Conall Cremthainne is Conall Gulban? (Byrne, Mac Shamhrain & Breathnach) But what about Brian Lacey???? The number of the alledged sons of Niall increased during the period in which the Ui Neill dominated, as other ethnic groups came under the sphere of influence of the Ui Neill and created a Ui Neill-identity by politically claiming their ancestor as a son of Niall. However, it seems fairly certain that there was an early core Ui Neill grouping onto which these later accretions were grafted. This core group probably included the descendants of Loegaire, Coipre, Fiachu, and Conall (the eminent Irish historian Ailbhe Mac Shamhrain has contended that the two putative sons of Niall named Conall, namely Conall Gulban and Conall Cremthainne, were one and the same person). The Genealogy Charts from Edel Breathnach's The Kingship and Landscape of Tara, Four Courts Press, 2005, pp. 344-345, 350-351 have a question mark saying Cremthainne & Gulban same person? Edel Bhreathnach is an Irish historian and academic. If you have a chance, check out the book. Now Francis John Byrne (2005), the eminent Irish historian, is of the opinion that Conall Gulban and Conall Cremthainne are the same individual. He says Cremthainne is thought to be a reflection of 8th century political politics. Breathnach's charts conform with the persuasion of Mac Shamhrain and Byrne that Cremthainne is Gulban. Thus Conall Gulban would be progenitor of both Cenel Conaill and Clann Cholmain. Ailbhe Mac Shamhrain, noted Irish medieval historian and celticist, in his Medieval Ireland An Encyclopedia, Sean Duffy, Ailbhe MacShamhraine & James Moynes, CRC Press, 2005, p 810 has argued that the two putative sons of Niall, namely Conall Gulban and Conall Cremthainne were one and the same person, p. 810. See also MacShamhrain 'Nebulae discutiuntur?". Francis John Byrne has postulated that Cremthainne was an 8th century political creation in Irish Kings and High-Kings, 2005, p. XVII. Guess what, now Wikipediad has jumped in on it! So has Facebook, Inforapid Knowledge Portal & What-Where-How In-Depth Knowledge website that Ancestry.com advertises on. There are at least a few lesser known websites that say the same - Conall Gulban and Conall Cremthainne are probably the same person and usually site Byrne. Thus, these three books by MacShamhrain, Byrne & Breathnach came out in 2005 and have influenced current thought. The websites cited say Conall Gulban is himself (if one checks under Conall Gulban), but the above cited say Cremthainne is same person as Gulban (if one checks under Cremthainne). Now Brian Lacey comes around in his Cenel Conaill and the Donegal Kingdoms AD 500 - 800, in 2006 (a year after the three listed books), saying on p 165: "there appears to be no evidence that any of the rulers of the Donegal kingdoms were related by blood to Niall Noigiallach or to the Ui Neill" ."Niall Noigiallach probably flourished about the middle of the fifth century and may himself not have 'ruled over anything more than an ordinary tuath. Although in the earlier traditions Niall is credited with seven sons whose floruits were about 470-520, at least three of those: Conall Gulban, Enna and Eogan, were not related to him at all." Oh really? So, did Lacey miss the boat or is Lacey a genius, a lone voice in the wilderness? It appears from our 2011 websites that Lacey's lone voice in the wilderness (and by at least 3 critical book reviews about his opinion on the Cenel Conaill by academia) has been ignored.