68 Historic Ulster. 



message — "Tell the King that I guarded the border of Ulla 

 until I was slain." No country in the world can boast of a 

 nobler typical hero than Cuchullin, and even though he should 

 be, like King Arthur, a myth, he is for us an example of the 

 ideal cherished by our pagan ancestors. 



The Clan Rory dynasty ruled Emania till the year 331, when 

 it was supplanted by the Kings of the Clan Niall line, descen- 

 dants of Con-Hundred-Battle, Cormac M'Art, and Nial of the 

 Nine Hostages, who reigned at Tara early in the Christian era. 

 The constitution framed by Cormac Mac Art was probably in 

 substance that adopted by Saint Patrick and by his successors 

 set forth in the Book of Rights. The greatness of these kings, 

 Con, Cormac, and Niall explained the fact that their descendants 

 of the Clan Niall line were elected to the dignity of the Ard- 

 righship, almost without interruption, from the time of Saint 

 Patrick till the nth century, when their supremacy was 

 overthrown by King Brian Borou. 



Without dwelling on the mission of Saint Patrick, I merely 

 emphasise the facts of his connection with the North, and point 

 out that he established the centre of Christianity at Armagh. 

 The Northern part of Ireland was at the time of his coming 

 divided into seven kingdoms. One of these, a greatly diminished 

 territory, was Ulla, ruled over by Kings of the Clan Rory line 

 from their new capital Rath Keltar, the present Downpatrick. 

 The territory of Ulla was now co-extensive only with Down and 

 South Antrim, and in the year 634 an attempt to regain their 

 former dominions under Congal resulted in the defeat at Moy- 

 rath, and the kings of Ulla lost Southern Down, and made 

 Rathmore their new capital. Their kingdom was sometimes 

 called Dal-a-radia, not to be confounded with the neighbouring 

 kingdom of Dalriada or North Antrim. The misfortunes of 

 the Clan Rory did not end with the loss of Downpatrick in the 

 seventh century, for as late as the fourteenth their powerful 

 rivals the O'Neills seized the district now known as Clandeboye. 

 I dwell on these details, as they are of local interest ; in the 

 remainder of the paper I shall deal with the fortunes of the 

 great Clan Nial. 



