Muirchertach Ua Briain

Major political divisions of Ireland similar to those in Muircheartach's time

Muirchertach Ó Briain was a son of Toirdelbach Ua Briain, the previous Dalcassian king Munster and de facto High King of Ireland. As a descendant of Brian Boru, he was part of the powerful O'Brien dynasty who ruled Ireland at the time. His mother was Derbforgaill, daughter of Tadhg Mac Giolla Pádraig of Osraige, who also bore Muirchertach's brother Tadhg.[1]

His early life is largely unknown. The Annals of Tigernach give his birth date as in the year 1050. Afterwards, he is not mentioned in any of the annals of Ireland until the year 1075 when he was defeated by the Kingdom of Airgíalla in battle near modern Ardee in County Louth, taking heavy losses.[2] This was part of a series of campaigns undertaken by his father Toirdelbach against rebellious lesser kings in the north of the country. He was later appointed as king or governor of the city-state of Dublin by his father.[3]

Background: Importance of Dublin

Despite the victory of Muircherteach's great-grandfather Brian Borúdhma over the Vikings at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 and the breaking of Norse power in Ireland, Dublin remained under the rule of Norse-Gael kings and had links with other Viking Kingdoms. They paid tribute to their Irish overlords, but otherwise the Irish rarely interfered, mainly because of the trade the Norse brought to the area.[3]

However in the year 1052, the King of Dublin, Echmarchach mac Ragnaill was removed by the son of the King of Laigin (Leinster), Murchad, who were the overlords of Dublin. The King of Leinster, Diarmuit mac Maíl ma mBó had the Echmarchach was replaced Murchad. He acted as a sort of governor of the city on the behalf of his father the King of Leinster. Domanll appreciated the importance of Dublin which, even back then, was recognised as a sort of national capital city and was important for a number of reasons, especially trade and its military forces, particularly its naval fleet which was one of the largest and most powerful in the British Isles.[3]

Appointment of Muircherteach

Following the death of the King of Leinster in the year 1075, Dublin came under the control of Muircherteach's father, Toirdelbach mac Donchad Ua Briain, King of Munster and High King of Ireland, as he expanded his power throughout Ireland. Toirdelbach at first appointed Godfraid mac Ragnaill as king but he was later expelled by Toirdelbhach. He then placed a man by the name of Domnall as governor but he was himself replaced by Muircherteach later that same year after the former's sudden and unexpected death. This was probably Muircherteach's first major political appointment as it was in this year that he was first mentioned in the Annals of Tigernach, signifying the power and the importance of the position he held.[3]

It was here that, as governor, he would've had frequent contact with the Archbishop of Dublin, Patrick. Patrick had previously held positions within the Catholic Church in England in various different areas and would have been very familiar with the politics of England following the invasion by the Norman's in 1066. Patrick was the one who possibly influenced Muircherteach's great interest in affairs outside Ireland later in his career.[3]

On the 19th of October 1084, Muircherteach led a large army consisting of the armies of the Kingdoms of Dublin, Leinster, Osraige and Munster against the forces of Donchad ua Ruairc of Breifne, in a battle at Moin Croinnioce, near modern Leixlip in County Kildare. Over 4,000 men were killed in the battle, with Muircherteach heavily defeating the forces of Ua Ruairc. After the battle, Muircherteach cut off Ua Ruairc's head and brought it to his father's palace in Kincora.[4]

In 1086, following the death of his father Toirdelbach, Muircherteach claimed the Kingship of Munster. Initially, Toirdelbach had divided the Kingdom between his three sons Muircherteach, Diarmuit and Tadc. However Tadc died the following year and Muircherteach banished Diarmuit, claiming the entire province for himself.[1][3] Diarmuit, however, was evidently not going to let Muircherteach take the Kingship so easily and made an alliance with the King of Leinster. The forces of Diarmuit and Leinster met with the forces of Muircherteach at Raith Etair, possibly the promontory fort on Howth Head in northern County Dublin. The forces of Muircherteach were victorious, and Muircherteach's claim to the Kingship was no longer under any threat.[4]

In 1088, Muircherteach led a number of naval campaigns against Ruadhrí na Saide Buide Ua Conchobhair, King of Connacht. The first fleet sailed up the River Shannon as far as Clonfert, but the crews were slaughtered by the Connachtmen. Another fleet was sent around western coast of Ireland on the Atlantic Ocean, but this fleet was also defeated by the forces of Connacht. Ruadhrí then attacked Munster when he invaded northern County Clare, near the homeland of the Dál gCáis.[4]

However, a new rival emerged in the form of Domnall Mac Lochlainn, King of the Northern Uí Néill, who later in 1088 invaded Connacht and successfully gained the submission of Ruahdrí na Saide. The two formed an alliance and together they attacked Munster. At the time, Muircherteach was away campaigning in Leinster. They burned and looted Limerick, Killaloe and Emly, and took over 160 hostages. Muircherteach was forced to buy back these hostages with gold, silver, cattle and meat.[4]

According to a source from Munster, Muircherteach avenged himself by attacking Mide and Leinster, the latter presumably having fallen into enemy hands since Muircherteach was governor of Dublin. He gained the submission of both provinces, killing the King of Leinster in the process. He also fought around Dublin, burning a building in Lusk, Fingal killing over 160 people inside. He then headed west and cut down the sacred inaugural tree of the Kings of Connacht. Muircherteach led further naval campaigns against Connacht the next year in 1089 when he was looting islands in Lough Ree, but Ruadhrí na Saide blocked the path home on the River Shannon around the settlement of Clonmacnaoise, forcing Muircherteach to hand over his ships to the forces of the Kingdom of Meath after retreating to Athlone. He marched with his army back home to Munster on foot, but using Muircherteach's confiscated ships, sailed southward on the Shannon and plundered the plains around Cashel.[4]

Four kings now battled for supremacy in Ireland– Muircherteach Ua Briain of the Kingdom of Munster, Domnall Ua Maél Sechnaill of the Kingdom of Mide, Ruadhrí na Saide Buide Ua Conchobhair of the Kingdom ofConnacht, and Domnall Mac Lochlainn of the Northern Uí Néill. The four kings met in 1090, where Mac Lochlainn was acknowledged as High King of Ireland and he received hostages from the other three kings. Following this conference, Muircherteach went on campaign in Leinster again, but while he was away Munster was attacked by Ua Maél Sechnaill who was joined by Ruadhrí na Saide. Although he was defeated by the Meath forces, he was able to drive the armies of Connacht back, and then received assistance from Mac Lochlainn in the north in defeating Ua Maél Sechnaill.[4]

Ruadhrí na Saide again invaded Munster two years later in 1091, but he was blinded the following year in 1092 by Flaithbertaigh Ua Flaithbertaigh, throwing the Kingdom of Connacht into a state of political turmoil. Muircherteach took advantage of this situation by invading the province and gaining the Kingship, in the process possibly taking in and grooming his nephew Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobhair for the day he would be come king. These events left Muircherteach in the south and Mac Lochlainn in the north the most powerful kings in Ireland. He continued expanding his power with further campaigns in Mide, more or less gaining the overlordship of the region, and he reconciled with his brother Diarmuit at Cashel in 1093.[4][5]

In 1094, Muirchertach fought the kings of Leth Cuinn and Gofraid Crobán, King of Dublin and the Isles. He went with his army to Dublin and banished Gofraid, and brought about the killing of Domnall Ua Maíl Shechnaill. He asserted supremacy over the Uí Néill kingdom of Mide.

In 1101 he declared himself High King and travelled the island provinces. It was in this year that he gave the fortress on the rock of Cashel as a gift to the Church.

In an effort to gain military support against Henry I, Arnulf de Montgomery sent his steward, Gerald of Windsor, to Ireland to negotiate terms with Muirchertach. According to a Welsh chronicle (Sean Duffy, p. 45, 1997), Arnulf "though to make peace with the Irish and to obtain help from them. And he sent messengers to Ireland, that is Gerald the Steward (Gerald of Winsor) and many others, to ask for the daughter of King Murtart for his wife. And that he easily obtained; and the messengers came joyfully to their land. And Murtart sent his daughter and many armed ships along with her to his aid. And when the earls had exalted themselves with pride because of those events, they refused to accept any peace from the king."

De Montgomery and his brother Robert, were however defeated by Henry and fled to Ireland. The Montgomery brothers fought under Muirchertach during his campaign with Magnus Barelegs, but when de Montgomery attempted to seize the kingship for himself, Muirchertach "took his daughter away from Arnulf and gave the wanton girl in an unlawful marriage to one of his cousins. He resolved to kill Arnulf himself as a reward for his alliance, but the latter ... fled to his own people and lived for twenty years afterwards with no fixed abode." (Sean Duffy, 1997, p. 46).

In 1102, Muirchertach cemented an alliance with Magnus Barefoot, king of Norway by marrying his daughter Bjaðmunjo to Magnus's son, Sigurd I Magnusson. Muirchertach now took part in a campaign with Magnus to assert control over Ulster, successfully defeating opposing Irish forces. After a year of campaigning, as his army was readying to depart back to Norway, King Magnus was ambushed and killed by an Irish army in Ulster. With Magnus's death, Muirchertach's daughter's marriage was disavowed by the Norwegians, weakening Muirchertachs proclaimed position as High King.

In 1114 the king became sick to the point where "he became a living skeleton".[5] In response to the king's misfortune, his brother Diarmait took control of the kingship of Munster and banished Muirchertach. The following year Muirchertach regained his strength and undertook a campaign to regain control of Munster and successfully captured Diarmait. Only later did the king regain control of Munster.

In 1119, Muirchertach Ua Briain died. He was succeeded as High King of Ireland by King Toirdelbach Ua Conchobhair of Connacht.

Anthony Condon (1979, p. 398) remarked of Ó Briain:

Muirchertach Ó Briain was an ambitious, modernising and outward-looking king whose goal was to make himself king of Ireland as much as William Rufus and Henry I were kings of England; in reality his position was, perhaps, more analogous to that of Philip I in France ... but his actually authority in Ireland, especially at the height of his power in the first years of the twelfth century, greatly exceeded that of Phillip in France. ... Ua Briain ... pursued a vigorous foreign policy which was to carry his activities beyond his own shores.

In the latter regard, Condon (1979, p. 415) views

Ua Briain's activities in the Irish Sea area [as] a mixture of old and new, of pragmstisim and idealism ... But they are invested with a modern purpose. Ua Briain makes one marriage with the king of Norway, and another with one of the most powerful non-royal families in Europe; he treats with the king of Scotland; his aid to the Welsh princes acts as a stabilising influence in Welsh politics; he incurs trade sanctions from the king of England, and negotiates their suspension. Altogether, Muirchertach Ó Briain lifted his head above the domestic power struggle and sought to involve Ireland in the international politics of Europe, so that some sixty years later, these activities were still well remembered, and are reflected in the vitae of St. Flannan of Killaloe.

• Muirchertach Ua Briain, Politics and Naval Activity in the Irish Sea, 1075 to 119, Anthony Candon, in Keimelia:Studies in Medieval Archaeology and History in memory of Tom Delaney, pp. 397–415. ed Gearoid Mac Nicoill, Galway, 1979
• Ireland in the Middle Ages, pp. 41–47, 48, 51–53.