Énna Mac Murchada

Énna Mac Murchada
King of Uí Chennselaig, Leinster, and Dublin
Refer to caption
Énna's name as it appears on folio 36r of Oxford Bodleian Library MS Rawlinson B 503 (the Annals of Inisfallen): "Enna mc. Diarmata".[1]
Died 1126
Wexford
House Meic Murchada (Uí Chennselaig)
Father Donnchad mac Murchada

Énna Mac Murchada,[2] or Enna Mac Murchada,[3] also known as Énna mac Donnchada,[4] and Énna mac Donnchada mic Murchada,[5] was a twelfth-century ruler of Uí Chennselaig, Leinster, and Dublin. Énna was a member of the Meic Murchada, a branch of the Uí Chennselaig dynasty that came to power in Leinster in the person of his paternal great-grandfather. Énna himself gained power following the death of his cousin Diarmait mac Énna. Throughout much of his reign, Énna acknowledged the overlordship of Toirdelbach Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht, although he participated in a failed revolt against the latter in 1124 before making amends. When Énna died in 1126, Toirdelbach successfully took advantage of the resulting power vacuum.

Background

Énna was a son of Donnchad mac Murchada, King of Leinster (died 1115).[6] Donnchad had two other sons: one slain in 1115,[7] and another named Diarmait (died 1171).[8] The men were members of the Uí Chennselaig.[7] In the 1040s, the family seized possession of the provincial kingship of Leinster in the person of the King of Uí Chennselaig, Diarmait mac Máel na mBó, Énna's paternal great-grandfather. Diarmait mac Máel na mBó eventually gained the kingship of Dublin, and further laid claim the high-kingship of Ireland itself.[9] For over a century afterwards the royal rulers of Leinster were regularly drawn from the family.[10] Énna and his immediate family were members of the Meic Murchada, a branch of the Uí Chennselaig descended and named after Diarmait mac Máel na mBó's son, Murchad.[11]

In 1117, the kingship of Uí Chennselaig, Leinster, and Dublin was held by Énna's first cousin, Diarmait mac Énna (died 1117). When the latter died within the year,[12] Énna succeeded to the kingship of Uí Chennselaig, and Leinster. Unlike other recent Uí Chennselaig monarchs, Énna did not face any serious inter-dynastic opposition to his position.[13]

Dublin

Refer to caption
Excerpt from Oxford Bodleian Library MS Rawlinson B 489 (the Annals of Ulster) concerning Énna's death in 1126.[14] This entry accords Énna a patronym referring to his grandfather, whilst the pictured excerpt from the Annals of Inisfallen refers to Énna's father.

In 1118, Toirdelbach Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht seized the kingship of Dublin,[15] after expelling the reigning Domnall Gerrlámhach Ua Briain, King of Dublin (died 1135),[16] who appears to have seized control following Diarmait's death the year before.[17]

At some point afterwards, Énna apparently gained the kingship himself, as he is accorded the title rí Laigen ⁊ Gall by the Annals of Ulster in an entry recording his submission to Toirdelbach in 1122.[18][note 1] Rather than control Dublin directly himself, Toirdelbach appears to have allowed Énna to rule in Dublin as his subordinate.[20] Although the two appear to have generally enjoyed amiable relations, the former participated in a revolt against the latter in 1124,[21] spearheaded by Cormac Mac Carthaig (died 1138),[22] before relations were finally restored,[23] as Toirdelbach travelled to Dublin and is recorded by the Annals of Tigernach to have handed the kingship over to Énna.[24] Énna's reign in Dublin is further evidenced by the record of his gift of the estate of "Realgeallyn" to the Church of the Holy Trinity, Dublin's ecclesiastical centre.[25]

Énna's early death in 1126 is recorded in numerous sources such as the Annals of Inisfallen,[26] the Annals of Tigernach,[27] the Annals of the Four Masters, and the Annals of Ulster.[28] The Book of Leinster further reveals that he died in Wexford.[29] His death there suggests that the Meic Murchada were patronising this Norse-Gaelic enclave,[30] and it appears that this town and Dublin were the primary concentrations of Leinster's wealth.[31]

Toirdelbach seized upon the power vacuum caused by Énna's demise, and the following year installed his own son, Conchobar (died 1144), as King of Dublin.[32] Toirdelbach also invaded the core territory of the Uí Chennselaig, and deposed an unnamed Meic Murchada, before installing Conchobar as king.[33] The aforesaid Meic Murchada may well have been Máel Sechlainn mac Diarmata (died 1133), a first cousin once removed of Énna.[34] Another possibility, however, is that the unnamed Meic Murchada was Énna's aforesaid younger brother, Diarmait, an apparent rival of Máel Sechlainn.[35]

Ancestry

Notes

  1. ↑ Énna is similarly styled by the Banshenchas.[19]

Anglicized Enna MacMurrough

Citations

  1. ↑ Annals of Inisfallen (2013a) § 1126.7; Bodleian Library MS. Rawl. B. 503 (n.d.).
  2. ↑ Flanagan (2008); O'Byrne (2005b); Simms (2004); Lydon (2001).
  3. ↑ Duffy (1993).
  4. ↑ Ó Corráin (1971).
  5. ↑ Duffy (1992).
  6. ↑ Ó Corráin (1971) p. 26.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Ó Corráin (1971) p. 20.
  8. ↑ Flanagan (2004); Ó Corráin (1971) p. 20.
  9. ↑ Crooks (2005).
  10. ↑ Crooks (2005); Wiley (2005).
  11. ↑ O'Byrne (2005a).
  12. ↑ Duffy (1992) p. 116; Ó Corráin (1971) p. 26.
  13. ↑ Ó Corráin (1971) p. 26.
  14. ↑ Bodleian Library MS. Rawl. B. 489 (n.d.).
  15. ↑ Downham (2013) p. 164; Duffy (1993) p. 17; Ryan (1949) p. 77; Ó Corráin (n.d.) p. 35.
  16. ↑ Flanagan (2008) p. 917; O'Byrne (2005b); Duffy (1992) pp. 116–117; 116 n. 112; Ó Corráin (n.d.) p. 35.
  17. ↑ Duffy (1992) pp. 116–117; 116 n. 112.
  18. ↑ The Annals of Ulster (2012) § 1122.3; The Annals of Ulster (2008) § 1122.3; Simms (2004); Duffy (1998) p. 77; Duffy (1992) pp. 118–119.
  19. ↑ Duffy (1992) pp. 118–119; Dobbs (1931) pp. 230–231.
  20. ↑ Downham (2013) pp. 164–165; Flanagan (2008) p. 917; Duffy (1993) p. 17; Duffy (1992) pp. 118–119; Ó Corráin (n.d.) p. 35.
  21. ↑ Ó Corráin (1971) p. 26.
  22. ↑ Flanagan (2008) p. 918; Jefferies (2005).
  23. ↑ Flanagan (2008) p. 918; Ó Corráin (1971) p. 26.
  24. ↑ The Annals of Tigernach (2010) § 1125.5; Annals of Tigernach (2005) § 1125.5; Duffy (1998) p. 77.
  25. ↑ Hudson, BT (2005) p. 178; Lydon (2001) p. 130; Duffy (1992) p. 118 n. 124; The Twentieth Report... (1888) pp. 102–104 § 364.
  26. ↑ Annals of Inisfallen (2013a) § 1126.7; Annals of Inisfallen (2013b) § 1126.7; Downham (2013) p. 165; Duffy (1993) p. 17.
  27. ↑ The Annals of Tigernach (2010) § 1126.1; Annals of Tigernach (2005) § 1126.1; O'Byrne (2005b).
  28. ↑ Annals of the Four Masters (2013a) § 1126.9; Annals of the Four Masters (2013b) § 1126.9; The Annals of Ulster (2012) § 1126.1; The Annals of Ulster (2008) § 1126.1; Duffy (1992) p. 119.
  29. ↑ Book of Leinster... (2012) § 5500; Duffy (1992) pp. 119 n. 128; 120; Ó Corráin (1971) p. 26.
  30. ↑ Duffy (1992) pp. 119 n. 128.
  31. ↑ Duffy (1992) p. 120.
  32. ↑ Downham (2013) p. 165; Flanagan (2008) p. 918; O'Byrne (2005b); Simms (2004); Duffy (1998) p. 77; Flanagan (1998) p. 113; Duffy (1993) p. 17; Ó Corráin (n.d.) p. 35.
  33. ↑ O'Byrne (2005b); Flanagan (1998) p. 113.
  34. ↑ Flanagan (2004); Ó Corráin (1971) pp. 20, 26–27; Ó Corráin (1977) pp. 71–72.
  35. ↑ Crooks (2005); Flanagan (2004); Ó Corráin (1971) pp. 26–27; Ó Corráin (1977) pp. 71–72.
  36. ↑ Hudson, B (2005); Hudson, BT (2004); Ó Corráin (1971) p. 20.
  37. ↑ Hudson, B (2005); Hudson, BT (2004).

References

Primary sources

  • "Annals of Inisfallen". Corpus of Electronic Texts (23 October 2008 ed.). University College Cork. 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  • "Annals of Inisfallen". Corpus of Electronic Texts (16 February 2010 ed.). University College Cork. 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  • "Annals of the Four Masters". Corpus of Electronic Texts (3 December 2013 ed.). University College Cork. 2013a. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  • "Annals of the Four Masters". Corpus of Electronic Texts (16 December 2013 ed.). University College Cork. 2013b. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  • "Annals of Tigernach". Corpus of Electronic Texts (13 April 2005 ed.). University College Cork. 2005. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  • "Bodleian Library MS. Rawl. B. 489". Early Manuscripts at Oxford University. Oxford Digital Library. n.d. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  • "Bodleian Library MS. Rawl. B. 503". Early Manuscripts at Oxford University. Oxford Digital Library. n.d. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  • "Book of Leinster, Formerly Lebar na Núachongbála". Corpus of Electronic Texts (14 February 2012 ed.). University College Cork. 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  • Dobbs, ME, ed. (1931). "The Ban-Shenchus". Revue Celtique. Vol. 48: 163&ndash, 234 – via Gallica.
  • "The Annals of Tigernach". Corpus of Electronic Texts (2 November 2010 ed.). University College Cork. 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  • "The Annals of Ulster". Corpus of Electronic Texts (29 August 2008 ed.). University College Cork. 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  • "The Annals of Ulster". Corpus of Electronic Texts (15 August 2012 ed.). University College Cork. 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  • The Twentieth Report of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records and Keeper of the State Papers in Ireland. Dublin: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1888 – via Internet Archive.

Secondary sources

  • Crooks, P (2005). "Mac Murchada, Diarmait". In Duffy, S. Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge. pp. 299&ndash, 302. ISBN 0-415-94052-4.
  • Downham, C (2013). "Living on the Edge: Scandinavian Dublin in the Twelfth Century". No Horns on Their Helmets? Essays on the Insular Viking-age. Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, and Scandinavian Studies (series vol. 1). Aberdeen: Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies and The Centre for Celtic Studies, University of Aberdeen. pp. 157&ndash, 178. ISBN 978-0-9557720-1-6. ISSN 2051-6509.
  • Duffy, S (1992). "Irishmen and Islesmen in the Kingdoms of Dublin and Man, 1052–1171". Ériu. Royal Irish Academy. Vol. 43: 93&ndash, 133. JSTOR 30007421 – via JSTOR. (Subscription required (help)).
  • Duffy, S (1993). "Pre-Norman Dublin: Capital of Ireland?". History Ireland. Wordwell. Vol. 1 (No. 4): 13&ndash, 18. JSTOR 27724114 – via JSTOR. (Subscription required (help)).
  • Duffy, S (1998). "Ireland's Hastings: The Anglo-Norman Conquest of Dublin". In Harper-Bill, C. Anglo-Norman Studies. Vol. 20, Proceedings of the Battle Conference 1997. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. pp. 69&ndash, 85. ISBN 0-85115-573-1. ISSN 0954-9927 – via Google Books.
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  • Flanagan, MT (2008) [2005]. "High-Kings With Opposition, 1072–1166". In Ó Cróinín, D. Prehistoric and Early Ireland. New History of Ireland (series vol. 1). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 899&ndash, 933. ISBN 978-0-19-821737-4.
  • Hudson, B (2005). "Diarmait mac Máele-na-mBó (Reigned 1036–1072)". In Duffy, S. Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge. pp. 127&ndash, 128. ISBN 0-415-94052-4.
  • Hudson, BT (2004). "Diarmait mac Máel na mBó (d. 1072)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/50102. Retrieved 2 June 2012. (Subscription required (help)).
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Énna Mac Murchada
Cadet branch of the Uí Chennselaig
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Diarmait mac Énna		 King of Uí Chennselaig
×1117–1126		 Unknown
Preceded by
Diarmait mac Énna		 King of Leinster
×1117–1126		 Unknown
Preceded by
Toirdelbach Ua Conchobair		 King of Dublin
×1122–1126		 Succeeded by
Conchobar Ua Conchobair
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