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- The Terrible King of Ireland
Brian Bóruma mac Cennetig, High King of Ireland was born between 926 and 940 at Kincord, Killaloe, County Clare, Ireland. He was the son of Cennetig mac Lorcain, King of Thomond and Be Binn ingen Aurchada. He married, firstly, Mor. He married, secondly, Echrad. He married, thirdly, Gormflaith, daughter of Murchad MacFinn, King of Leinster. He married Dub Choblaig.
He died on 23 April 1014, killed in action.
He gained the title of King Brian Bóruma of Munster in 976. He succeeded as the High King Brian Bóruma of Ireland in 1002. He fought in the Battle of Cluantarbh on 23 April 1014, against the Danes. He has an extensive biographical entry in the Dictionary of National Biography.
Children of Brian Bóruma mac Cennetig, High King of Ireland
Teige (Terence) d. 1023
Dearbforgail d. 1080
Child of Brian Bóruma mac Cennetig, High King of Ireland and Mor
Murchad 2 d. 23 Apr 1014
Child of Brian Bóruma mac Cennetig, High King of Ireland and Echrad
Tadc
Child of Brian Bóruma mac Cennetig, High King of Ireland and Gormflaith
Donnclad, King of Munster
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Brian Boru (c. 941 – 23 April 1014, Old Irish: Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig; Middle Irish: Brian Bóruma; modern Irish: Brian Bóroimhe) was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill. Building on the achievements of his father, Cennétig mac Lorcain, and especially his elder brother, Mathgamain, Brian first made himself King of Munster, then subjugated Leinster, eventually becoming King of Ireland. He is the founder of the O'Brien dynasty. In 1014, Brian's armies confronted the armies of Leinster and Dublin at Clontarf near Dublin on Good Friday. The resulting Battle of Clontarf was a bloody affair, with Brian, his son Murchad, and Máel Mórda among those killed.
The Norse-Gaels and Scandinavians also produced works mentioning Brian, among these Njal's Saga, the Orkneyinga Saga, and the now-lost Brian's Saga. Brian's war against Máel Mórda and Sihtric was to be inextricably connected with his complicated marital relations, in particular his marriage to Gormlaith, Máel Mórda's sister and Sihtric's mother, who had been in turn the wife of Amlaíb Cuarán, king of Dublin and York, then of Máel Sechnaill, and finally of Brian.
Wives and children
Brian's first wife was Mór, daughter of the king of Uí Fiachrach Aidne of Connacht. She is said to have been the mother of his sons Murchad, Conchobar and Flann. Later genealogies claimed that these sons left no descendants, although in fact Murchad's son Tadc is recorded as being killed at Clontarf along with his father and grandfather.
Echrad daughter of the king of Uí Áeda Odba, an obscure branch of the southern Uí Néill, was the mother of Tadc, whose son Toirdelbach and grandson Muirchertach rivalled Brian in power and fame.
Brian's most famous marriage was with Gormflaith, sister of Máel Mórda of Leinster. Donnchad, who had his half-brother Tadc killed in 1023 and ruled Munster for forty years thereafter, was the result of this union.
Brian had a sixth son, Domnall. Although he predeceased his father, Domnall apparently had at least one surviving child, a son whose name is not recorded. Domnall may perhaps have been the son of Brian's fourth known wife, Dub Choblaig, who died in 1009. She was a daughter of King Cathal mac Conchobar mac Taidg of Connacht.
Brian had at least three daughters but their mothers are not recorded. Sadb, whose death in 1048 is recorded by the Annals of Innisfallen, was married to Cian, son of Máel Muad mac Brain. Bé Binn was married to the northern Uí Néill king Flaithbertach Ua Néill. A third daughter, Sláni, was married to Brian's stepson Sitric of Dublin.
According to Njal's Saga, he had a foster-son named Kerthialfad
Consort
Mór
Echrad
Gormflaith
Dub Choblaig
Issue
Murchad
Conchobar
Flann
Tadc
Donnchad
Domnall
Kerthialfad ?
Sadb
Bé Binn
Sláni
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