Selbach mac Ferchair was king of the Cenél Loairn and of Dál Riata. Selbach's existence is well-attested as he is mentioned repeatedly in Irish annals. Dál Riata (also Dalriada or Dalriata) was a Goidelic kingdom on the western seaboard of Scotland and the northern coasts of Ireland, situated in the traditional Scottish and Northern Irish counties of Argyll, Bute and County Antrim. ... An number of Irish annals were compiled up to and shortly after the end of Gaelic Ireland in the 17th century. ...

He was a son of Ferchar Fota. He ruled as king of the Cenél Loairn from around 698 until his abdication in 723, but it may be that he was undisputed ruler of Dál Riata only in the final years of his reign. Ferchar Fota (Ferchar the Tall) (died c. ...

He is known to have had two sons, Dúngal and Feredach. Selbach's father, brother, son and nephew are included among the predecessors of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada (Malcolm III) of Scotland in the Duan Albanach praise poem, but Selbach is not. This may be a form of Damnatio memoriae. Dúngal mac Selbaig was king of Dál Riata. ... King Malcolm III of Scotland (Máel Coluim mac Donnchada), (1031 – November 13, 1093) also known as Ceann Mór (Anglicized as Canmore) meaning Big Head in the then Scottish language. ... Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within Europe Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... The Duan Albanach (Song of the Scots) is a Middle Gaelic poem found with the Lebor Bretnach, a Gaelic version of the Historia Brittonum of Nennius, with extensive additional material (mostly concerning Scotland). ... Damnatio memoriae is the Latin phrase literally meaning damnation of memory, in the sense of removed from the remembrance. ...

Although Selbach is first mentioned after the death of Fiannamail ua Dúnchado (d. 700), it seems likely that he had deposed his brother Ainbcellach in 698. In 701 he destroyed Dún Olaigh, but whether this was in a war against Ainbcellach, against a king of the rival Cenél nGabráin, or some other enemies, is unknown. A number of battles involving Dál Riada are recorded in the time of Selbach, a defeat in "Glen Lemnae" in 704, and victories over the Britons at "Lorg Ecclet" in 711 and again at "the rock called Minuirc" in 717, but Selbach is not named in these reports. In 712 Selbach besieged Aberte (Dunaverty, near Southend, Kintyre, in the lands of the Cenél nGabráin) and rebuilt Dún Olaigh in 714. Fiannamail ua Dúnchado was a king of Dál Riata at the end of the 8th century, and a king about whom nothing can be said with certainty other than the fact of his death around 700 by violence. ... Ainbcellach (Scottish Gaelic: Ainbcellach mac Ferchair) was king of the Cenél Loairn of Dál Riata, and perhaps of all Dál Riata, from 697 until 698, when he was deposed and exiled to Ireland. ... Dunollie castle Dunollie castle is a small ruin located on a hill above the town of Oban, Scotland. ... Strathclyde (Welsh: Ystrad Clud) was one of the kingdoms of ancient Scotland in the post-Roman period. ... Southend is the main settlement at the southern end of the Kintyre peninsula, Argyll, Scotland. ...

In September 719 Selbach fought against his brother Ainbcellach at Finnglen (perhaps near Loch Fyne). Ainbcellach was killed in the battle. A month later he faced the Cenél nGabráin, led by their king Dúnchad Becc, also called king of Cenn Tíre (Kintyre), in a sea battle off Ard Nesbi. Selbach was defeated, but Dúnchad Becc died in 721, which may have left Selbach as the unchallenged king of Dál Riata. Loch Fyne is a sea loch on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. ... Kintyre shown within Argyll Kintyre is a peninsula in western Scotland in the south-west of Argyll. ...

In 723 Selbach abdicated and retired to a monastery, at which time one annalist calls him lord of Dál Riada. He was probably succeeded by his son Dungal, who was replaced by Eochaid mac Echdach in 726. Selbach is found in 727 fighting against the supporters of Eochaid at Irros Foichnae.

Selbach died in 730.

External links

• Annals of Ulster at CELT (translated)
• Annals of Tigernach at CELT
• Duan Albanach at CELT (translated)