Ólchobar was previously thought to have belonged to the Locha Léin branch of the Eóganachta, the kindred which dominated the kingship of Munster from the 6th to the late 10th centuries, whose lands lay around the Lakes of Killarney [REF].
Ólchobar is believed to have been abbot of Emly, the principal church of the Eóganachta, before he was chosen as king.