Dál Riata

Dál Riata was a Gaelic kingdom that spanned the western seaboard of Scotland, centred on Argyll, and part of County Antrim in Ireland, from about the sixth to the ninth century. Its kings ruled from strongholds such as Dunadd, and the monastery of Iona, founded by Columba within its territory, spread Christianity in northern Britain. Dál Riata fought and later merged with the Picts, a union from which the kingdom of Alba emerged in the ninth century.