BRIAN BORU

Arguably no other historical figure in Ireland is better known than Brian Boru. So famous has he become that many of the stories concerning him are little more than folk-tales, part of an overall mythology. He is, for instance, reputed to be the only man in Ireland who could sit astride the Pooka – a ferocious fairy horse which had terrified the Irish countryside. He obtained from the monster the promise that it would never attack another Irishman (except those in the throes of intoxication). Brian is also credited with the killing of several giants in the West of Ireland but his name is probably used in all these instances to cover a number of heroes or to refer to the overall concept of the hero. Brian, however, certainly existed.

The name Brian is thought to have been the adaptation of the earlier Briun, or even a Breton title Brien. From 976-1014, he was leader of the Dal gCais sept of Thomond (County Clare) and also High King of Ireland from 1002 until his death. He is the first of the factious Munster kings to have had such an impact upon Irish history. His sobriquet, Boru, is suggested as a derivation of boraimhe, meaning a cattle tribute, thus giving him the nickname ‘Brian of the Tributes’. However, some historians render the title as ‘Boramha’ referring to Béal Boramha, on the right bank of the Shannon near Killaloe. This, they claim was Brian's birthplace.

Brian came to the leadership of the Dal gCais in 976 after the assassination of his elder brother during the internecine wars which characterised the Munster dynasties. He proved to be a strong and able leader, restoring some measure of stability to politically-fractured Munster. He launched a campaign against certain Viking settlements in Ireland – particularly the settlement of Limerick. In fact he became one of the first known native kings to successfully defeat the Vikings on Irish soil.

As his reputation and military prowess increased, Brian became more ambitious. He threatened the reigning Ui Niall High King of Ireland – Mael macDomhaill – that if he did not relinquish the throne, Brian would take it by force. The High King, not wishing such a confrontation, immediately vacated the throne and Brian became Ard Rí (High King). From this position, he increased his attacks against the Vikings and the ‘foreign Gaels’ (a king of half-Norse/half-Irish hybrid people) with unremitting savagery. He was greatly hated by the Irish Norse, even though he was married to a woman who had previously been espoused to Olafr the White, Norse king of Dublin.

The final conflict between the Norse and Celtic worlds in Ireland took place at Cluain Tairbh (Clontarf) on Good Friday 1014. The two spheres of influence hurled themselves at each other in bloody battle and by the end of the day, Norse power in Ireland had been largely broken. However, Brian himself was dead – killed by an axe thrown by a Manx Norseman Brodr, as he stood in the doorway of his tent awaiting news of victory (at the age of 72, he had taken no active part in the battle himself). Thus, he passed into history as one of the greatest of the Munster kings.

From the Appletree Press title:
Complete Guide to Celtic Mythology by Bob Curran.