Queen Caoimhe (whose name means “Beautiful, gentle, kind”) was the former reigning monarch of the Grand Duchy of Dael Riata. She was the only child of King Alasdair IV (reigned 700–739) and the mother of the current sovereign, Alasdair V.
Caoimhe came to the throne at the age of nine in 739, following the death of her father in an ambush by Bernician nobles during his ill-fated attempt to claim the southern throne. Due to her youth, she was governed by a council of regents that included Sean Alpin, the Earl of Ardmor. During this period, the Earl's wife, Ealasaid Riata, acted as the Queen's matron and oversaw her welfare.
Early in her reign, she made a significant political move to “clip the wings” of the Murchadh family by translating the father of Bhaltair Gilranald to the Earldom of Norpen, displacing the Murchadhs from those northern islands.
As she reached adulthood, Caoimhe's rule became increasingly controversial:
The combination of her Skyssian relationship and her religious policies led to a civil war beginning in 754, during which the Queen was captured. A coalition of powerful nobles—including Domnhall Murchadh and Sean Alpin—feared she would bring Dael Riata under the control of Skyssian factions. Under immense pressure and for the “integrity of the kingdom,” Queen Caoimhe was forced to abdicate in 756/7. She was succeeded by her infant son, with the realm entering a long period of regency dominated by the very nobles who had deposed her.