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Born in the 10th Century AD (historians place his birth in or around the year 940AD) near where the town of Killaloe stands today, Brian Boru (Gaelic: Brian Bóruma) was the son of Cennétig Mac Lorcáin, King of Thomand and his mother was the daughter of the King of West Connaught. Boru's people were known as the Dalcassians (Gaelic: Dál Cais) whose land, Thomand, encapsulated much of modern-day Clare and Limerick, along the shores of the River Shannon.
Brian Boru was born into turbulent times. The Dál Cais had been steadily loosing ground to the Norsemen of Limerick, under the leadership of Ivar. The Norse were using their military strength to strangle the region with heavy taxes.
Bé Binn, Brian's mother, had been slaughtered by the Norse when Brian was but a child and this was something which would influence his life profoundly. After the death of his father, Cennétig, Boru's brother, Mahon, became the new leader of the Dáil Cais.
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At first Mahon had attempted to appease the Norsemen. Brian, however, still remembering the brutal death of his mother and other members of the Dál Cais clan, hungered for battle. Against Mahon's wishes Brian began a guerrilla campaign against the Norsemen, raiding their outposts then disappearing only to strike once more. Much like other famed military leaders of ancient times, Brian also had an instinctive grasp on the art of psychological warfare and his shrewd strategies deeply impacted the confidence of his enemies who thought his numbers far, far greater than they actually were. Those numbers continued to grow, however, as more and more men joined his cause. Mahon would later capture the Rock of Cashel, centre of the rival Eóganacht clan's power, and ordained himself King of all Munster. The Eóganachts soon rallied against Mahon and sought an alliance with Ivar and the Norse to defeat the Dál Cais. The alliance failed, however, with Mahon and Boru, fighting side by side, defeating the Norse in Limerick, razing the city and driving Ivar and his men into the sea. With Ivar routed the Dál Cais turned their attention towards the Eóganachts promting their king, Mac Brain, to sue for peace. |
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In reality Mac Brian had no intention of seeking peace with the Dál Cais. When Mahon arrived to talk terms Mac Brian's men seized him and he was promptly put to the sword. This was how Brian Boru became the new head of the Dál Cais clan. Boru wasted no time in meting out retribution; he vanquished the last remnants of the Norse in Limerick, then, at last, turned his attention to Mac Brain. In a series of campaigns he swiftly quelled resistance in Munster from the Eóganacht and their allies - those who had joined in the alliance with the Norse. |
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Whilst brutal in battle, Boru was benign in victory, allowing the Norse settlers to remain in Limerick and even offering Cian, the son of Mac Brain, his daughter's hand in marriage. This new bond of blood would not only serve to help Boru reconcile with the Eóganacht, but also served to strengthen his hold of Munster as a whole.
With Munster now his, Brian turned his attention on the rest of the island.
In the Kingdom of Tara, meanwhile, Máel Sechnaill, of the powerful Uí Neall clan, began to resent Boru's ascendance and so the two great men came to blows. After a series of campaigns, back and forth, Boru finally got the upper hand but instead of pursuing the conflict further sought détente between the two leaders.
And so for a while they put their differences aside and ruled Ireland between them.
It soon became apparent, however, that the Uí Neall king had over-extended himself and so finally conceded control to Boru. Such a move was an unprecedented and pivotal one:
For the first time in Irish history, the Gaels had a true High King (Gaelic: Árd Rí).
Prior to this, Ireland had been divided up into many different Tuaths administered by competing clans and dynasties. As well as the Gaelic chieftains, Ireland was also host to a patchwork alliance of Celts and Norse, with various Viking settlements in places like Limerick, Dublin, Cork and Waterford, each with their own leaders and kings. Once Máel Sechnaill graciously stepped aside, there were very few people left who could threaten Boru's ultimate goal of a united Irish kingdom.
Brian earned the title Brian of the Tributes as he travelled around the country, to collect tributes of monies and other riches. These were not just to build his army and his navy, but also to build and rebuild many great churches and monasteries, such as the church in Tuamgraney, the oldest church still in use in Ireland (and indeed the British Isles).
Though he had consolidated his power, and proven himself to be as great a monarch as he had been a general, Boru still had many enemies and with trouble again on the horizon, bitter rivalries would once again come to the fore.
Meanwhile the Vikings of Dublin, who had long since resented Boru's presence and eminence, had brought in reinforcements from all over the Viking world to dispatch him. On Good Friday, in the year 1014AD, Brian Boru once again met the Norse in battle.
The battle was long and hard but in the end Boru and the Gaels were victorious. However, just as the battle ended, Boru himself was killed by a Norseman who was fleeing the battlefield.
From the Irish viewpoint the Battle of Clontarf is an ambivalent victory. On the plus side, Boru managed to meet the Viking invaders - face on - and defeat them. Clontarf delivered the final deathblow to Viking ambition in Ireland and in the immediate aftermath Ireland began to see a steady decline in Norse power.
The Norse were by no means gone, however, many stayed on to settle and trade, to intermarry. As the decades rolled on, the distinction between Norse and Irish became less defined. Eventually they became, in every sense of the word, indistinguishably Irish.
If Clontarf was a victory, it was a bitter one, for it robbed Ireland of one of its one true great leaders, a brilliant tactician and a true monarch. A man who had united Ireland and defeated her enemies but ultimately, this unity, was to prove unsustainable.
Although Máel Sechnaill succeeded him as High King, the dream of a United Ireland was never to be realised.
Boru's death ensured that Ireland would eventually revert back to the disharmony fractured rivalry, disharmony and tribalism of the pre-Boru age and, in so doing, served to make Ireland an easier conquest, over a century later, for a new breed of invaders, whose thirst for power and riches eclipsed even that of the Vikings. A tribe who were, themselves, descendants of the Vikings and whose own descendants would have the greatest impact on the island of Ireland - the Normans.
The Legacy of Brian Boru.
The bravery of Brian Boru has served as an inspiration to Irishmen and women throughout Ireland's long struggle for independence and a symbol of all that is great and good about Ireland and the Irish. Even today his name still echoes throughout Ireland and the Irish Diaspora and in the county of Clare in particular, where the surname O'Brien - meaning "Of Brian" or "Descendant of Brian" - is still quite common.
Indeed the name O'Brien crops up quite regularly throughout the history of Ireland, beyond Viking and Norman Ireland, through to Tudor Ireland, where Murrough O'Brien adopted the new title Earl of Thomand. The O'Brien name is also stamped upon many of County Clare's most famous landmarks such as Bunratty Castle, Dromoland Castle and Leaghmenagh Castle, in the Burren.
Brian Boru's Accomplishments
- Excellent tactician; won major victories without major numbers.
- United the scattered Gaelic tribes against the Norsemen.
- Banished Ivar of Limerick from the land.
- Took the Rock of Cashel and became King of Munster.
- Peace made with the Eóganacht clan, marriage of Cian, son of Mac Brain, to Boru's daughter.
- Consolidation of Munster.
- Detente with Máel Sechnaill and the Ui Neills.
- Ascendancy to the position of Árd Rí of Ireland.
- Commissioning of great public works, churches and monasteries and rebuilding Irish lands ravaged by the Viking Wars.
- Decisive victory at the Battle of Clontarf, Viking power defeated and soon diminishes to nothing.
- Descendants take the name O'Brien, becoming a powerful clan throughout Irish history and giving their name to many of Ireland's best-known landmarks.
Brian Boru Links
Feile Brian Boru is an annual festival in Killaloe in honour of the town's most famous son.
An Irish distillery produces Boru Vodka, Brian's honour.
This writer can vouch for its potency and can tell you that after a few shots I was ready to on the Vikings myself.
Brian Boru movie to begin filming in 2008!
A Brian Boru movie is currently in the pipeline called Freedom Within the Heart.
The story is written by Corkman Mark Mahon (surely a surname of which Boru himself would have approved) and is set to begin principal photography next March.
With Hollywood heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio, as Brian Boru, and (not-quite-a-heartthrob but could-certainly-make-your-headthrob) Vinnie Jones, of all people, as Ivar of Limerick, it's going to be nothing else if not interesting. Mahon himself describes it as an "Irish Braveheart", which, is true, in a sense. Like the hero of Braveheart, William Wallace, Boru's tale is that of triumph and tragedy, vengeance and honour, in equal measure. Ultimately it's an underdog story about one man's struggle against a seemingly-invincible enemy, for the freedom of his land and his people. It's the sort of story that Hollywood loves and retells time and time again, with movies like Braveheart, and indeed other "strength and honour" epics like Gladiator, 300, The Last Samurai and many more besides.
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Let's all hope that the Hollywood hotshots tell the story properly, and that they film the movie - a movie about Ireland - IN Ireland with an Irish cast and crew. As for Vinnie Jones as Ivar, well I guess the auteur of ear-biting could indeed pull it off, if he manages to curtail his cockney accent and doesn't manage to make it into total slash-'em up Hollywood "Lock Stock and Two Smoking monasteries" affair. But if he doesn't well, I'm not gonna argue with him - are you? |
