| Notes |
- Eochaid Buide—also written Eochu Buide or Eochaidh Buidhe—was the son and successor of Áedán mac Gabráin. His nickname Buide means “yellow,” probably referring to blond or yellowish hair.
Eochaid was apparently one of Áedán’s younger sons. Adomnán’s Life of Columba relates that Áedán asked Saint Columba which of his sons would succeed him. Columba predicted that the older sons—Artúr, Eochaid Find and Domangart—would die in battle.
When Áedán’s younger sons were brought forward, Eochaid Buide reportedly ran into Columba’s lap. Columba blessed him and declared that he would become king and that his sons would reign after him. Although written as a saintly prophecy, it preserves the important historical fact that Eochaid succeeded his father. (Adomnán’s Life of Columba, Book I, Chapter 8)
Eochaid Buide should not be confused with his older brother Eochaid Find, who was reportedly killed fighting the Miathi.
Much less is recorded about Eochaid’s reign than about his father’s. He apparently maintained Dál Riata through a difficult period following Áedán’s defeat by the Angles at Degsastan.
During his reign, the exiled Northumbrian princes Oswald and Oswiu, sons of Æthelfrith, lived among the Gaels and Picts. They may have received protection or fosterage at Eochaid’s court, although Bede does not specifically name Eochaid. Oswald learned Gaelic and became a Christian during this exile, later bringing missionaries from Iona to Northumbria.
Near the end of Eochaid’s reign, Connad Cerr may have acted as a subordinate or co-king. Connad was killed around 629 at the Battle of Fid Eóin, where Dál Riata suffered a major defeat against the Cruithin of northeastern Ireland.
Death and the “King of the Picts” mystery - The Annals of Ulster record: “Death of Echaid Buide son of Aedán, king of the Picts.”
The entry appears under the annalistic year 629, though reconstructed chronologies sometimes move the event to approximately 631 or 632. (Annals of Ulster, U629). Eochaid does not appear in the surviving Pictish king lists. Therefore, “king of the Picts” might indicate:
- Temporary authority over some Pictish territory;
- Recognition of Dál Riata’s political influence;
- Confusion in the annalistic source; or
- A later copying error.
It is safest to identify him as king of Dál Riata, not definitively as king of all the Picts.
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Est 565 - 629 (~ 64 years)