Editing Dál Riata (section)

===Origins===
[[File:Scotland Dunadd 1.jpg|thumb|Footprint (replica<ref>''[http://www.heraldscotland.com/revealed-carved-footprint-marking-scotland-s-birth-is-a-replica-1.827928 Revealed: carved footprint marking Scotland's birth is a replica]'', The Herald, 22 September 2007.</ref>) used in king-making ceremonies, Dunadd]]
The 11th-century ''[[Duan Albanach]]'' (Song of the Scots) tells that the three sons of [[Erc of Dalriada|Erc]]—[[Fergus Mór]], [[Loarn mac Eirc|Loarn]] and Óengus—conquered ''Alba'' (Scotland) in around 500. The 8th-century writer [[Bede]] offers another, and probably older, account wherein Dál Riata was conquered by Irish Gaels led by a certain ''Reuda''. [[Old Irish]] ''dál'' means 'portion' or 'share', and is usually followed by the name of an [[eponym]]ous founder.<ref name="bede1">Bede, HE, Book I, Chapter 1.</ref> Bede's tale may come from the same root as the Irish tales of Cairpre Riata and his brothers, the [[Síl Conairi]] (sons/descendants of [[Conaire Cóem]] and [[Conaire Mór]]).<ref>Bannerman, ''Studies'', pp. 122–124.</ref> The story of Dál Riata moves from [[Myth of origins|foundation myth]] to something nearer to history with the reports of the death of [[Comgall mac Domangairt]] around 540 and of his brother [[Gabrán mac Domangairt|Gabrán]] around 560.<ref>[[Annals of Ulster]], death of Comgall s.a. 538, also s.a. 542, s.a. 545, death of Gabrán s.a. 558, s.a. 560.</ref>

The version of history in the ''Duan Albanach'' was long accepted, although it is preceded by the fictional tale of [[Albanactus|Albanus]] and [[Brutus of Troy|Brutus]] conquering Britain. Traditionally, the presence of Gaelic in Scotland has been seen as the result of either a migration from Ireland,<ref>See Mackie, ''A History of Scotland'', pp. 18–19. Neither Smyth nor Laing & Laing accept the migration theory without reservation.</ref> or a takeover by Irish Gaelic elites. However, in his academic paper ''Were the Scots Irish?'', archaeologist Dr [[Ewan Campbell]] says that there is no archaeological or placename evidence of a migration or takeover.<ref name=ewancampbell>Campbell, Ewan. "[http://www.electricscotland.com/history/articles/scotsirish.htm Were the Scots Irish?]" in ''Antiquity'' No. 75 (2001). pp. 285–292.</ref> This lack of archaeological evidence was previously noted by Professor [[Leslie Alcock]].<ref name=ewancampbell/> Campbell suggests that Argyll and Antrim formed a "maritime province", united by the sea and isolated from the rest of Scotland by the mountains of the [[Scottish Highlands|Highlands]], historically called the ''Druim Alban''.<ref name=ewancampbell/> This hypothetical separation allowed a shared language to be maintained through the centuries; Argyll remained Gaelic-speaking while the rest of Scotland spoke either [[Pictish language|Pictish]] or another [[Brittonic languages|Brittonic language]].<ref name=ewancampbell/> Campbell suggests that the medieval accounts were a kind of dynastic propaganda, constructed to bolster a dynasty's claim to the throne and to bolster Dál Riata claims to territory in Antrim.<ref name=ewancampbell/> Although this view of the medieval accounts is shared by other historians,<ref name=ewancampbell/> his theory has been challenged.<ref>Wolfe, A. (2012) "Ancient Kindred? Dál Riata and the Cruthin" [Internet] In: academia.edu. Available from https://www.academia.edu/1502702/Ancient_Kindred_Dal_Riata_and_the_Cruthin</ref><ref>Campbell, ''Saints and Sea-kings'', pp. 8–15; Foster, ''Picts, Gaels and Scots'', pp. 9–10; Broun, "Dál Riata"; Clancy, "Ireland"; Forsyth, "Origins", pp. 13–17.</ref>

Irish scholar [[Eoin MacNeill]] postulated that Scottish Dál Riata came about in two stages. He conjectured that Irish settlements were founded in Argyll at the time of Irish raids on Britain, during the [[End of Roman rule in Britain|end of Roman rule]]. Later, as these settlements became economically and politically more significant than the home territory, its rulers moved from Ireland to Argyll.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dumville |first=David |author-link=David Dumville |title=Saint Patrick |date=1999 |publisher=Boydell Press |page=187}}</ref>

The time in which Dál Riata arose was one of great instability in Ulster, following the [[Ulaid]]'s loss of territory (including the ancient centre of Emain Macha) to the [[Airgíalla]] and the [[Uí Néill]]. "The thriving of Dalriada", pp.&nbsp;47–50, notes a later conquest of Irish Dál Riata from Scotland, in the period after the fall of Emain Macha.

Linguistic and genealogical evidence associates ancestors of the Dál Riata with the prehistoric [[Iverni]] and [[Darini]], suggesting kinship with the Ulaid and a number of shadowy kingdoms in distant [[Munster]]. The [[Robogdii]] have also been suggested as ancestral.<ref>see O'Rahilly's historical model</ref> Ultimately, the Dál Riata, according to the earliest genealogies, are descendants of [[Deda mac Sin]], a prehistoric king or deity of the [[Érainn]].