Famous Irish Military Figures

For thousands of years an ancient warrior culture has existed in Ireland. There have been many Irish heroes and warrior legends, each has played a vital part in who we are today. These ancient warriors and heroes have been kept alive through the Historical Irish Cycles, mythology and the dieties of the Celts. It is what gives us Irish an inner strength, it flows in our blood and makes us a very unique people. The line between Irish Legend and Irish Myth has often been blurred, especially as the retelling of heroic deeds has been passed on through generations. Brian Boru was no legend, although his life deeds were legendary. He was very much a real man and was in fact the last great High King of Ireland, and perhaps the greatest military leader the country has ever known.

Brian Boruma mac Cennetig ( English: Brian Boru ) was an Irish King who ended the domination of the so-called High Kingship of Ireland by the Ui Neill. Building on the achievments of his father, Cennetig mac Lorcain, and especially his elder brother, Mathgamian, Brian first made himself King of Munster, then subjugated Leinster, making himself ruler of the south of Ireland. He is the founder of the O'Brien dynasty. The Ui Neill king Mael Sechnaill mac Domnaill, abandoned by his northern kinsmen of the Cenel nEogain and Cenel Conaill, acknowledged Brian as High King at Athlone in 1002. In the decade that followed, Brian campaigned against the northern Ui Neill, who refused to accept his claims, against Leinster, where resistance was frequent and against the Norse Gaelic kingdom of Dublin. Brian's hard-won authority was seriously challenged in 1013 when his ally Mael Sechnaill was attacked by the Cenel nEogain King Flaithbertach Ua Neill, with the

Many Irish annals state that Brian was in his 88th year when he fell at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. If true this would mean that he was born as early as 926 or 927. Other birth dates given in retrospect are 923 or 942. He was one of 12 sons of Cennetig mac Lorcain ( d.951 ) King of Dal Cais and King of Tuadmumu ( Thomond, in north Munster ) Cennetig was also described as ' rigdamna Caisil ' meaning that he was either heir or candidate ( King material ) to the Kingship of Cashel or Munster. Brian's mother was Be Binn, daughter of Aurchad mac Murchada ( d.945 ) King of Ui Briuin Seola in west Connacht. This may explain why he received the name Brian, which was rare among the Dal Cais. Brian was born at Kincora, Killaloe, a town region of Tuadmumu
( Thomond ) Brian's postumous cognomen ' Boruma ' ( anglicised as Boru ) may have referred to ' Beal Boruma ' a fort north of Killaloe ( Co Clare ) in Thomond, where the Dal Cais held sway. When their father died, the Kingship of Tuadmumu passed to Brian's older brother, Mathgamin, and when Mathgamain was killed in 976, Brian replaced him. Subsequently he became King of the entire kingdom of Munster.

Brian belonged to the Dal gCais ( or Dalcassians ) who occupied a territory straddling the largest river in Ireland, the River Shannon, a territory that would later be known as the Kingdom of Thomond, and today incorporates portions of County Clare and County Limerick. The Shannon served as an easy route by which raids could be made against the province of Connacht ( to the river's west ) and Meath ( to its east) Both Brian's father, Connetig mac Lorcain and his older brother Mathgamain conducted river-borne raids in which the young Brian would undoubtedlt have participated. This was probably the root of his appreciation for naval forces in his later career. An important influence upon the Dalcassians was the presence of the Hiberno-Norse city of Limerick on an isthmus around which the Shannon River winds. Undoubtedly the Hiberno-Norse of Limerick and the Dalcassians frequently came to blows, but it's unlikely that the relationship was always one of hostility; there was probably peaceful contact as well, such as trade. The Dalcassians may have benefited from these interactions, from which they would have been exposed to Norse innovations such as superior weapons and ship design, all factors that may have contributed to their growing power.

In 964, Brian's older brother, Mathgamain, claimed control over the entire province of Munster by capturing the Rock of Cashel, capital of the Eoganacht dynasty. The Eoganacht king, Mael Maud mac Brian, entered into an anti-Dalcassian alliance that included anonther Irish King in Munster, Donnuban mac Cathail of Ui Fidgenti, and Ivar of Limerick, of the Ui Imair. At the Battle of Sulcoit, a Dalcassian army led by Mathgamian and Brian decisively defeated the Hiberno-Norse army of Limerick and, following up their victory, looted and burned the city. The Dalcassian victory at Sulchoid may have led Mael Maud to decide that deception might succeed where an open contest of strength on the battlefield had failed. In 976 Mathgamain attended what was supposed to be a peaceful meeting for reconciliation, where he was seized and murdered. It was under these unpromising circumstances that Brian became new leader of the Dalcassians.

Brian immediately set about avenging his brother's death and reinstating the control of the Dalcassians over the province of Munster. In quick succession, he attacked and defeated the Hiberno-Norse of Limerick, Mael Muad's Irish allies, and finally Mael Maud himself. Brian's approach to establishing his control over Munster, demonstrated features that would be characteristic of all his wars: he seized the initiative, defeating his enemies before they could join forces to overwhelm him, and although he was ruthless and horribly brutal by modern standards, he sought reconciliation in the aftermath of victory rather than continuing hostility. After he had killed both the ruler of Limerick, Ivar and Ivar's successor, he allowed the Hiberno-Norse in Limerick to remain in their settlement. Mael Muad was slain in the Battle of Belach Lechta, but Brian treated his son and successor, Cian, with great respect, giving Cian the hand of his daughter, Sadb in marriage. Cian remained a faithful ally for the rest of his life.

Brian made it clear that his ambitions had been satisfied by the compromise of 997 when, in the year 1000, he had led a combined Munster-Leinster-Dublin army in an attack on High King Mael Sechnaill mac Domnaill's hom province of Meath. The struggle over who would control all of Ireland was renewed. Mael Sechnaill's most important ally was the King of Connacht, Cathal mac Conchobar mac Taidg ( O' Connor ) but this presented a number of problems. The provinces of Meath and Connacht were separated by the Shannon River, which served as both a route by which Brian's naval forces could attack the shores of either province