Buile Shuibhne
narrative
Buile Shuibhne (Irish pronunciation: [ˈbˠɪlʲə ˈhɪvʲnʲə], BWILL-uh HIV-n'yuh, The Madness of Suibhne, The Madness of Sweeney, Sweeney Astray or Suibhne's Frenzy) is a medieval Irish tale about Suibhne mac Colmáin ('Suibne son of Colmán,' Anglicised as Sweeney), king of the Dál nAraidi, who was driven insane by the curse of Saint Rónán Finn. The insanity makes Suibhne leave the Battle of Mag Rath and begin a life of wandering (which earns him the nickname Suibne Geilt, "Suibhne the Madman"). He dies under the refuge of St. Moling.
The tale is sometimes seen as an instalment within a three-text cycle, continuing on from Fled Dúin na nGéd ('The Feast of Dún na nGéd') and Cath Maige Rátha ('Battle of Moira').
Suibhne's name appears as early as the ninth century in a law tract (Book of Aicill), but Buile Shuibhne did not take its current form until the twelfth century. Ó Béarra (2014) includes a detailed analysis of the language and date of the text. He contends that the text in its final form is not as old as generally presumed but should be dated to the early thirteenth century.
Suibhne's identity
The identity of Suibhne is a very convoluted matter as several texts mention different Suibhnes in regards with the Battle of Mag Rath. Buile Shuibhne specifies Suibhne as the son of Colman Cuar and as the king of Dál nAraidi in Ulster in Ireland (in particular in the areas of present-day county Down and county Antrim).
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Buile Shuibhne” is narrative. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Buile, Shuibhne and narrative, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “narrative” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1003037. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2014.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Buile Shuibhne”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Buile Shuibhne primary sources, Buile Shuibhne archive and Buile research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Buile Shuibhne”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Buile Shuibhne” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.