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Brian Boru (Middle Irish: Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig; modern Irish: Brian Bóramha; c. 941 – 23 April 1014) was the High King of Ireland from 1002 to 1014. He ended the domination of the the High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill dynasty and is responsible for ending Viking invasions of Ireland. Brian Boru is mentioned in the Annals of Inisfallen and in Chronicon Scotorum as "Brian mac Cennétig" (Brian, son of Cennétig). The name Brian of Bóruma or Brian Boru was given to him posthumously. Brian built on the achievements of his father, Cennétig mac Lorcain, and especially his elder brother, Mathgamain. Brian first made himself king of Munster, then subjugated Leinster, eventually becoming High King of Ireland. He was the founder of the O'Brien dynasty, and is widely regarded as one of the most successful and unifying monarchs in medieval Ireland.

With a population of under 500,000 people, Ireland had over 150 kings, with greater or lesser domains. The Uí Néill king Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, abandoned by his northern kinsmen of the Cenél nEógain and Cenél Conaill, acknowledged Brian as High King at Athlone in 1002. In the decade that followed, Brian campaigned against the northern Uí Néill, who refused to accept his claims; against Leinster, where resistance was frequent; and against the Norse-Gaelic Kingdom of Dublin. Brian was described in the Annals of Ulster as ardrí Gaidhel Erenn & Gall & Bretan, August iartair tuaiscirt Eorpa uile (High King of the Gaels of Ireland and the Norse foreigners and the Britons, Augustus of all north-western Europe), the only Irish king to receive that distinction in the annals.

Family background

Brian Boru was one of the twelve sons of Cennétig mac Lorcáin (d. 951), who was King of Dál gCais and king of Tuadmumu (Thomond), modern County Clare, then a sub-kingdom in the north of Munster.……

Early life

Brian was born at Kincora, his father's residence or fort in Killaloe, a town in the region of Tuadmumu. Brian's posthumous cognomen "Bóruma" (anglicised as Boru) may have referred to "Béal Bóruma", a fort north of Killaloe, where the Dál gCais held sway.……

Reign of Mathgamain

In 964, Brian's older brother, Mathgamain, claimed control over the entire province of Munster by capturing the Rock of Cashel, capital of the ancient Eóganachta, the hereditary overlords or High Kings of Munster, but who in dynastic strife and with multiple assassinations had weakened themselves to the point they were now impotent.……

Early reign in Munster

Despite the death of Mathgamain, the Dál gCais remained a powerful force. Mathgamain was succeeded as King of Thomond by Brian, who quickly proved to be as fine a commander of armies as his brother was.……

Clashes with the High King

Having established unchallenged rule over his home Province of Munster, Brian turned to extending his authority over the neighboring provinces of Leinster to the east and Connacht to the north-west.……

Struggle for Ireland

Brian made it clear that his ambitions had not been satisfied by the compromise of 997 when, in the year 1000, he led a combined Munster-Leinster-Dublin army in an attack on High King Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill's home province of Meath.……

High kingship

Brian, then in his 60s, spent the next decade or so of his life subjugating and accepting the submissions of the last of the lesser kingdoms and regions which had not already submitted to him.……

Ulster campaigns

Ulster's geography presented a formidable challenge.……

Death

There are many accounts of how Brian was killed. Some suggest he was killed during heroic man-to-man combat, although others specify that he was not involved in the battle

due to his advanced age and frailty.……

Historical view

For the last 250 years there has been a debate among historians about Ireland's Viking age and the Battle of Clontarf. The standard, and "popular", view, is that the battle ended a war between the Irish and Vikings by which Brian Boru broke Viking power in Ireland.……

Wives and children

Brian's first wife was Mór, daughter of the king of Uí Fiachrach Aidne of Connacht. She is said to have been the mother of his sons Murchad, Conchobar and Flann.……

Family heritage

The descendants of Brian were known as the Uí Briain (O'Brien) clan, hence the surnames Ó Briain, O'Brien, O'Brian etc. O was originally Ó which in turn came from Ua, which means 'grandson or descendant' (of a named person).……

Ancestry

Ancestry of Brian Boru

Cultural heritage

Literature

Finnegans Wake (1939), by James Joyce, makes multiple references to Brian Boru and Clontarf, in neologisms typical of that book ("clontarfminded") and obscure references (e.g.……

Music

His name is remembered in the title of one of the oldest tunes in Ireland's traditional repertoire: "Brian Boru's March".……

External resources

Battle of Clontarf website produced by Trinity College Dublin Archived 2 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine