The story of Brian Boru is as steeped in myth and popular folklore as it is in historical fact. Over the course of this first video on his life and achievements, I will attempt to separate the myths from the facts and create a coherent narrative for you to listen to.

You can email me with questions about this video or others at: cianrowanyt@gmail.com

The story of Brian Boru is bound up more tightly with the Irish social consciousness than perhaps any other figure in the island's history.

No Irishman before or after his time came as close to a permanent union of the island under 1 monarch, and perhaps that is what excites the imagination of Irish people when they think about him.

Given Ireland's history as a subjugated state, and even as a colonial possession, the concept alone of an Irish king ruling Ireland conjures up all sorts of ideas about what could have been.

As a disclaimer before I get into the body of this video, this period of Irish history is lacking in detail in many areas as the annals that exist from the time cover very specific persons, families and events and often neglect the wider picture of the island.

As a result, I will not be able to give the same amount of specifics on things like births, deaths, marriages and battles as you may be used to if you're a returning viewer to the channel.

I will attempt to fill the holes in the narrative with educated supposition where I feel it's warranted, but I will make it clear that I am just theorising or quoting an existing theory whenever this comes up.

With that out of the way we can get on to the story of 1 of the most extraordinary men in Irish history, Brian Borough.

Brian was born in roughly 941 AD to a man named Kennedig MacLorcan.

Kennedig was the ruler of the sub-kingdom of Thaumand, a piece of the larger kingdom of Munster.

At this period of Irish history, before the centralisation that followed the Norman invasion in the 12th century, there were more than 150 sub-kingdoms on the island.

All of these kingdoms were ruled by men who thought of themselves as real kings, though there would have been little more than counts or barons on mainland Europe at the time.

Kennetig was the ruler of the Dalkosh, or Dalkassians to use the anglicised term.

During his time at the helm of the clan, Kennetig did much to enhance the wealth and prestige of the Dalkassians.

His efforts before his death made the path to command easier for his sons, who were to rule the Dalkassians when he was gone.

Brian was born in Cinkora, Killuloo, and was the youngest of Kennetic's 12 sons.

As the youngest of such a large brood of potential successors, Brian was far from likely to inherit his father's position in Thomand.

This is aptly demonstrated by the fact that, as a boy, Brian was sent to a monastery to learn Latin.

It may be that Kennetig intended him for the church, but we simply don't know.

What we do know is that a pivotal event in Brian's life put a halt to his academic education and caused him to be recalled home.

At the age of 10, Brian's father Kennetig was killed in a raid conducted by Viking brigands from Limerick.

The Irish referred to the Norse as Ostmen, or men from the East.

The sudden death of Kennetig caused some degree of panic in Thormund, and all the potential successors to the throne were recalled with haste.

That meant that Brian, the youngest of the 12, was going home.

Brian's brother Mathgaon would ultimately go on to lead the Dalkassians, taking over his father's role.

Much like Brian, Mathgaon had not been the eldest of their father's sons to begin with.

A biography of Brian relates a story in which he and 2 of his brothers, 1 of which was Mathgaon, witnessed a devastating attack on a Dalkascian fort by Norse raiders.

The fort had been situated on the river Shannon, meaning that it had useful river access, but was also vulnerable to raiders from Limerick sailing downriver.

The 3 brothers spotted the raid in progress from the hill they were stood upon looking after livestock.

They rushed down to reach the fort, but by the time they arrived the raiders were gone, leaving ashes and bodies in their wake.

Several of Brian's brothers were killed in this attack, leaving Mathgowan unexpectedly in line to inherit the sub-kingdom of Thomund.

This raid, and the death of his father at the hands of the Vikings of Limerick, are thought to have had a great effect on Brian.

Some have theorised that the young Brian developed a burning hatred of the Norsemen, and this may explain the callous attitude he displayed towards them at times in his future.

After Matt Gowen took over from his deceased father, he continued Kennedig's efforts to expand the influence and power of the Dalkassians.

In 964 he managed to capture the politically important Rock of Cashel from the ancient Ogonokhta dynasty, who were the traditional overlords of Munster.

Despite this prestigious and powerful position, years of infighting and assassinations had rendered the dynasty impotent and significantly hampered their ability to resist the less numerous but heavily militarized Dalkassians.

Control of the Rock made Mahgaon the nominal ruler of Munster, though his legitimacy was never fully recognised.

He faced resistance to his rule throughout the 970s from Mael Mhud Macbrian, who was the legitimate Oganachta claimant to the title.

The other main threat to MacGowan's continued rule was the famous Norse ruler Ivar the Boneless of Limerick.

MacGowan leaned towards peace with the Norse, as they were militarily more advanced than the Irish.

During this period, and indeed for many centuries to come, the main Irish military division was the Cairn.

These were men who wore little if any armor and utilized simplistic weapons such as short swords and javelins in combat.

This type of soldier was useful in the dense woods of medieval Ireland but suffered against a shield wall of Norse warriors dressed in coats of mail and wearing stout helmets.

The Irish were not without high-quality troops, but the vast majority were Cairn and had difficulty fighting Norse troops without a great superiority in numbers.

Brian disagreed with his brother's policy of peace with the Norse of Limerick, and was eager to enact revenge upon them for the death of their father, Kenetic, and several of their brothers.

As a result of this urge, Brian took a contingent of loyal men and began to conduct a guerrilla campaign against the Norse of Limerick, against Mathgown's strict orders.

Initially, Mathgown left Brian swinging in the wind, unsure what course to take.

Eventually though, inspired by his younger brother's example, he began to plan an assault on Limerick.

It says something about the animosity the Irish in the region felt towards the Norse that Méal Muad Macbrian, the Oga Nocta claimant to Munster, offered to ally with Mountgowan to capture Limerick.

Between the 3 men, Limerick was burned to the ground, in a brutal display that was typical of the era.

All the fighting age men in the settlement were executed, while everyone else was led away into slavery.

The victory at Limerick was 1 of the 3 major engagements that were to be the highlights of Bryan's career.

McGowan's alliance with Mael Mwood proved to be short-lived.

In 976, McGowan was killed in battle against his Oganokta rival.

Mael Mwood then ruled from the Rock of Cashel for 2 years before Brian was able to gather the strength to challenge him and avenge the death of yet another brother.

In 978, Brian judged that he was ready, and met Mael Mhud at the Battle of Belloqlecta.

Location, exact date, and the numbers involved are unfortunately completely unknown.

The only thing we know for sure is that Mael Mhud was killed in the fighting, leaving the rulership of Munster open to Brian.

Once Brian's rule was properly established in Munster, the full extent of his ambitions became clear.

The new king turned his attention to the neighbouring provinces of Leinster and Connacht.

These territorial ambitions would bring him into conflict with the High King of Ireland at the time, Mael Sachnall Macdonald.

The High King's core territory was in Meath, and he had at least vocal fealty from the other Kingdoms in Ireland.

In practice though the title of High King had been largely a title and nothing more for many years.

Regardless, the aggressive noises Brian was making were a threat to Mael Sachnall's overlordship.

Determined to remove Brian as a potential challenger to his position, Meos Achnol led repeated attacks on Bryan's lands in Leinster and Munster from 982 onwards, causing great damage.

Bryan's retaliatory attacks made great use of his navy, a branch of the military that the Dalkassians had learned not to neglect through their long history of conflict with the Norse.

Bryan's fleet was reputed to be 300 strong, an incredible number for the time, which was likely unmatched by his competitors.

The navy was the perfect tool to project Dalkassian power to places Bryan's enemies would not expect an attack, and Bryan utilised it to great effect in all his wars.

1 of the ways that Bryan learned to use his navy was as a sort of diversionary measure.

The fleet would be sent to locations far away from Bryan's intended target to raid distant enemy territories.

In the meantime, Bryan's army would march on the real target of his ire and achieve complete surprise.

This classic use of misdirection is an eternally relevant tactic and was useful in the time of Brian as it was in the lead-up to the D-Day landings.

When the initial conflict with the High King began, Brian was in the middle of a campaign in the Kingdom of Viceroyga, which encompassed much of what is now modern County Kilkenny and County Leech.

With the bulk of Brian's forces on campaign, Mael Sacknall seized his opportunity and marched on the core of the Dalkassian lands.

The High King's men burned the sacred tree of Adair, which was a tremendously important symbol for the Dalcassian dynasty.

Many of their kings had been crowned beneath it, Brian included.

In retaliation for this great insult, Brian led his men into Westmeath where they pillaged and burned the countryside without restraint.

Mael Sacknall was quick to respond in turn and led his men back into Munster where he and Brian fought a pitched battle.

On that day the Dalkassians were defeated, losing about 600 men.

This battle forced Brian to withdraw and lick his wounds.

Following this victory for Mael Sachnall, conflict between the 2 sides simmered down to minor skirmishes, sting and counter-sting, but lacking in large engagements.

This period of relative peace lasted for about 9 years, and Brian used the time well, spending his energy and resources shoring up his position in Munster and the portions of Leinster he had managed to capture.

During the lull, Brian avoided doing anything to overtly antagonise the High King, choosing instead to bide his time and build his strength.

By the time 993 came around, Brian was feeling a bit more confident.

He was now in control of most of Leinster, in addition to his native Munster territories.

Having learned from his previous battles with Maelstachnall, Brian decided that his navy would have to be the deciding factor.

He sailed his fleet up the River Shannon to attack the kingdom of Brefna, the borders of which correspond roughly with modern county Cavan and Leitrim, as well as small portions of neighbouring counties.

This move by Bryan was a clever 1, as it applied pressure on male Sacknall from both the north and the south.

3 years later in 996, Brian finally succeeded in bringing Leinster fully under his control, effectively gaining suzerainty over the entire southern half of the island.

It may be that Brian's rapidly growing power was what convinced Méle Chagnol to talk terms, but we don't know for sure if this was the case.

Brian and his rival met at Blenfe Tog in modern County Fermanagh on the banks of Loch Ree.

At this historic meeting, Brian and Mael Shacknall agreed to a compromise.

Brian would have unchallenged rule over the southern half of the island, including the wealthy Norse-Gaelic trading towns within it, and Mael Shacknall would rule the northern provinces.

This agreement led to a temporary peace between the 2 kings, though Mael Shacknall's prestige naturally suffered greatly from what was perceived as a submission amongst his subjects.

Not long after the peace was agreed, the stirrings of rebellion began in Leinster in 996.

The vassal king of the province who had accepted Brian's authority was overthrown by male mordor MacMurcat.

No sooner had male mordor secured the throne of Leinster than he revolted from Brian's rule, jeopardising everything Brian had achieved so far.

In order to put down this usurper, who threatened the legitimacy of both their regimes by his mere existence, Mael Sacknall and Brian put aside their differences and joined forces.

Mael Morda in turn received aid from the Viking ruler of Dublin, Sigdraig Silkbeard, who had his own grievances with Brian.

The combined forces of North and South met the Leinster rebels on the 30th of December, 999AD at the Battle of Glen Mama, or Ca Glen Mama, meaning the Glen of the Gap.

This area is thought to have been somewhere between Windmill Hill and Black Church in modern County Kildare.

Glen Mama would prove to be the first and only battle of the First Leinster Revolt, such was the sheer decisiveness of the battle.

The annals of the 4 Masters and other Irish chronicles give only vague accounts of the battle, but all attest that casualties on both sides were high, though Brian and Mael Sacknall's forces were eventually victorious.

Given that the engagement took place in a valley, it's likely that room to manoeuvre was extremely limited, and that the conflict turned into a bitter slugging match which would explain the high casualty rate.

Following the conclusion of the battle, Mael Morda's forces were routed and fled out of the valley.

Brian seized his opportunity and marched with haste on Dublin, which had been stripped of its defenders to fight the battle at Glenmama.

The Dalcassian troops easily broke into the city and brutally sacked it on New Year's Day 1000 AD.

Brian could probably have assumed direct control of Dublin at this point, or at the very least handed the town to 1 of his loyal followers.

Instead, he opted for reconciliation and invited Sigtrigg back to rule Dublin as a subject king.

Sigtrigg was also given the hand of 1 of Bryan's daughters to seal the deal, in the hopes that peace could be maintained in the region.

With his victory over Mael Morda and his Dublin allies, Brian's rule over southern Ireland was, for now, completely airtight.

The Battle of Glenmama had been costly, but the province of Leinster would be quiet for a time as a result of it, allowing Brian to stretch his reach yet further.

Unsurprisingly, the alliance between Mael Shacknall and Brian did not last long after the victory in Leinster.

The 2 men still had a history of conflict in their relationship that could not be wiped away by an alliance of convenience.

In 1000 AD, Brian struck first, leading the combined forces of Munster and Leinster into Mael Shacknall's home territory in Meath.

Once again, this conflict is very poorly documented, but 1 of the things we do know is that the King of Connacht was a prominent ally of Méle Chagnon.

In practice though, this alliance would have been very difficult to draw any actual utility from, as the core lands of both rulers were separated by the River Shannon.

Any transfer of manpower from kingdom to kingdom in times of need was, as a result of the geographical barrier, slow and cumbersome.

The final struggle for the high kingship of Ireland was surprisingly brief, considering what was at stake and the numbers of troops involved.

According to the annals, Mael Sachnall surrendered his title to Brian in 1002 after only 2 years of fighting.

An Irish chronicle known as the Cogad Gaeilge ar Gaeilge relates a story about how this came about that makes a reasonable amount of sense.

In this story, Brian challenges Mael Sachnall to a pitched battle at the Hill of Tara in Meath, in an attempt to bring the war to a decisive close.

Mael Sachnall accepts Brian's challenge, but requests a month-long truce to gather his forces to him ahead of the battle.

However, Mael Sachnall's subordinate rulers prove unwilling to lend him their support, meaning that he is unable to gather enough troops before the appointed date of the battle.

This makes a certain amount of sense because, as we know, male Shacknalls subjects have been very unhappy with his decision to recognise Brian as King of the South.

Irish society at this point in the early Middle Ages was still quite tribal when compared to the feudal societies of Europe.

Prestige mattered and Mael Shacknalls had taken a heavy blow when he recognized Brian's claim to the south.

It may be that after 2 years of warfare the sub-chiefs under Mael Shacknalls control decided that he wasn't worth following any longer, and withdrew their support from his cause.

The main hole in this story is that Brian behaves quite uncharacteristically in it.

He was known to be a very opportunistic general, and he demonstrated this when he marched flat out to seize Dublin immediately after the Battle of Glenmama.

Allowing his opponent a month-long truce to strengthen his armies sounds odd to say the least.

Whether or not this story has any truth of it is moot because it's the only explanation of Brine's victory that has survived.

On the appointed day at the Battle of Tyre, Mael Shacknall decided that there was no hope of defeating Brian's numerically superior forces and submitted to the authority of his rival.

In 1002, Brian finally ascended to the illustrious, though largely titular rank of High King.

That is where I'm going to leave the story of Brian for now, on the cusp of achieving complete control over Ireland, A feat never before seen.

I hope you've enjoyed the tale of Brian's rise to power, and you can be assured that next time I'll delve into the great campaign to unify the island that followed Brian's crowning as High King.

As a final note, I'd like to apologize for the large, silent gap between my last video on the Wars of the 3 Kingdoms and this 1.

I'll try to get back onto a more regular schedule again.

If you have any questions about this episode or any that preceded it, feel free to send me an email at kianrowenytyoutube at gmail.com or leave me a comment.


Speaker 0: The story of Brian Boru is bound up more tightly with the Irish social consciousness than perhaps any other figure in the island's history. No Irishman before or after his time came as close to a permanent union of the island under 1 monarch, and perhaps that is what excites the imagination of Irish people when they think about him. Given Ireland's history as a subjugated state, and even as a colonial possession, the concept alone of an Irish king ruling Ireland conjures up all sorts of ideas about what could have been. As a disclaimer before I get into the body of this video, this period of Irish history is lacking in detail in many areas as the annals that exist from the time cover very specific persons, families and events and often neglect the wider picture of the island. As a result, I will not be able to give the same amount of specifics on things like births, deaths, marriages and battles as you may be used to if you're a returning viewer to the channel.

I will attempt to fill the holes in the narrative with educated supposition where I feel it's warranted, but I will make it clear that I am just theorising or quoting an existing theory whenever this comes up. With that out of the way we can get on to the story of 1 of the most extraordinary men in Irish history, Brian Borough. Brian was born in roughly 941 AD to a man named Kennedig MacLorcan. Kennedig was the ruler of the sub-kingdom of Thaumand, a piece of the larger kingdom of Munster. At this period of Irish history, before the centralisation that followed the Norman invasion in the 12th century, there were more than 150 sub-kingdoms on the island.

All of these kingdoms were ruled by men who thought of themselves as real kings, though there would have been little more than counts or barons on mainland Europe at the time. Kennetig was the ruler of the Dalkosh, or Dalkassians to use the anglicised term. During his time at the helm of the clan, Kennetig did much to enhance the wealth and prestige of the Dalkassians. His efforts before his death made the path to command easier for his sons, who were to rule the Dalkassians when he was gone. Brian was born in Cinkora, Killuloo, and was the youngest of Kennetic's 12 sons.

As the youngest of such a large brood of potential successors, Brian was far from likely to inherit his father's position in Thomand. This is aptly demonstrated by the fact that, as a boy, Brian was sent to a monastery to learn Latin. It may be that Kennetig intended him for the church, but we simply don't know. What we do know is that a pivotal event in Brian's life put a halt to his academic education and caused him to be recalled home. At the age of 10, Brian's father Kennetig was killed in a raid conducted by Viking brigands from Limerick.

The Irish referred to the Norse as Ostmen, or men from the East. The sudden death of Kennetig caused some degree of panic in Thormund, and all the potential successors to the throne were recalled with haste. That meant that Brian, the youngest of the 12, was going home. Brian's brother Mathgaon would ultimately go on to lead the Dalkassians, taking over his father's role. Much like Brian, Mathgaon had not been the eldest of their father's sons to begin with.

A biography of Brian relates a story in which he and 2 of his brothers, 1 of which was Mathgaon, witnessed a devastating attack on a Dalkascian fort by Norse raiders. The fort had been situated on the river Shannon, meaning that it had useful river access, but was also vulnerable to raiders from Limerick sailing downriver. The 3 brothers spotted the raid in progress from the hill they were stood upon looking after livestock. They rushed down to reach the fort, but by the time they arrived the raiders were gone, leaving ashes and bodies in their wake. Several of Brian's brothers were killed in this attack, leaving Mathgowan unexpectedly in line to inherit the sub-kingdom of Thomund.

This raid, and the death of his father at the hands of the Vikings of Limerick, are thought to have had a great effect on Brian. Some have theorised that the young Brian developed a burning hatred of the Norsemen, and this may explain the callous attitude he displayed towards them at times in his future. After Matt Gowen took over from his deceased father, he continued Kennedig's efforts to expand the influence and power of the Dalkassians. In 964 he managed to capture the politically important Rock of Cashel from the ancient Ogonokhta dynasty, who were the traditional overlords of Munster. Despite this prestigious and powerful position, years of infighting and assassinations had rendered the dynasty impotent and significantly hampered their ability to resist the less numerous but heavily militarized Dalkassians.

Control of the Rock made Mahgaon the nominal ruler of Munster, though his legitimacy was never fully recognised. He faced resistance to his rule throughout the 970s from Mael Mhud Macbrian, who was the legitimate Oganachta claimant to the title. The other main threat to MacGowan's continued rule was the famous Norse ruler Ivar the Boneless of Limerick. MacGowan leaned towards peace with the Norse, as they were militarily more advanced than the Irish. During this period, and indeed for many centuries to come, the main Irish military division was the Cairn.

These were men who wore little if any armor and utilized simplistic weapons such as short swords and javelins in combat. This type of soldier was useful in the dense woods of medieval Ireland but suffered against a shield wall of Norse warriors dressed in coats of mail and wearing stout helmets. The Irish were not without high-quality troops, but the vast majority were Cairn and had difficulty fighting Norse troops without a great superiority in numbers. Brian disagreed with his brother's policy of peace with the Norse of Limerick, and was eager to enact revenge upon them for the death of their father, Kenetic, and several of their brothers. As a result of this urge, Brian took a contingent of loyal men and began to conduct a guerrilla campaign against the Norse of Limerick, against Mathgown's strict orders.

Initially, Mathgown left Brian swinging in the wind, unsure what course to take. Eventually though, inspired by his younger brother's example, he began to plan an assault on Limerick. It says something about the animosity the Irish in the region felt towards the Norse that Méal Muad Macbrian, the Oga Nocta claimant to Munster, offered to ally with Mountgowan to capture Limerick. Between the 3 men, Limerick was burned to the ground, in a brutal display that was typical of the era. All the fighting age men in the settlement were executed, while everyone else was led away into slavery.

The victory at Limerick was 1 of the 3 major engagements that were to be the highlights of Bryan's career. McGowan's alliance with Mael Mwood proved to be short-lived. In 976, McGowan was killed in battle against his Oganokta rival. Mael Mwood then ruled from the Rock of Cashel for 2 years before Brian was able to gather the strength to challenge him and avenge the death of yet another brother. In 978, Brian judged that he was ready, and met Mael Mhud at the Battle of Belloqlecta.

Details of this battle are hazy at best. Location, exact date, and the numbers involved are unfortunately completely unknown. The only thing we know for sure is that Mael Mhud was killed in the fighting, leaving the rulership of Munster open to Brian. Once Brian's rule was properly established in Munster, the full extent of his ambitions became clear. The new king turned his attention to the neighbouring provinces of Leinster and Connacht.

These territorial ambitions would bring him into conflict with the High King of Ireland at the time, Mael Sachnall Macdonald. The High King's core territory was in Meath, and he had at least vocal fealty from the other Kingdoms in Ireland. In practice though the title of High King had been largely a title and nothing more for many years. Regardless, the aggressive noises Brian was making were a threat to Mael Sachnall's overlordship. Determined to remove Brian as a potential challenger to his position, Meos Achnol led repeated attacks on Bryan's lands in Leinster and Munster from 982 onwards, causing great damage.

Bryan's retaliatory attacks made great use of his navy, a branch of the military that the Dalkassians had learned not to neglect through their long history of conflict with the Norse. Bryan's fleet was reputed to be 300 strong, an incredible number for the time, which was likely unmatched by his competitors. The navy was the perfect tool to project Dalkassian power to places Bryan's enemies would not expect an attack, and Bryan utilised it to great effect in all his wars. 1 of the ways that Bryan learned to use his navy was as a sort of diversionary measure. The fleet would be sent to locations far away from Bryan's intended target to raid distant enemy territories.

In the meantime, Bryan's army would march on the real target of his ire and achieve complete surprise. This classic use of misdirection is an eternally relevant tactic and was useful in the time of Brian as it was in the lead-up to the D-Day landings. When the initial conflict with the High King began, Brian was in the middle of a campaign in the Kingdom of Viceroyga, which encompassed much of what is now modern County Kilkenny and County Leech. With the bulk of Brian's forces on campaign, Mael Sacknall seized his opportunity and marched on the core of the Dalkassian lands. The High King's men burned the sacred tree of Adair, which was a tremendously important symbol for the Dalcassian dynasty.

Many of their kings had been crowned beneath it, Brian included. In retaliation for this great insult, Brian led his men into Westmeath where they pillaged and burned the countryside without restraint. Mael Sacknall was quick to respond in turn and led his men back into Munster where he and Brian fought a pitched battle. On that day the Dalkassians were defeated, losing about 600 men. This battle forced Brian to withdraw and lick his wounds.

Following this victory for Mael Sachnall, conflict between the 2 sides simmered down to minor skirmishes, sting and counter-sting, but lacking in large engagements. This period of relative peace lasted for about 9 years, and Brian used the time well, spending his energy and resources shoring up his position in Munster and the portions of Leinster he had managed to capture. During the lull, Brian avoided doing anything to overtly antagonise the High King, choosing instead to bide his time and build his strength. By the time 993 came around, Brian was feeling a bit more confident. He was now in control of most of Leinster, in addition to his native Munster territories.

Having learned from his previous battles with Maelstachnall, Brian decided that his navy would have to be the deciding factor. He sailed his fleet up the River Shannon to attack the kingdom of Brefna, the borders of which correspond roughly with modern county Cavan and Leitrim, as well as small portions of neighbouring counties. This move by Bryan was a clever 1, as it applied pressure on male Sacknall from both the north and the south. 3 years later in 996, Brian finally succeeded in bringing Leinster fully under his control, effectively gaining suzerainty over the entire southern half of the island. It may be that Brian's rapidly growing power was what convinced Méle Chagnol to talk terms, but we don't know for sure if this was the case.

Brian and his rival met at Blenfe Tog in modern County Fermanagh on the banks of Loch Ree. At this historic meeting, Brian and Mael Shacknall agreed to a compromise. Brian would have unchallenged rule over the southern half of the island, including the wealthy Norse-Gaelic trading towns within it, and Mael Shacknall would rule the northern provinces. This agreement led to a temporary peace between the 2 kings, though Mael Shacknall's prestige naturally suffered greatly from what was perceived as a submission amongst his subjects. Not long after the peace was agreed, the stirrings of rebellion began in Leinster in 996.

The vassal king of the province who had accepted Brian's authority was overthrown by male mordor MacMurcat. No sooner had male mordor secured the throne of Leinster than he revolted from Brian's rule, jeopardising everything Brian had achieved so far. In order to put down this usurper, who threatened the legitimacy of both their regimes by his mere existence, Mael Sacknall and Brian put aside their differences and joined forces. Mael Morda in turn received aid from the Viking ruler of Dublin, Sigdraig Silkbeard, who had his own grievances with Brian. The combined forces of North and South met the Leinster rebels on the 30th of December, 999AD at the Battle of Glen Mama, or Ca Glen Mama, meaning the Glen of the Gap.

This area is thought to have been somewhere between Windmill Hill and Black Church in modern County Kildare. Glen Mama would prove to be the first and only battle of the First Leinster Revolt, such was the sheer decisiveness of the battle. The annals of the 4 Masters and other Irish chronicles give only vague accounts of the battle, but all attest that casualties on both sides were high, though Brian and Mael Sacknall's forces were eventually victorious. Given that the engagement took place in a valley, it's likely that room to manoeuvre was extremely limited, and that the conflict turned into a bitter slugging match which would explain the high casualty rate. Following the conclusion of the battle, Mael Morda's forces were routed and fled out of the valley.

Brian seized his opportunity and marched with haste on Dublin, which had been stripped of its defenders to fight the battle at Glenmama. The Dalcassian troops easily broke into the city and brutally sacked it on New Year's Day 1000 AD. Brian could probably have assumed direct control of Dublin at this point, or at the very least handed the town to 1 of his loyal followers. Instead, he opted for reconciliation and invited Sigtrigg back to rule Dublin as a subject king. Sigtrigg was also given the hand of 1 of Bryan's daughters to seal the deal, in the hopes that peace could be maintained in the region.

With his victory over Mael Morda and his Dublin allies, Brian's rule over southern Ireland was, for now, completely airtight. The Battle of Glenmama had been costly, but the province of Leinster would be quiet for a time as a result of it, allowing Brian to stretch his reach yet further. Unsurprisingly, the alliance between Mael Shacknall and Brian did not last long after the victory in Leinster. The 2 men still had a history of conflict in their relationship that could not be wiped away by an alliance of convenience. In 1000 AD, Brian struck first, leading the combined forces of Munster and Leinster into Mael Shacknall's home territory in Meath.

Once again, this conflict is very poorly documented, but 1 of the things we do know is that the King of Connacht was a prominent ally of Méle Chagnon. In practice though, this alliance would have been very difficult to draw any actual utility from, as the core lands of both rulers were separated by the River Shannon. Any transfer of manpower from kingdom to kingdom in times of need was, as a result of the geographical barrier, slow and cumbersome. The final struggle for the high kingship of Ireland was surprisingly brief, considering what was at stake and the numbers of troops involved. According to the annals, Mael Sachnall surrendered his title to Brian in 1002 after only 2 years of fighting.

An Irish chronicle known as the Cogad Gaeilge ar Gaeilge relates a story about how this came about that makes a reasonable amount of sense. In this story, Brian challenges Mael Sachnall to a pitched battle at the Hill of Tara in Meath, in an attempt to bring the war to a decisive close. Mael Sachnall accepts Brian's challenge, but requests a month-long truce to gather his forces to him ahead of the battle. However, Mael Sachnall's subordinate rulers prove unwilling to lend him their support, meaning that he is unable to gather enough troops before the appointed date of the battle. This makes a certain amount of sense because, as we know, male Shacknalls subjects have been very unhappy with his decision to recognise Brian as King of the South.

Irish society at this point in the early Middle Ages was still quite tribal when compared to the feudal societies of Europe. Prestige mattered and Mael Shacknalls had taken a heavy blow when he recognized Brian's claim to the south. It may be that after 2 years of warfare the sub-chiefs under Mael Shacknalls control decided that he wasn't worth following any longer, and withdrew their support from his cause. The main hole in this story is that Brian behaves quite uncharacteristically in it. He was known to be a very opportunistic general, and he demonstrated this when he marched flat out to seize Dublin immediately after the Battle of Glenmama.

Allowing his opponent a month-long truce to strengthen his armies sounds odd to say the least. Whether or not this story has any truth of it is moot because it's the only explanation of Brine's victory that has survived. On the appointed day at the Battle of Tyre, Mael Shacknall decided that there was no hope of defeating Brian's numerically superior forces and submitted to the authority of his rival. In 1002, Brian finally ascended to the illustrious, though largely titular rank of High King. That is where I'm going to leave the story of Brian for now, on the cusp of achieving complete control over Ireland, A feat never before seen.

I hope you've enjoyed the tale of Brian's rise to power, and you can be assured that next time I'll delve into the great campaign to unify the island that followed Brian's crowning as High King. As a final note, I'd like to apologize for the large, silent gap between my last video on the Wars of the 3 Kingdoms and this 1. I'll try to get back onto a more regular schedule again. If you have any questions about this episode or any that preceded it, feel free to send me an email at kianrowenytyoutube at gmail.com or leave me a comment. Thank you again for listening.

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Brian Boru - The Man Who Would Be King: Part 1