Ancestor of the Ulster Dynasties
Rudraige mac Dela was one of the five sons of Dela who brought the Fir Bolg to Ireland and divided the island into five provinces. His share was Ulster — the northern province. He served as High King in the succession of the five brothers.
What sets Rudraige mac Dela apart from his brothers is what came after him. The Ulster dynasties of the historical period — the kings who ruled from Emain Macha — claimed descent from Rudraige. His line was known as the Clanna Rudraige, the children of Rudraige, and they became one of the most important royal dynasties in Ireland.
That lineage runs directly into the Ulster Cycle — the richest and most dramatic of the Irish mythological cycles. Conchobar mac Nessa, the king of Ulster during the great cattle raid of the Táin Bó Cúailnge, was a descendant of Rudraige. The world that Cú Chulainn defended was, in genealogical terms, Rudraige’s world. A Fir Bolg king is the ancestor of the heroic age’s defining dynasty.
Key facts about Rudraige mac Dela
- Names: Rudraige mac Dela; eponym of “Clanna Rudraige”
- Rules over: Ulster; Fir Bolg High King in succession
- Weapons: Not recorded
- Animals: Not recorded
- Other Symbols: Ulster; Emain Macha (through his descendants)
- Parents: Dela (father)
- Siblings: Slainge, Gann, Genann, Sengann
- Spouse: Not recorded
- Children: The Ulaid; ancestral line leading to Conchobar mac Nessa and the Ulster Cycle dynasties
- Greek equivalent: Not recorded
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