Aodh Méith
Aodh Méith or Áed Méith (died 1230) was a 13th-century king of Tír Eoghain. The son of Aodh an Macaoimh Tóinleasg, Aodh spent much of his career fighting off threats from Fir Manach, Tír Conaill and Galloway, as well as John de Courcy and the Lordship of Ireland. His involvement in Irish Sea politics may have seen him sponsor a Mac Uilleim claim to the Scottish throne, but this is unclear.
Aodh Méith | |
---|---|
King of Tír Eogain | |
Reign | c. 1196–1230 |
Predecessor | Muircheartach mac Muircheartaigh Ó Lochlainn |
Successor | Domhnall Óg |
Died | 1230 |
Spouse | Bean-Midhe |
Issue | Domhnall Óg |
Middle Irish | Áed mac Áeda |
Early Modern Irish | Aodh mac Aodha, "Méith" |
Father | Aodh an Macaoimh Tóinleasg |
Latterly the ally of Hugh de Lacy, Earl of Ulster, Aodh secured a stable relationship with the earldom of Ulster and lordship of Ireland, two Anglo-Norman polities that came into existence in Aodh's lifetime. By the end of his life, he was the supreme native Irish ruler in the north of the island, and passed succession onto his son Domhnall Óg (Domnall Óc). A literary biography devoted to Aodh was seemingly composed sometime in the Middle Ages, but it has not survived. He is the ancestor—though not the eponymous ancestor— of Clann Aodha Buidhe, the Clandeboy O'Neills.