The Scots of Dál Riada

Descendents of Erc mac Eochaid

The Dalriadan lords had maintained lands in both Ulster and Argyll for centuries. By about AD 500, the Scottish lands had become the centre of Dalriadan power, so Erc mac Eochaid transferred his capital from Dun Severick to Dunadd in Kintyre. There were three main clans in Argyll, but the descendants of Fergus became the high kings of Dál Riada. Within a few generations, the Scots had married into the royal families of Strathclyde, Manau and the Picts.