Eogan mac Cartaigh

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Eogan mac Cartaigh (died c. 882), also known as The Oak, was the Abbot of Armagh.

A dedicated Irish Christian priest under High King Flann Sinna's reign, Eogan was secretly the Ollamh and founder of the extremist druid cult known as the Children of Danu.

Biography

Early life

Eogan mac Cartaigh was born in the 9th century, the youngest boy in a very large Irish family. From a young age, Eogan deeply valued mystical, scholarly and spiritual pursuits and therefore decided that he was destined for life in the Christian church. Due to his values, Eogan was a devout Christian and dutifully fasted, prayed and memorized religious scripture.

However, he had soon realized that these pursuits had left him somewhat dissatisfied with his life and therefore he slowly began resenting every moment of his religious life. He did, however, go on pretending to be a dedicated member of Christian society and the faith in general.

One day during his youth, he was exploring the wooded areas near his village and he accidentally stumbled upon an Irish druid performing a religious ritual. Upon observing the druid ritual in progress, Eogan found spiritual fulfilment in the "earthiness" of it. Reflecting upon his newfound spiritual fulfilment, Eogan decided that he found druidism much more compelling than his family's Christian faith.

Eogan then secretly became a druid and followed their ways more dutifully, eventually becoming a secluded fanatical member. With the rise of the Norse-Gaelic Christian society in Ireland, Eogan feared the druidic faith would face extinction.

Eogan soon founded an extremist druid cult called the Children of Danu, which primarily consisted of disenfranchised druids and Christians from Irish society. Eogan himself decided to take up a high position in the Church, believing that he could use his power to help his cause by bringing down Irish society from within, preventing the Irish Christian society from wiping out the native druidic faith of Ireland.

What started out as a secluded resistance movement for the druids eventually mutated into a cell of druid extremists who began engaging in the darker aspects of the druidic faith in order to fight off the rising Norse-Gaelic Christian Order in Ireland.

Rise of a High King

Around 879, during Flann Sinna's coronation as High King of Ireland at the Hill of Tara near the ancient stone Lia Fáil, Abbot Eogan blessed him and gave him a ceremonial sword, while Flann's poetess, Ciara ingen Medba, sang a song she had written. However, unknown to most, Eogan had intended for Flann to be killed moments later by a suicidal assassin disguised as a priest, though the plan was foiled by both the King of Dublin, Bárid mac Ímair, and his cousin, the Viking jarlskona Eivor Varinsdottir.

During the coronation, the Book of Kells was taken by Dublin Danes and Eivor was given the task to retrieve it. Abbot Eogan was later present in Durrow as he discussed with Flann about the implications of letting someone like Eivor retrieve the book. Nevertheless, Eogan was handed the book by Eivor, while Eogan questioned Flann for his collaboration with the "pagans." Later, Eogan left with the book.

After Eivor helped Flann and Bárid conquer Cashelore, Eogan and his cult tried to frame Bárid for Flann's poisoned army and to sow discord between Flann and his allies. Eogan also ordered "The Wren" to spread misinformation in the settlement, Rathcroghan, as to move people towards supporting the Children of Danu. The Ollamh Druid, The Oak, also ordered "The Cursed" to concoct the poison that inflicted Flann's soldiers. However, both of Eogan's plans were thwarted by Eivor. Also, among The Cursed's personal effects, a clue about "The Oak" detailed that he worked among the priests and kings. Eogan's plans for Ireland were coming undone as Eivor hunted down his acolytes, who were told by "The Oak" to work on building supplies, increasing their numbers, and concocting poisons for their "final battle."

Attempted coup and death

To stop Flann's support and aid, Abbot Eogan was shown to be the mastermind behind having Kings Niall Glúndub and Domnall mac Áeda arrest any soldiers working against him or for Flann. Eogan simultaneously bulit his army and marched for Clogher, in order to ambush Flann. At Clogher, Eogan's men attacked Flann and his allies, much to Flann's shock. Although they held their own, Eogan's soldiers dwindled Flann's numbers and killed the King of Dublin, Bárid. Afterwards, The Oak ordered The Seed to capture and hold any weapon supplies to Dublin, where Bárid's son, Sichfrith, now led as King. After The Seed's death, the real identity of The Ollamh Druid of the Children of Danu was discovered to be Abbot Eogan himself..

Abbot Eogan was later found to be at Armagh, where Flann and Eivor started their attack, with Sichfrith's aid. Going through the village and Eogan's men, Eogan was guarded by two soldiers with Armagh's church, until Flann and Eivor barged inside to meet him. Initially, Eogan cursed out Flann and his attack on the church. However, Eogan's true intentions were made clear by Flann. Dropping the charade, Eogan made his position as leader of the Danu, while trying to sow doubt between Ciara and Flann. Eogan continued to make accusations of Flann being enamored by Ciara. As Eivor stopped the conversation, Eogan and his men engaged Flann and Eivor in battle but to no avail. After being bested in battle, in his final breath, Eogan quoted an excerpt of the holiness code detailing agricultural practices in Chapter 19 of the Book of Leviticus, and began to push the insecure thoughts between Ciara and Flann even further, before succumbing to his wounds.

Legacy

Immediately following the abbot's death, a conference between Ireland's kings and Flann Sinna was held about Eogan and to an extent, the druids in Ireland. After rash deliberations, an inquisition was made against all druids, Children of Danu or not, to either reform as Christians or be exiled. Eogan's deception led to the inquistion, which made Ciara soon activate the Lia Fáil to stop anyone coming after her people. However, even with Eogan's death, the Children of Danu's plan of using Ciara to activate the stone was finally halted after Eivor intervened. Putting a stop to the stone, Eogan and the cult's plan failed as Eivor saw the stone destroyed.

Behind the scenes

Eogan mac Cartaigh is a character introduced in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla's Wrath of the Druids DLC. Historically, the abbot of Armagh during this period was Cathassach mac Robartaig who died c. 883.

The name Eogan may be a variation of the name Eoghan which is Gaelic in origin, meaning "born of yew; youth". The surname mac Cartaigh is a common Irish surname meaning "son of Cárthach", with Cárthach meaning "loving". The surname later evolved into the modern name of MacCarthy.

Gallery

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  3D model of Eogan
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  3D model closeup of Eogan
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  Concept art of Eogan presiding over Flann Sinna's coronation
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  Concept art of Eogan in his ceremonial abbot robes
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  Concept art of Eogan in his standard abbot robes
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  Close-up of Eogan
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  Eogan's database image

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Wrath of the Druids (first appearance)
• The World of Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Journey to the North – Logs and Files of a Hidden One (mentioned only)