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Donnchad mac Domnaill (733 - 6 February 797), called Donnchad Midi, was H i g h K i n g of Ireland. His father, Domnall Midi, had been the first Uí Né i l l H i g h King from the south-central Clann Cholmáin based in modern Cou n t y W e s tmeath and western County Meath, Ireland. The reigns of Domnall a n d h i s s u ccessor, Niall Frossach of the Cenél nEógain, had been relativ e l y p e a ceful, but Donnchad's rule saw a return to a more expansionist p o l i c y d irected against Leinster, traditional target of the Uí Néill, an d a l s o , f or the first time, the great southern kingdom of Munster.
Donnchad continued his father's support for the Columban churches, led b y I o n a . I n his many wars he used the churches, particularly the Columba n m o n a s tery of Durrow, as a source of support. He also ruthlessly attac ke d a n d p l undered churches that supported his rivals among the Uí Néill a n d a l s o t hose of Leinster and Munster. Donnchad was remembered, not alw a y s f o n dly, as a warrior king. He firmly established Clann Cholmáin's d o m i n a nce among the Uí Néill kindreds of the midlands. His descendants s h a r e d i n the High Kingship until the time of Máel Sechnaill mac Domnail l , t h e l a st traditional High King of Ireland.
Origins and background
Donnchad was a son of Domnall Midi and Domnall's only known wife, Ailbí n e i n g e n Ailello of Ard Ciannacht, a minor kingdom of the coast north o f t h e R i v er Boyne. Domnall was reckoned High King of Ireland from 743, w h e n h e d e feated and killed Áed Allán of the northern Cenél nEógain bran c h o f t h e U í Néill, until his death on 20 November 763.
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733 - 797 (64 years)
