Royalty
Ireland was first settled around 6000 BC by the prehistoric inhabitants of the British Isles. According to legend, several supernatural peoples -- the Fomorians, the Partholonians, the Nemedians, the Firbolgs, the Tuatha De Danann -- invaded Ireland in ancient times. Each group had its own royalty. The leader of the Partholonians was King Partholon. He had murdered his parents in an attempt to gain the throne of his native country. When that failed he came to Ireland with 49 followers and tried to conquer the ruling Fomorians. He was unsuccessful, and the Partholonians died of a plague. Next King Nemed arrived in Ireland from Scythia with his followers. 2,000 Nemedians died of plague, and the rest (including Nemed's sons Fergus, Iarnbonel and Starn) fled by sea after being defeated by the Fomorians under King Morca. The next two groups of invaders, the Firbolgs and the Tuatha De Danann, are said to have been descended from the Nemedians. The De Danann were powerful sorcerors. They possessed the Lia Fail, or Stone of Destiny, which roared when touched by the foot of the rightful king. The Tuatha De Danann overthrew the Fomorians and fought the Firbolgs for control of Ireland. Eventually the Firbolgs' King Eochaid, who is credited with establishing the first Irish laws, was killed in battle against the forces of the De Nananns' King Nuada. The defeated Firbolgs were left with only the province of Connaught. According to legend, the last De Danann rulers were three queens (Banbha, Eriu and Fodhla) and three kings (MacCecht, MacCuill, and MacGreine). During their reign Ireland was invaded by the Milesians, led by the wife and sons of King Milesius of Spain. Milesius's wife, Queen Scota, said to be the daughter of an Egyptian pharoah, was killed in the fighting, but the Milesians carried the day. The De Danann retreated underground, leaving the surface of Ireland to the Milesians. Today the Irish are sometimes called the Milesian race. After driving out the Tuatha De Danann, Milesius's sons Eber and Eremon divided Ireland between them. In time they went to war over the possession of the beautiful Irish hill of Tara. The victor, Eremon, became Ireland's high king. Thereafter the high kings of Ireland ruled from Tara. Early Ireland These legends have some basis in historical fact. Historians know that Ireland was conquered by Celtic peoples, later known as Gaels, between about 600 and 150 BC. The first reliably documented Irish rulers are Queen Macha Mong Ruad and King Cimbaoth, who lived around 300 BC. Cimbaoth and his brothers, Aod Ruad and Dithorba, agreed to take turns ruling Ireland, each reign lasting seven years. Aod Ruad drowned during his reign and his daughter, Macha Mong Ruad (Macha the Red-Haired), claimed the throne. Unwilling to relinquish her power, she killed Dithorba and forced Cimbaoth to marry her. After Cimbaoth's death she continued to rule Ireland. Her successor was her foster-son, Ugani-Mor, who is said to have conquered much of Britain and gained the title King of Ireland and All of Western Europe As Far as the Mediterranean Sea. Britain was invaded by Romans and Anglo-Saxons in the first few centuries of the Christian era, but Ireland remained largely unaffected. The country was divided into about 150 kingdoms, the largest being Connaught, Leinster, Meath, Munster, and Ulster. By one estimate there were 401 major kings in Ireland between AD 436 and 1224. 49 of these were high kings of Tara, a political office that did not always bring great power. One of the greatest high kings was Niall of the Nine Hostages, whose reign began in AD 379. He formed an alliance with the Scots and Picts and sent ships to plunder England, Scotland, Wales, and France. These raids did much to weaken the power of Rome in Britain and France. Neill reigned for twenty-seven years before being killed by the arrow of a rival, Eochaida, the deposed king of Leinster. Niall's ships brought many captives back to Ireland. One of them, the future Saint Patrick, was the sixteen-year old son of a British Roman official. Patrick escaped from Ireland after six years of slavery, became a bishop, and returned to Ireland to convert its people to Christianity. When he defied High King Laoghaire by building an Easter fire on the Hill of Slane, the king tried to have him killed. But Patrick eluded the king's warriors and in time won Laoghaire's respect. The high king never converted, but he granted Patrick permission to continue his missionary work, and the royal court at Tara became Patrick's headquarters. By the time the persuasive Saint Patrick died, Ireland was almost completely Christian. Medieval Ireland Near the end of the 8th century Ireland was invaded by Vikings. The Gaelic central government wasn't strong enough to organize effective resistance and the Vikings took control of Ireland, establishing kingdoms around Dublin, Limerick, and other places. Brian Boru, son of the Gaelic King Cennetig of Munster,was born in the 930s. In 960 Brian's brother Mahoun became king. Munster was plagued by Viking raids, and Brian was determined to fight back. He managed to unite Munster's rival royal clans, the Delcassians (to which he and Mahoun belonged) and the Eoghanists, and led them to victory against the Vikings of Limerick. But the Eoghanists grew jealous of the Delcassian clan's power and formed an alliance with the Vikings. Two Eoghanists princes, Donovan and Moalmua, invited King Mahoun to dinner and treacherously murdered him. Brian declared war on the Eoghanists and their Viking allies and destroyed them. By 984 Brian was the ruler of the southern half of Ireland. To strengthen his authority in the north he arranged a marriage between his daughter and Sitric Silkbeard, the Viking king of Dublin. Brian himself married Sitric's mother, Gormflaith. Brian's power grew, and in 1002 he became the high king of all Ireland. But when Brian's son Morrough insulted Queen Gormflaith's brother Maelmurra, the king of Leinster, Maelmurra declared war on Brian. Gormflaith eventually joined Maelmurra, and together they convinced Sitric to raise a Viking army against Brian. Brian and Sitric's armies met at Clontarf, near Dublin, on April 23, 1014. During the battle Brian, who was in his 80s, remained in his tent. He was kneeling in prayer when a group of Vikings slipped in and killed him. Despite the loss of its leader Brian's army triumphed; the Vikings' rule in Ireland.
