Summary
3937. a.m.
MÉAVE—or Medbh—was the daughter of Ecohaidh, King of Connaught, and of Crochin Croderg, the handmaid of his wife, the Lady Edain, a chieftainess famed for her beauty and accomplishments. Her three brothers had been killed at the battle of Ath-Cumair, a circumstance which so weakened their father's power that he set up in opposition his daughter Méave as Queen of Connaught. Ecohaidh had five other daughters, named respectively Mumhain, Eile, Deirdre, Clothra, and Eithné—of all of whom strange stories are recorded in many ancient Irish manuscripts. Some chroniclers say that this king had only three daughters. This assertion, which is only found in one manuscript, may be translated thus—
Three daughters had King Eochaidh Feidlech,
Loud swells their fame,
Ethni the Proud, and Méave of Cruachain,
And fair Clothrâ.
But of all the children of Eochaidh, by far the most celebrated was Méave. From her early youth she had exhibited remarkable traits of strength of mind and vigour of character. Doubtless these qualities influenced her father in his selection, and election, of her as Queen of Connaught, for she had not even the right of seniority, being the third sister.
In the pride of her youth and beauty Méave was married to Conor, the celebrated provincial king of Ulster, but the marriage did not prove a happy one, and she soon left her husband and returned to her father's court.
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- Illustrious IrishwomenBeing Memoirs of Some of the Most Noted Irishwomen from the Earliest Ages to the Present Century, pp. 16 - 32Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010First published in: 1877