Bile Tened, ‘The Sacred Tree of the Fire,’ is a location mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters, though its precise whereabouts are debated. Some accounts place Bile Tened in Delvin,1 while others suggest it refers to Billywood, Moynalty.2 This site was likely of importance, and associated with the Gaelic fire festival of Bealtaine. The connection between Bile Tened and Billywood is primarily based on their similar names. ‘Billywood’ translates to ‘The Wood of the Sacred Tree,’3 and its location near Kells—a major economic centre in the Kingdom of Brega, often caught in conflicts between the Uí Néill clans—adds further weight to the link.
Billywood is located in a notable part of Moynalty, near the potential royal site of Rathinree (lit. ‘The Fort of the King’). The townlands of Rathinree Upper and Rathinree Lower are home to several important monuments, including four high-status multivallate (double-banked) ringforts and a large enclosure approximately 70 meters wide.4 In the neighbouring townland of Donore, finely decorated bronze ornaments known as the Donore Hoard were also discovered, dating to approximately the same period. If the Battle of Bile Tened did indeed take place near Moynalty, rather than Delvin, it is plausible that it would have occurred in an area of significance such as Billywood.
During the seventh and early eighth centuries, a long-running feud persisted between the Uí Néill factions of Síl nDlúthaig and Clann Cholmáin, resulting in multiple killings on both sides. The Síl nDlúthaig, a sept of the Síl nÁedo Sláine, controlled Moynalty as part of the Kingdom of Fir Chúl, a sub-kingdom within Brega. The broader Síl nÁedo Sláine dynasty were engaged in a wider conflict with Clann Cholmáin, who were now emerging as the dominant Uí Néill faction in the midlands.
In the period leading up to the battle, the King of Mide, Murchad Midi, had been expanding eastward into Brega, challenging the authority of the Síl nÁedo Sláine. His son, Domhnall Midi, would later become the first High King from Clann Cholmáin, securing their control over the Southern Uí Néill. Clann Cholmáin’s influence over the Síl nÁedo Sláine became evident when their support for the Columban Church5 paved the way for the main Columban monastic site being moved from Iona to Kells, 5 a relocation that would eventually lead to the creation of the Book of Kells. This demonstrates that Clann Cholmáin controlled Kells at the time, despite its location deep within Síl nÁedo Sláine territory.
Tensions between the Síl nDlúthaig and the Clann Cholmáin, along with the broader rivalry between the Síl nÁedo Sláine and the Clann Cholmáin, erupted into open conflict in 714.
Flann Mac Áedo, King of Fir Chúl, appears to have formed an alliance with the Uí Faighle, who were competing with the Clann Cholmáin for control of the modern-day Westmeath/Offaly region. In what appears to be a co-ordinated campaign, the Uí Faighle launched an invasion of Mide from the south, while a battle also took place in Bile Tened. The Uí Faighle were decisively defeated at the Battle of Garbshalach, situated between Lough Owel and Lough Derravaragh, where their king, Forbassach Ua Congaile, was killed. At Bile Tened, the battle proved more costly for both sides: Murchad Midi (of Mide) lost his two brothers in the initial wave of the battle, while Flann Mac Áedo (of Brega) was slain in the second.6
Fogartach Uí Cernaig, the overking of Brega, seems to have been blamed for the battles, despite there being no mention of his own troops being involved. It is possible that Fogartach encouraged the alliance between the Uí Faighle and the Síl nDlúthaig to try and weaken the Clann Cholmáin. He was exiled from the kingship of Brega and fled to Britain, but following Murchad Midi’s death the next year, he returned to reclaim his throne.7
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References
- Edel Bhreathnach, The Kingship and Landscape of Tara (Dublin, 2005), p. 437
- Geoffrey Keating, The History of Ireland from the Earliest Period to the English Invasion, trans. by John O’Mahony (New York, 1857), p. 212
- Placename Database of Ireland, ‘Bile/Billywood’, Available at https://www.logainm.ie/ (Feb. 26, 2025)
- National Monuments Service, ‘ME010-006: Earthwork: Rathinree Lower’, Available at https://www.archaeology.ie/archaeological-survey-ireland/historic-environment-viewer-application (Feb. 6, 2025)
- Annals of Ulster, Year 753.4, Available from UCC at https://celt.ucc.ie (Feb. 25, 2025)
- T. M. Charles-Edwards, The Chronicle of Ireland, Vol. 1, (Liverpool, 2006), p. 188
- Annals of Ulster, Year 714.4, Available from UCC at https://celt.ucc.ie (Feb. 21, 2022)