Bran mac Finsnechta
King of Leinster
Bran mac Finsnechta was the third of ten Kings of Leinster to be inaugurated and based on Lyons Hill, Ardclough, County Kildare, a member of the Uí Dúnchada, one of three septs of the Uí Dúnlainge dynasty which rotated the kingship of Leinster between 750-1050, significant in County Kildare History. Bran was ordained King of Laighin by High king Niall Caille mac Áedo, one of the earliest instances of ordination of a king in European history, although the Irish History Professor in University College Cork Donncha O Corrain of UCC says that this may be a misreading of the annals.