Muircheartach Ua Briain

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This Source

Muircheartach Ua Briain was a High King of Ireland (1101–1118 AD).

Muircheartach was a son of Toirdhealbhach Ua Briain, a previous Dál Cais king of Ireland. He took the kingship of Dublin in the year 1075. In 1086 his father died and the province of Munster from which he had claimed kingship of Ireland had been split between his three sons: Tadc, Muircheartach and Diarmait. Tadc died soon after, and Muircheartach banished Diarmait from Munster, claiming its kingship for himself.

Between 1086 and 1101, Muircheartach consolidated and strengthened his position as province-king of Munster. He went on forays into Mide and Leinster in 1089 and took the kingship of Leinster and the Viking town of Dublin. In 1093, he accepted the submission of Domnall mac Flainn Ua Maíl Shechnaill, the Uí Néill king of Tara, and also made peace with his brother Diarmait at Cashel.

In 1094, Muircheartach fought the kings of Leth Cuinn and Gofraid, king of Dublin. 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 became king and travelled the island provinces. It was in this year that he gave the fortress at on the rock of Cashel as a gift to the Church. In 1102, Muircheartach made a marriage alliance with Magnus Barelegs, king of Norway. In 1114 the king became sick to the point where "he became a living skeleton". In response to the kings misfortune his brother Diarmait took control of the kingship of Munster and banished Muircheartach. The following year Muircheartach 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 1118 Muircheartach Ó Briain died.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia © 2001-2006 Wikipedia contributors (Disclaimer)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Sunday February 17, 2008 at 01:51:06 PST (GMT -0800)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation