Wonderful stuff.

Little bit of background to Scotti:
From the fourth Centuary AD Irish raiders from the Kindoms of Mide (Meath) and Ulaid (Ulster) and elsewhere attacked much of Northern and Western Roman Britain like their Saxon counterparts who raided along the Eastern coast.
St Patrick (Patron Saint of Ireland,17th March)a Romano-Briton, was captured in one of these raids and brought back to Pagan Ireland as a slave in the early fifth century AD.
The warriors of the kindoms of Ulaid (Ulster - not the same as the modern Province of Ulster) conquered much of Scotland. Expanding from Argyll and the Isles, the D Riata ultimatly became the ruling dynasty of Scotland uniting the Picts and Scots under their rule which lasted for centuries. The Irish raiders were called "scotti" by the Romans. To this day the Scotts speak (those that still do) Gaelic (Q-Celtic) as distinct from Brythonic (P-Celtic) which survives in Wales and Brittany in France.

"totam cum Scottus Hivernen
movit et infesto spumavit remige Tethys

When the Scot mobilised all Ireland
and the ocean was churned to foam by his hostile oars"

Above from Claudian's panegyric on Stilicho's defense of Britain in AD 399.

In addition to Scotland, Irish warriors carved out a kingdom in Wales. Many of these returned after the fall of the Roman Empire in the West to found the kindom of Cashel (from Roman/Latin word for camp or fortification Castra) in Munster (southern Province of Ireland).

The man who captured Patrick and to whom Claudian's words are believed to refer was Niall of the Nine Hostages. His dual dynasty, the UNll (centred on the kingdoms of Mide (Meath Southern UNll ) and Donegal and much of the north (Northern UNll) went on to become the High Kings of Ireland (often called Kings of Tara) for much of the period until the advent of Brian Boru and his Munster based dynasty in the 10th century AD.

The above derives from the earliest near-contemporary and trustworthy Irish historical sources (Annals) as well as Roman sources.

The Legends of the Tuatha DDanann, CChulainn and the Ulster Cycle Tales, the Tn BCuailgne and the tales of the Fianna are all believed to either date to the pre-Roman period and to the early years of the Roman Conquest of Britain in the 1st Century AD. They survive in literature documents dating to the 6th and 7th Centuries AD when they were first recorded by Irish monastic scribes. They are not reliable for historical studies anymore than the Greek myths.

Regards
STORM