Donnchad mac Briain
Encyclopedia
Donnchadh mac Briain (died 1064), formerly anglicised as Donough O'Brian, 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 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 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 and Brian the greatest of all Irish kings.
. So, of Brian's sons, only Donnchad and his half-brother Tadc
are known to have survived their father. According to Geoffrey Keating
's account in Foras Feasa ar Éirinn, an account which is not backed by any annalistic evidence, Donnchad, leading the survivors of the Dál gCais back from Clontarf faced armies from Osraige and Munster
which were faced down.
The Munster king lists have Brian followed by Dúngal Ua Donnchada of the Cashel
branch of the Eóganachta rather than by one of his sons. Dúngal did not die until 1025, at about the time that Donnchad started to make his presence felt outside Munster. His half-brother Tadc was assassinated in 1023—the Annals of Tigernach
add that this was done on Donnchad's order—while he had himself lost his right hand in what may have been a failed assassination attempt in 1019.
Donnchad's main rivals were Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó
, King of Leinster from 1042, and Áed in Gaí Bernaig
, King of Connacht from 1046. Diarmait in particular was a serious threat; allied with Niall mac Eochada
, King of Ulster, he installed his son Murchad as ruler of Dublin in 1052, driving out Donnchad's brother-in-law and ally Echmarcach mac Ragnaill
. Toirdelbach first joined with Áed in the early 1050s, raiding into Tuadmumu in 1052 and inflicting a heavy defeat on Donnchad's son Murchad in Corco Mruad, the north-west of modern County Clare
in 1055. By 1058 Toirdelbach had gained Diarmait's support, for he was present when Diarmait, the Leinstermen and the Osraige drove Donnchad from Limerick
, which he burned so that it would not fall into the hands of his enemies, and defeated him at Sliabh gCrot in the Galtee Mountains
.
Donnchad was finally deposed in 1063 and went on pilgrimage to Rome
. He died there the following year and was buried in the basilica
of Santo Stefano al Monte Celio.
Geoffrey Keating
's Foras Feasa ar Éirinn (Volume III, Chapter XXXIII) recounts that Donnchad granted the crown of Ireland to the Pope—Pope Urban II
according to Keating, who places these events in 1092—and asked for papal aid to return him to power. This story is repeated in many 19th century and earlier works of popular history and is given as an explanation of how the English Pope Adrian IV
came to issue the papal bull
Laudabiliter
granting rule of Ireland to King Henry II of England
. Elsewhere (Volume III, Chapter XXVII) Keating is more skeptical regarding other stories associated with Donnchad's time in Rome. He disbelieves claims that Donnchad took up with a daughter of a Holy Roman Emperor
and had at least two sons from whom some later Old English
families were descended. Keating writes that "this story cannot be true, for before setting out on that expedition [Donnchad] was a very old decrepit man of over eighty years of age, and it is not likely that an emperor's daughter would covet intercourse with such a veteran".
Brian Boru
Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig, , , was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill. Building on the achievements of his father, Cennétig mac Lorcain, and especially his elder brother, Mathgamain, Brian first made himself King of Munster, then subjugated...
and Gormflaith ingen Murchada, was King of Munster.
Background
High King of Ireland
The High Kings of Ireland were sometimes historical and sometimes legendary figures who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over the whole of Ireland. Medieval and early modern Irish literature portrays an almost unbroken sequence of High Kings, ruling from Tara over a hierarchy of...
by force of arms alone in many centuries. Previous men reckoned High King had belonged to the great Uí Néill
Uí Néill
The Uí Néill are Irish and Scottish dynasties who claim descent from Niall Noigiallach , an historical King of Tara who died about 405....
kindred, that large group of families who traced their descent from Niall of the Nine Hostages
Niall of the Nine Hostages
Niall Noígíallach , or in English, Niall of the Nine Hostages, son of Eochaid Mugmedón, was an Irish king, the eponymous ancestor of the Uí Néill kindred who dominated Ireland from the 6th century to the 10th century...
, 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 Dál gCais
Dál gCais
The Dál gCais were a dynastic group of related septs located in north Munster who rose to political prominence in the 10th century AD in Ireland. They claimed descent from Cormac Cas, or Cas mac Conall Echlúath, hence the term "Dál", meaning "portion" or "share" of Cas...
of the region of Thomond
Thomond
Thomond The region of Ireland associated with the name Thomond is County Clare, County Limerick and north County Tipperary; effectively most of north Munster. The name is used by a variety of establishments and organisations located in , or associated with the region...
, 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
Cathal mac Finguine
Cathal mac Finguine 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...
(d. 742), and likely before him the prehistoric Crimthann mac Fidaig
Crimthann mac Fidaig
Crimthann Mór, son of Fidach , also written Crimthand Mór, was a semi-mythological king of Munster and High King of Ireland of the 4th century. He gained territory in Britain and Gaul, but died poisoned by his sister Mongfind. It is possible that he was also recognized as king of Scotland or Alba...
.
Brian, building on his own resources, and those of the Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
towns of the south such as Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
and Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
first took control of Munster
Munster
Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...
, overthrowing the domination of the Eóganachta
Eóganachta
The Eóganachta or Eoghanachta were an Irish dynasty centred around Cashel which dominated southern Ireland from the 6/7th to the 10th centuries, and following that, in a restricted form, the Kingdom of Desmond, and its offshoot Carbery, well into the 16th century...
, a kindred which 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
Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill
Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill , also called Máel Sechnaill Mór, Máel Sechnaill II, anglicized Malachy II, was King of Mide and High King of Ireland...
to recognise him as an equal, and then as the master of Ireland. Brian met his death at the Battle of Clontarf
Battle of Clontarf
The Battle of Clontarf took place on 23 April 1014 between the forces of Brian Boru and the forces led by the King of Leinster, Máel Mórda mac Murchada: composed mainly of his own men, Viking mercenaries from Dublin and the Orkney Islands led by his cousin Sigtrygg, as well as the one rebellious...
on 23 April 1014, Good Friday
Good Friday
Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
, 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 and Brian the greatest of all Irish kings.
Life
Brian's son Murchad, Donnchad's half-brother, died with his father at Clontarf. Another brother or half-brother, Domnall, had died in 1011. Two other half-brothers, Conchobar and Flann, are mentioned in some sources but leave no trace in the Irish annalsIrish annals
A number of Irish annals were compiled up to and shortly after the end of Gaelic Ireland in the 17th century.Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days...
. So, of Brian's sons, only Donnchad and his half-brother Tadc
Tadc mac Briain
Tadc or Tadg mac Briain was the son of Brian Boru and Echrad, daughter of Carlus mac Ailella of Uí Áeda Odba. Tadc had one son, Toirdelbach Ua Briain , with his wife Mór, daughter of Gilla Brigte Ua Maíl Muaid of Cenél Fiachach....
are known to have survived their father. According to Geoffrey Keating
Geoffrey Keating
Seathrún Céitinn, known in English as Geoffrey Keating, was a 17th century Irish Roman Catholic priest, poet and historian. He was born in County Tipperary c. 1569, and died c. 1644...
's account in Foras Feasa ar Éirinn, an account which is not backed by any annalistic evidence, Donnchad, leading the survivors of the Dál gCais back from Clontarf faced armies from Osraige and Munster
Munster
Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...
which were faced down.
The Munster king lists have Brian followed by Dúngal Ua Donnchada of the Cashel
Cashel, County Tipperary
Cashel is a town in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 2936 at the 2006 census. The town gives its name to the ecclesiastical province of Cashel. Additionally, the cathedra of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly was originally in the town prior to the English Reformation....
branch of the Eóganachta rather than by one of his sons. Dúngal did not die until 1025, at about the time that Donnchad started to make his presence felt outside Munster. His half-brother Tadc was assassinated in 1023—the Annals of Tigernach
Annals of Tigernach
The Annals of Tigernach is a chronicle probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin and Old and Middle Irish....
add that this was done on Donnchad's order—while he had himself lost his right hand in what may have been a failed assassination attempt in 1019.
Pilgrimage, death and legends
Beginning in the late 1050s, Donnchad came under attack from his neighbours. His nephew, Tadc's son Toirdelbach Ua Briain, may have been the force behind these attacks.Donnchad's main rivals were Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó
Diarmait mac Mail na mBo
Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó was King of Leinster, and also High King of Ireland .He was one of the most important and significant Kings in Ireland in the pre-Norman era...
, King of Leinster from 1042, and Áed in Gaí Bernaig
Áed in Gai Bernaig
Áed Ua Conchobair or Áed in Gai Bernaig, King of Connacht, reigned 1046–1067.King Art of Connaught was slain by the Cinel-Conaill in 1046, "the second year after his having plundered Cluain-mic-Nois."...
, King of Connacht from 1046. Diarmait in particular was a serious threat; allied with Niall mac Eochada
Niall mac Eochada
Niall mac Eochada , was king of Ulaid from 1016.His father, Eochada mac Ardgair, died in 1004. His early military ventures were against members of his own sept, Dál Fiatach. He defeated a cousin in 1012 at the ‘battle of the Summits’ and in 1020 defeated and blinded Flaithbertach Ua EochadaIn 1022...
, King of Ulster, he installed his son Murchad as ruler of Dublin in 1052, driving out Donnchad's brother-in-law and ally Echmarcach mac Ragnaill
Echmarcach mac Ragnaill
Echmarcach mac Ragnaill was the Gall-Gaidhel King of the Isles, Dublin , and much of Galloway. According to Seán Duffy he was either a grandson or great-grandson of Ivar of Waterford, but an alternative exists. Benjamin Hudson has contended Echmarcach was a grandson of Gofraid mac Arailt...
. Toirdelbach first joined with Áed in the early 1050s, raiding into Tuadmumu in 1052 and inflicting a heavy defeat on Donnchad's son Murchad in Corco Mruad, the north-west of modern County Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
in 1055. By 1058 Toirdelbach had gained Diarmait's support, for he was present when Diarmait, the Leinstermen and the Osraige drove Donnchad from Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
, which he burned so that it would not fall into the hands of his enemies, and defeated him at Sliabh gCrot in the Galtee Mountains
Galtee Mountains
The Galtee Mountains or Galty Mountains are a mountain range in Munster, located in Ireland's Golden Vale across parts of counties Limerick, South Tipperary and Cork. The name "Galtee" is thought to be a corruption of the Irish "Sléibhte na gCoillte" - "Mountains of the Forests" in English,...
.
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. He died there the following year and was buried in the basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
of Santo Stefano al Monte Celio.
Geoffrey Keating
Geoffrey Keating
Seathrún Céitinn, known in English as Geoffrey Keating, was a 17th century Irish Roman Catholic priest, poet and historian. He was born in County Tipperary c. 1569, and died c. 1644...
's Foras Feasa ar Éirinn (Volume III, Chapter XXXIII) recounts that Donnchad granted the crown of Ireland to the Pope—Pope Urban II
Pope Urban II
Pope Urban II , born Otho de Lagery , was Pope from 12 March 1088 until his death on July 29 1099...
according to Keating, who places these events in 1092—and asked for papal aid to return him to power. This story is repeated in many 19th century and earlier works of popular history and is given as an explanation of how the English Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV , born Nicholas Breakspear or Breakspeare, was Pope from 1154 to 1159.Adrian IV is the only Englishman who has occupied the papal chair...
came to issue the papal bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
Laudabiliter
Laudabiliter
Laudabiliter was a papal bull issued in 1155 by Adrian IV, the only Englishman to serve as Pope, giving the Angevin King Henry II of England the right to assume control over Ireland and apply the Gregorian Reforms in the Irish church...
granting rule of Ireland to King Henry II of England
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
. Elsewhere (Volume III, Chapter XXVII) Keating is more skeptical regarding other stories associated with Donnchad's time in Rome. He disbelieves claims that Donnchad took up with a daughter of a Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
and had at least two sons from whom some later Old English
Old English (Ireland)
The Old English were the descendants of the settlers who came to Ireland from Wales, Normandy, and England after the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169–71. Many of the Old English became assimilated into Irish society over the centuries...
families were descended. Keating writes that "this story cannot be true, for before setting out on that expedition [Donnchad] was a very old decrepit man of over eighty years of age, and it is not likely that an emperor's daughter would covet intercourse with such a veteran".