairpre Riata led the rest of his people across the water to the land of the Picts.
We know little of the events that took place when Cairpre Riata landed with his people except for the fact that the kingship of Dal Riata stayed in Ireland. This remained the case until Fergus mor Mac Erc, King of Dal Riata, arrived with more of his people bringing his kingship with him and in doing so shifting the emphasis of Dal Riata from Ireland to Scotland.
Historians place great importance on the arrival of Fergus mor Mac Erc as being the starting point of the history of Dal Riata in Scotland. However, by this time Dal Riata was already well established and it is reported that Fergus arrived to exercise his authority over his Scottish subjects by force of arms if necessary. Fergus was accepted as king by the Scottish Dal Riata and when he died the kingship was passed on to his son Domangart.
From there the kingship was passed on to Domangart's two sons, firstly Comgall, who like his father appears to have ruled during peaceful times. Gabran took up the kingship after Comgall and his reign seems to have been fraught with battles with the Picts. By this time there were four distinct sections of the Dal Riata. The Cenel Gabrain, whose leaders were most frequently the kings of Dal Riata, coming from the royal line of Fergus mor Mac Erc; the Cenel Loairn, the Cenel nOengusa and the Cenel Comgall. These four main peoples now occupied all of Argyll, Kintyre and the Inner Hebrides. After Gabran the kingship went to his nephew Conall. It is Conall who is reputed to have given Colum Cille the island of Iona, in agreement with the king of the Picts, Brude MacMealchon. Colum Cille was not in fact a Dal Riad but from the royal line of the Ui Niells who had made his way to Scotland in exile.
The next king to rule over Dal Riata was Aedan, son of Gabran, succeeding his uncle Conall. Aedan was the first king of Dal Riata to be consecrated on Iona by Colum Cille, although it is reported that Colum Cille was rather reluctant to carry out the inauguration. Up until that point and for a while after a large majority of the people of Dal Riata were pagan. It is Aedan mac Gabran who is credited with being the greatest king of Dal Riata. Through intermarriage with the Picts he carried on the work of his father to establish the ultimate nucleus of Scotland. Although there were still troubles along the way, this situation carried on right through until the time of Kenneth MacAlpin who was recognised as king of all Scotland. He was Pictish on his mother's side and carried the royal line of Gabran from his father Alpin and as such was acceptable to both sides. From that point the customs of the Picts were amalgamated with those of Dal Riata with the king's seat moving to the old Pictish palace of Scone, where it remained.
The Seer- The origins of the craft of the seer lie far back in time in the early hunter/gatherer tribal communities. The Seer was a spiritual leader of the tribe. Such individuals were of great importance, for the survival of the tribe depended on their giving assistance to the hunt, or before going into The Seer would journey in the Otherworld by means of a spiritual / astral flight, invoking the aid of his totem animal or ancestors which would become his eyes and ears in these realms. He would track down the herds for the tribe to hunt, or whatever else, like the outcome of a battle.
These early ancestors of ours lived in close proximity to the natural world; their survival was tied to the seasonal cycle, the fertility of the beasts of the hunt, the fertility of the land and the availability of fruits, roots, nuts and berries. It is not surprising that they began to develop from close observation of the nature. Signs, symbols and omens, built on and added to over time, drawn from the land around them. The craft of the seer evolved 'hand in hand' with this ever-increasing understanding of the workings and interactions of the nature. Since the natural world, like everything else, operates according to the laws of Cause and Effect, it was possible to make accurate predictions of the future trends by study of natural events - the flight patterns of birds, the direction of the wind, the shape of clouds, the behaviour of wild animals and so on.