Áed Uaridnach ("Áed the Warlike", orÁed mac Domnaill, "Áed son of Domnall") (died 612) was anIrish king who wasHigh King of Ireland. He is sometimes also known asÁed Allán, a name most commonly used for the8th-century king of the same name, this Áed's great-great-grandson.
Áed was the son ofDomnall Ilchelgach (died 566) and brother ofEochaid mac Domnaill (died 572), considered to have been High Kings by some sources.[2] He belonged to the northernCenél nEógain kindred of theUí Néill. He was King ofAilech from 604 to 612.[3]
Áed, it was said, was preceded as High King by the joint rule ofÁed Sláine andColmán Rímid and ruled from 604 to 612.[4] Áed is mentioned in the earliest Irish King list contained in theBaile Chuind (The Ecstasy of Conn), a late 7th-century Irish poem. In 605 Áed won a victory over the King of Leinster,Brandub mac Echach (died 605) at the Battle of Slabra.[5] Leinster was often a target of the Uí Néill for inaugural raids and the levy of a cattle-tribute. TheAnnals of Tigernach place the beginning of his reign after this event.[6]
The cause of Áed's death is unknown, but his obituary presents it as a non-violent death. According to one recension ofThe Book of Invasions he "died of plague in Tara".[7] The Cenél Feradach, led by the descendants ofSuibne Menn, overshadowed Áed's branch of the Cenél nEógain—the Cenél maic Ercae—and it was not until the time of his great-grandsonFergal mac Máele Dúin that the Cenél maic Ercae again provided a High King of Ireland. Áed's sonMáel Fithrich mac Áedo (died 630) was a king of Ailech.