"Toirdelbach Ua Briain Toirdhealbhach Ua Briain (old spelling: Toirdelbach Ua Briain), anglicised ""Turlough O'Brien"" (100914 July 1086), was King of Munster and effectively High King of Ireland. A grandson of Brian Bóruma, Toirdelbach was the son of Tadc mac Briain who was killed in 1023 by his half-brother Donnchad mac Briain. For the first forty years of his life nothing is known of Toirdelbach. It was not until the 1050s that he found allies in Connacht and in Leinster, particularly the powerful King of Leinster Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó, who would aid his claims to be ruler of Munster."
"Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair (Modern Irish: Ruaidhrí Ó Conchobhair, or, Ruairí Ó Conchúir; commonly anglicised as Rory O'Connor or Roderic O'Connor) ( – 2 December 1198) was King of Connacht from 1156 to 1186, and High King of Ireland from 1166 to 1193. He was the last High King of Ireland before the Norman invasion (Brian Ua Néill and Edward Bruce both claimed the title with opposition in later years). Ruaidrí was one of over twenty sons of King Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair (1088–1156). He and his sister Mór were Tairrdelbach's only children from his third wife, Cailech Dé"
"great revival of power for Munster occurred in the 2nd century AD, as one of their kings, Conaire Cóem, established himself as High King of Ireland. This was a time for pioneering figures, as major High Kings representing other Gaelic groups in Ireland also lived such as Conn Cétchathach founder of the Connachta and Cathair Mór a prominent king of the Laigin. Conaire Cóem holds an important place in Irish genealogies as the forefather of the Síl Conairi. His sons; Cairpre Músc (ancestor of the Múscraige and Corcu Duibne), Cairpre Baschaín (ancestor of the Corcu Baiscind) and Cairpre Riata (ancestor"
"Donnchad mac Briain Donnchadh mac Briain (old spelling: Donnchad mac Briain) (died 1064), son of Brian Bóruma and Gormflaith ingen Murchada, was King of Munster. Brian Bóruma was the first man to establish himself as High King of Ireland by force of arms alone in many centuries. Previous men reckoned High King had belonged to the great Uí Néill kindred, that large group of families who traced their descent from Niall of the Nine Hostages, which dominated much of central and northern Ireland from the 7th century onwards. No king from the south, where Brian's kindred, the hitherto rather obscure"
"had dominated the kingship of Munster as effectively as the Uí Néill had dominated the High Kingship, and for just as long. With the Uí Néill disunited, and the resources of Munster, Brian first brought the Uí Néill High King Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill to recognise him as an equal, and then as the master of Ireland. Brian met his death at the Battle of Clontarf on 23 April 1014, Good Friday, fighting against the King of Leinster and his allies. In myth and medieval pseudohistory this battle would become the last and greatest between the Irish and the Vikings"
"Dál gCais of the region of Thomond, had come close to dominating Ireland since the time of Feidlimid mac Crimthainn in the early 9th century, and none had been included in the more widely accepted lists of high kings in historic times. The last effective high king of Ireland from Munster was Cathal mac Finguine (d. 742), and likely before him the prehistoric Crimthann mac Fidaig. Brian, building on his own resources, and those of the Viking towns of the south such as Limerick and Cork first took control of Munster, overthrowing the domination of the Eóganachta, a kindred which"
"of Leinster, Úgaire mac Túathail, was captured in 976. He was evidently ransomed or released as he was killed, along with Muiredach mac Riain of Uí Cheinnselaig of south Leinster, fighting against the Dubliners in 978 at Belan (County Kildare). Úgaire's successor Domnall Claen was little more fortunate, being captured by the Dubliners the following year. Following the death of High King Domnall ua Néill, Amlaíb's stepson Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill claimed the title. Amlaíb's former ally Domnall son of Congalach had died in 976, removing one potential rival, and as Amlaíb had killed two of Domnall ua Néill's sons"
"Ireland during this period. During the interregnum, the High King of Ireland Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid (died 862) of Clann Cholmáin led an expedition into Munster in 854 as far as the borders of the Déisi in Tipperary County and took hostages from Munster. The ""Fragmentary Annals of Ireland"" claim that Cerball, brother-in-law of the high king, was sent by the high king into Munster as well to claim the hostages. According to the ""Annals of the Four Masters"", the Norse had instigated the opposition to the high king in Munster. The high king appeared again at Cashel to"
"Domnall ua Néill Domhnall ua Néill (old spelling: ""Domnall ua Néill""; anglicised as Donal O'Neill) (died 980) was High King of Ireland from 956 to 980. Domnall was the son of Muirchertach mac Néill, and grandson of Niall Glúndub, a member of the Cenél nEógain northern Uí Néill. He became co-King of Ailech with his brother Flaithbertach on the death of his father in 943. He became High King of Ireland on the death of his maternal cousin Congalach Cnogba of the southern Uí Néill sept of the Síl nÁedo Sláine. Domnall is considered to have been an effective ruler"
"survive today are probably from the time of Muirchertach Ua Briain. Liam Breatnach also attributes Amra Senáin to Cormac. Cormac mac Cuilennáin Cormac mac Cuilennáin (died 13 September 908) was an Irish bishop and was king of Munster from 902 until his death at the Battle of Bellaghmoon. He was killed fighting in Leinster, probably attempting to restore the fortunes of the kings of Munster by reimposing authority over that province. Cormac was regarded as a saintly figure after his death, and his shrine at Castledermot, County Kildare, was said to be the site of miracles. He was reputed to"
"mac Domnaill Remair, battled for control of Leinster. Although Domnall is accorded the title King of Leinster in one mediaeval king-list, Donnchad was evidently a more powerful claimant, and Domnall appears to have held the Leinster kingship in name only. Domnall's rise to power in the Kingdom of Dublin took place in 1075, after the expulsion of the reigning Gofraid mac Amlaíb meic Ragnaill, King of Dublin by the latter's overlord, Toirdelbach Ua Briain, King of Munster. The circumstances surrounding Domnall's accession are uncertain. He may have collaborated with Gofraid to wrench the kingdom from the grip of the Uí"
"Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill (Modern Irish: ""Maolsheachlann Mac Domhnaill""), also called Máel Sechnaill Mór, Máel Sechnaill II, and anglicized as Malachy McDonnell (949 – 2 September 1022), was King of Mide and High King of Ireland. His great victory at the Battle of Tara against Olaf Cuaran in 980 resulted in Gaelic control of the Kingdom of Dublin. Máel Sechnaill belonged to the Clann Cholmáin branch of the Uí Néill dynasty. He was the grandson of Donnchad Donn, great-grandson of Flann Sinna and great-great-grandson of the first Máel Sechnaill, Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid. The Kings"
"Cathal mac Finguine Cathal mac Finguine (died 742) was an Irish King of Munster or Cashel, and effectively High King of Ireland as well. He belonged to the Eóganacht Glendamnach sept of the dominant Eóganachta kin-group whose members dominated Munster from the 7th century to the 10th. His father, uncle, grandfather, and great-grandfather had also been kings of Cashel, so too were his son and grandson. Cathal's conflict with the Uí Néill kings, Fergal mac Máele Dúin, Flaithbertach mac Loingsig, and Áed Allán, son of Fergal mac Máele Dúin, is reported at some length in the Irish annals, and again"
"of the Isles. Mac Lochlainn was slain in 1166, leaving Mac Murchada to fend off his own enemies alone. Other than Mac Murchada himself, another man making a bid for the high-kingship was Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht. Within the same year as Mac Lochlainn's demise, Ua Conchobair and his allies expulsed Mac Murchada from not only Dublin, but Ireland altogether; and Ua Conchobair himself was duly recognised as High King of Ireland. According to the seventeenth-century ""Annals of the Four Masters"", he had secured the cooperation of Dublin, and perhaps gained the kingship of the town itself, through"
"the different branches of Uí Néill, Leinster and Dublin. In 980 Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill succeeded Domnall, and the same year he defeated the forces of Dublin at the battle of Tara. Following this victory Máel Sechnaill forced Dublin into submission, and his half-brother, Amlaíbs son Glúniairn, became ruler in Dublin. In Munster, the influence of the Dal gCais had grown under Cennétig mac Lorcáin, and his son Mathgamain was the first non-Eóganachta ruler to be named by the annals as king of Cashel (i.e. king of Munster) in historical times. He was killed in 976, and succeeded by his"
"in 964, and it was a target again in 967 when Muiredach mac Faeláin, abbot of Kildare, a member of Uí Dúnlainge kindred which ruled Leinster, was killed by Amlaíb and Cerball mac Lorcáin, a kinsman of Muiredach's. Another raid south in 964 ended in a heavy defeat for Amlaíb near Inistogue (modern County Kildare) at the hands of the Osraige. Until the late 960s Domnall ua Néill, Congalach's successor as would-be High King, was occupied with enemies close to home, and in Connacht and Munster, and did not intervene in Leinster or the hinterlands of Dublin. Having defeated these,"
"the Irish annals. While Donnchad Midi of Clann Cholmáin, chief king of the Uí Néill and High King of Ireland, waged a series of campaigns against the Uí Dúnlainge rulers of Leinster, there was no response from Munster and, according to the annals, Anmchad was the most militarily active Munster king in the middle of the 8th century. The first record of Anmchad's reign is in 742, the year in which Cathal mac Finguine died. Here the ""Annals of Ulster"" and the ""Annals of Tigernach"" state the Osraige devastated the lands of Cenél Fiachach and Delbna. These lay across the"
"1169. It was upon the death of Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn in early 1166 that Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht, proceeded to Dublin and was inaugurated ""King of Ireland"" without opposition. Arguably, he was the primitive undebated full king of Ireland and also the only Gaelic one. According to some historians, part of the city's early economic growth is attributed to a trade in slaves. Slavery in Ireland and Dublin reached its pinnacle in the 9th and 10th centuries. Prisoners from slave raids and kidnappings, which captured men, women and children, brought revenue to the Celtic Irish Sea raiders, as"
"Ainmuire mac Sétnai Ainmuire mac Sétnai (died 569) or Ainmire or Ainmere was a High King of Ireland from the Cenél Conaill branch of the Uí Néill. He was the great grandson of Conall Gulban (died 464), founder of this branch. He ruled from 566-569. He was the first high king from the Cenél Conaill. Before becoming high king, Ainmere is mentioned in a number of events in which he is allied to other northern Uí Néill princes. These were Forggus mac Muirchertaig and his brother Domnall Ilchelgach (died 566) of the Cenél nEógain, as well as Ainmere's cousin Ninnid"
"royal meeting near Clonfert, Brian Boru, King of Munster, met with his long-time rival Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, who was at the time High King of Ireland. Although the idea of the high-kingship is considered mainly an anachronistic invention, it came into vogue in the 10th century to denote a king who had enforced his power over external territories. Máel Sechnaill assumed the Irish high-kingship after the Battle of Tara in 980. The two kings made a truce, by which Brian was granted rule over the southern half of Ireland, while Máel Sechnaill retained the northern half and high kingship."
"kings of Cashel in the annals. His living direct descendants, the later ruling dynasty of Eóganacht Glendamnach, descendants of Art Caemh, a great-grandson of Artrí mac Cathail, are the Ó Caiomh (O'Keeffes) of County Cork. His daughter, Taileflaith, also has prominent 21st-century descendants. Cathal mac Finguine Cathal mac Finguine (died 742) was an Irish King of Munster or Cashel, and effectively High King of Ireland as well. He belonged to the Eóganacht Glendamnach sept of the dominant Eóganachta kin-group whose members dominated Munster from the 7th century to the 10th. His father, uncle, grandfather, and great-grandfather had also been kings"
"Loingsech mac Óengusso Loingsech mac Óengusso (died 703) was an Irish king who was High King of Ireland. Loingsech was a member of the northern Cenél Conaill branch of the Uí Néill. Although his father Óengus (died 650) had not been High King, his grandfather Domnall mac Áedo (died 642) had been. Loingsech is first mentioned in the annals of Ireland under the year 672 when he defeated Dúngal mac Máele Tuil of the Cenél mBógaine who was slain. The Cenél mBógaine were a branch of the Cenél Conaill located in southwest County Donegal. The ""Annals of Ulster"" do not"
"Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair (old spelling: Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair; 1088 – 1156) anglicised Turlough Mór O'Connor / O'Conor, was King of Connacht (1106–1156) and High King of Ireland (ca. 1120–1156). The youngest son of Ruaidrí na Saide Buide (died 1118), his mother was Mór, daughter of Toirdelbach Ua Briain (1009–14 July 1086). His brothers were Niall (killed 1093), Tadc (killed 1097), Conchobar (murdered 1103), and Domnall, King of Connacht (deposed 1106). There was at least one sister, Dubhchobhlaigh Bean Ua hEaghra of Luighne Connacht (died 1131). Ruaidrí was married to four or more women. In 1092, King Ruaidrí"
"where the Uí Néill were crushed by the men of Leinster in 722. He won the kingship of Brega and the high kingship by defeating and slaying Fogartach mac Néill of the Uí Chernaig sept at the Battle of Cenn Deilgden (possibly Kildalkey, Meath). The ""Annals of Tigernach"" record events of his reign where he asserted his dominance over other areas of Ireland. These are not recorded in the ""Annals of Ulster"". In 725 is recorded his taking of Ulaid, and in 726, he defeated the Leinstermen at the Battle of Maíne and he received what he wanted from the"
"Munster, among others. Importantly, he is included in the Baile Chuinn Chétchathaig (summary), and is thus the last High King of Ireland from Munster until Brian Bóruma, over six hundred years later. In addition to having his reign described by Geoffrey Keating and mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters, Crimthand Mór mac Fidaig also plays a major role in many stories belonging to the Cycles of the Kings. In these he is typically succeeded by Niall of the Nine Hostages as High King of Ireland and by Conall Corc as King of Munster, while his sister Mongfind, the"
"Gormflaith ingen Flann Sinna Gormflaith ingen Flann Sinna (c. 870–948) was an Irish Queen of Tara, Munster, and Leinster. Gormflaith was the daughter of Flann Sinna, High King of Ireland from 879 to 916. Her mother was Gormlaith ingen Flann mac Conaing of Brega. Her known siblings were: Gormflaith was notable for been the successive queen consort of Munster, Leinster and Tara. Gormflaith was married first to King Cormac mac Cuilennáin of Munster, who had taken vows of celibacy as a bishop. The marriage was not said to be cosumated. MacShamhran (p. 203) writes that ""difficulties relating to this marriage"
"his reign to 379–369 BC, the ""Annals of the Four Masters"" to 542–523 BC. Labraid Loingsech Labraid Loingsech (), also known as Labraid Lorc, son of Ailill Áine, son of Lóegaire Lorc, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He was considered the ancestor of the Laigin, who gave their name to the province of Leinster. An early dynastic poem calls him ""a god among the gods"", suggesting he may once have been an ancestor-deity of the Laigin. According to the historical tradition, his grandfather, Lóegaire Lorc, had been High King, but was"
"names survive in the provinces of Ireland of today: Connacht, Leinster, Ulster, Meath, and Cormac's Munster. To these can be added the kings of the northern and southern Uí Néill. These last provided were the High Kings of Ireland, kings whose authority was an increasingly obvious political fact in Ireland of the 8th and 9th centuries. In Cormac's time the High Kingship was held by Flann Sinna of the Clann Cholmáin branch of the southern Uí Néill. In addition to these native Irish kings, Ireland, during the Viking Age, had seen Scandinavian and Norse-Gael kings establish themselves along the coasts."
"Briain, King of Munster (died 1086) overran Leinster, and attacked Dublin. There, in the coastal kingdom, he captured the sons of Domnall Remar, included Donnchad himself. If the ""Annals of Inisfallen"" are to be believed, the Dubliners then handed the kingship over to Toirdelbach. For a time Toirdelbach apparently tolerated Dublin to be ruled on his behalf by Gofraid mac Amlaíb meic Ragnaill, King of Dublin (died 1075). However, in 1075 the former expulsed the latter once and for all. Toirdelbach then appointed Domnall to the kinship of Dublin, and allowed Leinster to be ruled by Donnchad. Unfortunately for Toirdelbach,"
"against Donnchadh Donn, who was then the High King of Ireland from the southern Uí Néill. The impact of the Vikings, along with pressure from Clann Cholmáin (i.e. the Uí Néill, who dominated the High Kingship of Ireland at the time) led to instability within the Munster Kingship and even permanently broke Osraige from its overkingship. The ascent of elements outside of the main royal families occurred, for instance; St. Cormac mac Cuilennáin from a very much junior branch of the Eóganacht Chaisil became King of Munster during the early 10th century. Cormac and his right-hand man Flaithbertach mac Inmainén"
"High King of Ireland, and Áed Allán of Cenél nEógain, who would eventually force Flaithbertach to abdicate and become a pilgrim or monk. Later in the year, war is reported in the midlands. The ""Annals of Ulster"" record that Cathal—usually taken to be Cathal mac Finguine, King of Munster—was first of all defeated by Domnall Midi and Clann Cholmáin Máir at Tailtiu, site of the main Uí Néill óenach, and then victorious against Fallomon and Clann Cholmáin Bicc at the Hill of Ward, site of the óenach of Tlachtga, second in importance only to that of Tailtiu. However, a recent"
"the powerful Uí Briúin, to the High Kingship. Ailill Molt Ailill mac Nath Í (died c. 482), called Ailill Molt, is included in most lists of the High Kings of Ireland and is also called King of Connacht. His cognomen, ""molt"", means ""ram"" but its origin is unknown. Ailill was said to be the son of Nath Í and Ethne ingen Chonrach Cais. His paternal grandfather Fiachrae is called a brother of Niall of the Nine Hostages. Ailill thus belonged to the Connachta, a kindred united by supposed descent from Conn of the Hundred Battles, which included the Uí Néill,"
"Cormac mac Cuilennáin Cormac mac Cuilennáin (died 13 September 908) was an Irish bishop and was king of Munster from 902 until his death at the Battle of Bellaghmoon. He was killed fighting in Leinster, probably attempting to restore the fortunes of the kings of Munster by reimposing authority over that province. Cormac was regarded as a saintly figure after his death, and his shrine at Castledermot, County Kildare, was said to be the site of miracles. He was reputed to be a great scholar, being credited with the authorship of the ""Sanas Cormaic"" (Cormac's Glossary), and the now-lost ""Psalter"