#Uí Néill

[stairnaheireann]

#OTD in 1014 – Battle of Clontarf | The Dublin Norse and the king of Leinster, with Viking allies from overseas, are defeated by Brian Boru’s army at Clontarf.

The bounds between Irish Legend and Irish Myth has often been blurred, especially as the retelling of heroic deeds has been passed on through generations. Brian Boru was no legend although his life deeds were legendary. He was very much a real man and was in fact the last great High King of Ireland and perhaps the greatest military leader the country has ever known. Brian Boru was born Brian Mac…

[varinsson]

It took me four years almost to realize that Eivor, regardless of player choice on gender, has the same raven tattoo on their temple that Ragnar does in the show. I am suitably not okay.

[irelandseyeonmythology]

This Saint Patrick's Day, don't forget the reason for the season. Celebrate like St. Patrick would have wanted:

Speak Welsh.

Turn your enemies into foxes

Call out your local politicians

Set a bonfire, piss off the cops

Curse your enemies' fields to become barren marshes, unfit for farmland.

Cause an earthquake

Write all your letters in Latin

Despite this, claim that your Latin is bad.

Become a key part of Uí Néill propaganda.

Yeet your enemies into the sky so that they freeze to death.

Adopt a child who refuses to leave you alone.

Bargain with an angel to be allowed to judge the souls of the Irish on Judgement Day

Remind your local surviving members of the Fianna that all their friends are dead and in Hell.

Have two oxen decide your burial place

Develop a long and complex relationship with St. Brigit in the folk tradition, despite neither of you being contemporaries.

Refuse to suck the nipples of the pirates who you are trying to convince to take you back to Britain.

Disguise yourself as a deer

Fight against manmade climate change

Be accused by your former friend of unspecified charges that might or might not have involved gay sex and write a long self-justifying letter about your tragic backstory.

[olympeline]

What do you consider to be the age order of the UK brothers? And feel free not to answer this if it’s too personal but are you British? It doesn’t matter to the question. I’m just curious

I am, yes. Love me beans on toast, innit. And such ☕️

Personally I go: Scotland, Ireland, Wales, England, Northern Ireland. Adding Ireland for funsies. That’s my interpretation but honestly you could make a case for whatever order you like and it would work. The history of the countries and cultures of the British Isles is so stupidly dense, complex, and interwoven that there’s no right or wrong answer.

Want England to be the oldest? Say he was born as the personification of Roman Britain and just stuck around afterwards.

Want Wales to be the youngest? Say he was born in the post-devolution 1960s as a separate personification from the Wales that was conquered by England and turned into a principality.

Want Ireland and Northern Ireland to be the same age? Say they started out as personifications of the ancient Irish kingdoms of Munster and Northern Uí Néill.

Want England to be the youngest? Say the huge cultural shift caused by the Norman Invasion meant the old Anglo-Saxon personification was replaced with a new one after the identities of his brothers had already settled.

Want to make Ireland and Northern Ireland the youngest and also twins? Say they were both born in the 1920s after partition when the Irish Free State was created.

See what I mean? No right or wrong answers. Instead just have fun with interpretations (￣▽￣)ノ

[novadraem]

Kingdom of Mide/Southern Uí Néill aka Éire’s father!

[bible-hunger-games]

Tribute 11: Saint Patrick

A fifth century missionary and bishop in Ireland, also known as the Apostle of Ireland and the primary patron saint of Ireland

Captured by a group of Irish pirates at age 16 and was enslaved for six years, during which he strengthened his relationship with God

The banishment of all snakes from Ireland has been credited to him, although there have never been any snakes in Ireland

After his death, his corpse was fought over by three groups of people known as the Uí Néill, the Airgíalla, and the Ulaid

Saint Patrick

[history-time-out]

Brian Boru “Ireland’s Greatest King”

Brian Boru was an Irish king who lived from 941 to 1014. He is widely regarded as one of the most significant figures in medieval Irish history and is remembered for his leadership and military prowess in unifying a number of warring factions in Ireland and achieving a brief period of peace known as the “Golden Age”. His life and legacy have been the subject of much academic research and debate, with historians differing on many points regarding Boru’s life, achievements, and impact on early medieval Ireland. This paper will provide an overview of Brian Boru's life story, his major accomplishments, and how his legacy has been interpreted throughout history.

​​Brian Boru was born in 941 at Killaloe, County Clare in what is now modern day Ireland. He was of Dalcassian origin, descended from Conmhaícne Mara (the Clann Cian), a branch of the Uí Néill dynasty that ruled over much of northern Ireland during this period. From an early age he was groomed to be a leader within the Dalcassian confederation by his father Cennétig mac Lorcáin , who had become King of Thomond (modern day Munster) at a young age himself.

​​Boru's rise to power began with his appointment as chief councillor for Máel Sechnaill II mac Domnaill , High King of Ireland from 980-1002. During this period he gained control over much of Munster through military campaigns against rival clans and eventually became its king; he also gained influence over Leinster which enabled him to consolidate more power through political alliances. His rise to become High King began when Máel Sechnaill abdicated in 1002 upon having defeated several Viking invaders in battle; Brian was appointed High King soon after by the other Irish rulers.

​​

Boru's reign as High King proved to be hugely successful for the people of Ireland; he managed to bring a period of relative peace between various warring factions throughout the country, earning him great respect amongst all those living there at the time. In addition to this, Brian also promoted Christianity; according to chroniclers such as Marianus Scotus , he built churches throughout Munster and had relics from Rome brought back to Armagh . Moreover, he worked hard to ensure that justice prevailed throughout his kingdom: according to historical records he held court hearings every two weeks where grievances could be heard without fear or favouritism .

​​However, not all aspects of Brian’s rule were seen positively; some historians have criticised him for being overly authoritarian in dealings with other Irish rulers who opposed him. Nonetheless it cannot be denied that Boru put forward ambitious plans for creating a united Ireland under one ruler which unsettled many experienced political leaders .

​​Ultimately Brian's reign ended with his death on Good Friday 1014 at Clontarf where he led an army against forces led by Sweyn Forkbeard , King of Denmark ; despite defeating many opposing forces it is believed that Boru died after being attacked by a group while praying near his tent during battle . Although it can be argued that Brian failed to achieve lasting peace in Ireland due to subsequent warfare after his death it cannot be denied that he made significant advances towards unity during his lifetime .

​​​In conclusion Brian Boru has gone down in history as one of the most important figures in medieval Irish history; often seen as a heroic figure whose strong leadership qualities allowed him brief periods peace for those living within its borders . He is remembered for numerous achievements including consolidating power across various regions , promoting Christianity throughout Munster , enacting justice without fear or favouritism , and attempting unifying politics which set foundations for future generations . As such it could be argued that despite not achieving long lasting unification during his lifetime there are numerous aspects regarding Brian's rule which continue impacting upon modern day Ireland today both politically and culturally .

​​References:

​​​​1. Duffy S., 1993 The World Of The Gallowglass: Kings, Warlords And Warriors In Early Ireland 1250 - 1600 Dublin: Four Courts Press pp 24-25

​​​2. Byrne FJ., 1973 Ages Of Invasions In Early Medieval History Dublin: Maunsel & Co Ltd pp 79-84

​​3. O Corrain D., 2000 A New History Of Ireland Volume I Oxford University Press pp 144-151

​​4. Edwards NF., 2011 A Military History Of Medieval Ireland Edinburgh University Press pp 175-180

​​​​5. Ó Corráin D., 1972 Prehistoric And Early Christian Ireland London: Thames & Hudson Ltd pp 26-31

[alexseanchai]

incidentally, another fascinating thing I learned thanks to this article: Niall of the Nine Hostages might or might not have been a real living person as well as a mythical figure, but the parts of Ireland that used to be ruled by the Uí Néill—that is, Niall's descendants—sure have a lot of people with the same Y chromosome, especially among people with one or another surname associated with the Uí Néill

Just saw somebody use the phrase "indirect incest" and I think my brain melted.

[losthistoryblog]

The Inishowen Peninsula: Ancient Ring Forts

Ancient Ring Fort: Pictured here

If the place/name sounds sort of familiar to you, it might be because this is place where they filmed Star Wars: The Last Jedi

The Inishowen Peninsula, located in the north of Ireland is home to something rather interesting. Ring forts.

One of them is called Grianan of Aileach (Greenan Ely) and it stands at 5 meters (that's almost two Irish Giant Elk stacked on each other).

Grinan was established in the 6th or 7th century CE by the medieval irish dynasty of Uí Néill and used by the kingdom of Aileach Kingdom in the 12th century during the Norman conquest.

It was destroyed by king Muirchertach Ua Briain who ruled over Munster. Anyway it was restored in 1870 and is now a national monument.

Grinan of Aileach is one of the revered ringforts in all of Ireland, majority of ringforts are in Ireland, Wales and England as they're a part of Gaelic culture

[whencyclopedfr]

Flann Sinna

Flann Sinna (r. de 879 à 916) était un haut roi d'Irlande du Royaume de Mide (Meath) et un membre du Clann Cholmáin, une branche de la dynastie des Uí Néill du Sud. Son nom se prononce "Flane Shinna" et signifie "Flann du Shannon". Il est surtout connu comme un haut roi d'Irlande efficace qui consolida le pouvoir du royaume de Meath tout en honorant ses obligations envers les autres royaumes, célèbre pour sa victoire à la bataille de Belach Mugna en 908, et qui érigea des monuments pour commémorer ses exploits, notamment la Croix des Écritures au monastère de Clonmacnoise.

Lire la suite...

[stairnaheireann]

Brehon Laws and the Establishment of Copyrights

Copyright law actually began with the Brehon Laws of Ancient Ireland over 1000 years before it appeared in English legislation. It started and ended in a bitter and brutal dispute over royalties. The dispute arose in 563 AD between two of the top contributors in the monastic schools of Ireland: Saint Colmcille and Saint Finian, each claiming to be the original author of a manuscript called ‘St…

[existentialcrisis-24-7]

@evdizav you got annals

Annals are a collection of annual records of ecclesiastical (relating to the Christian Church or its Clergy) and political events gathered from the middle of the 6th century to the end of the 16th (500AD - 1500AD).

They were inspired by some Italian guy named Rufinus of Aquiliea who chronicled a lot of stuff in the early 5th century. Next century, an abbot of the monastery Iona based his Iona Chronicles of Italian guy’s work. This guy included a bunch of information about Irish prehistory (before things were written), including past rulers, then went and wrote about Christian Pioneers in Ireland (like St Brigid and St Patrick), some political entries, the development of monasteries something about Uí Néill (that I frankly can’t be bothered to look up) and terrestrial phenomena (earthquakes, eruptions things like that).

He kept doing this until he died, where his was copied and continued across Ireland. Each monastery did something different with this though, delivering their own spin on things all the way up until the 16th century when the Tudor-Stuart plantations began happening in Ireland and monasteries were suppressed.

It had a final flourish in the 1630s when a group of four Franciscans found as many as possible and combined them all into a giant compendium, now known as the Annals of the Four Masters.

This abridged summary is brought to you by the absolutely massive Irish encyclopaedia I found at a local charity shop.

Someone pick a number between 1 and 1164

[anarchotolkienist]

Desire to name my (hypoethetical future) kid Aodh in memory of the arguably greatest historical leader of gaelic anto-colonialism VS recognition that that name would absolutely doom their social prospects with english-speakers, FIGHT

[nickandros]

GOING TO THE UÍ NÉILL KINGS

[inky-duchess]

duchess, can I ask what's your favourite royalty story (of your family?)

My ancestor Niall of the Nine Hostages or Niall Noígíallach an Uí Néill is semi-legendary. He and his entourage were travelling one day through the country, searching for water. The only water they could find was guarded by a hideous old woman who demanded a kiss from the yound men. Every one of therm refused save Niall who kissed her. Before their eyes she transformed into a beautiful woman- the Celtic goddess Macha, Laddu of battles, war, horses and holder of the Sovereignity of Ireland - who granted Niall the right to rule Ireland and for many of his descendants.

I like this story because:

Niall got slutty

The Uí Néill line were granted the right to rule

The líne was blessed by a goddess

[margridarnauds]

Initial thoughts on Wrath of the Droods:  - The initial point about petty kings being everywhere is 100% spot on, you had a ton of kings running around Ireland at any given point in the Middle Ages, up to around 200. Bárid being king of Dublin, as such, isn’t ALL that impressive. (The term “king” could refer to being king of an individual population group, or túath, being king of a province, such as Munster or Ulster, or being high king of Ireland

- That being said, the existence of a true Irish high kingship, as they show it here, is much more debated. There was, definitely, a high kingship of Tara, but the conflation of Tara with Ireland was also a skillful bit of propaganda by the Uí Néill (who are also responsible for the image of St. Patrick as the premier saint of Ireland, over, say, St. Brigit or Columcille.) Still, Flann claimed the high kingship historically, even though there was evidence of dissent, and was himself a propaganda MASTER (we know his name now, ergo he was good) so I’ll allow it. 

Something to note is that all Irish words having to do with bows and arrows are loan words, with a large number of them being from the Norse (the one exception being saiget, coming from Latin sagitta, arrow, as discussed in Mallory’s In Search Of The Irish Dream Time); the Irish had little need for bows in their usual style of warfare; they found swords and spears to be more their style (drama queens that they were). As such, the Vikings were responsible for the re-introduction of the bow into Ireland, and we actually DO have at least one Viking bow recovered from roughly the period that the game’s set in, which is discussed in this article. Given that the bow was pretty much exclusively used by the Norse Gaels, as opposed to the Gaels (who held off on adopting archery until the 13th century, though once they did, they kept it until around the 17th century) , I’ll give them......some points for accuracy. I’d note that the blacksmith appears to be 100% Gaelic Irish, at least from her accent, but I’ll award them some accuracy points. (I would not that the Ballinderry bow, though, is incredibly powerful, incredibly strong, not a light bow like we get in-game, though apparently some light bows did exist.) For an interesting breakdown, also see this article that, I think, kind of sums up the level of evidence we have succinctly.