Uí Dróna Kingdom
Niall C.E.J. O’Brien
Introduction
The kingdom of Uí Dróna seems to
have occupied the present Barony of Idrone East and West along with the half
barony of St. Mullins. Land on the west side of the River Barrow about
Graiguenamanagh and Ullard also formed part of the kingdom. The royal family of
Uí Dróna claimed descent from Dróna which was fourth in descent from Cathaeir Mór.
After the adoption of surnames the chief family of Uí Dróna took the name of
Ryan. These are to be distinguished from the Ryan family of Tipperary.[1]
This article hopes to provide
some history of the kingdom given the limited references to Uí Dróna in the
Annals and other manuscripts.
Early Uí Dróna
The early history of the kingdom
of Uí Dróna is lost in the darkness of time. Yet it seems from later stories
during the Iron Age the kingdom was an important place. The origin legend of
the Laigin, the people who later formed the provincial kingdom of Leinster and
occupied many of the sub-kingdoms within, claimed to have come across the sea
from Gaul under the leadership of Labraid Loingsech. One of the early battles
fought by the Laigin in their conquest of Ireland occurred in Uí Dróna. There
they caused the destruction of Dinn Rig, a large hill top fort near Leighlin
Bridge. After advancing across Leinster and Munster the Laigin were driven back
into south Leinster – an area later consisting of the Counties of Carlow,
Wicklow, Wexford, and parts of Dublin, Kildare and Laois.[2]
Poetic references to Uí Dróna
In the Book of Rights the King of Leinster was obliged to give:
“Eight steeds to the
Uí Dróna of Ceann Gabhra,
From the hand of the
king with good profit,
Eight hounds for
making slaughter on the plains,
Eight swords for
battling”[3]
The poet, Seaan O Dubhagain,
wrote (although others say it was Giolla Iosa Mac Fhir Bhisigh) a topographical
poem about the land of Ireland. On Uí Dróna, the poet said:
Belonging to Ó
Riagáin of the smooth land,
Is a cantred, long
the territory:
Uí Dhróna of the
hospitable fairy-mounds,
More fitting than a
foreign territory.[4]
The approx boundaries of Uí Dróna
Possible early king of Uí Dróna
The Kingdom of Uí Dróna had its
own royal family, coronation site, chief palace, royal poet, gentry, farmers
and slaves like any other Irish kingdom of its day. A story is told about the
fate of seven female slaves from Uí Dróna. Once upon a time Seamplán, priest of
Tír Dhá Ghlas, went on a visit to Tír Chroinin and Leac Náire on business in
the company of a number of clerics. As they approached the house of Diarmuid,
who was cleaning the front of his house with a shovel, the party were set upon
by the hound of Diarmuid. The hound mangled Seamplán and in defence, Seamplán
struck the hound. Then in anger Diarmuid struck Seamplán with his shovel and
broke the reliquary of Colum that was on his back.
To seek compensation for breaking
the relic, the coarb of Colum went to the Prince of Uí Dróna, Ruidhéan, son of
Laimhean, and the Uí Dróna gave the coarb seven female slaves from Diarmuid to
the people of Colum and to Lachtain. The seven female slaves were then given to
Uamhnach, erenagh of Leamhdhruim.[5]
This story from Uí Dróna history
raises a problem with researching Irish history using the Annals and the
various genealogies. A person named in the Annals does not always appear in the
genealogies and vice versa. For example, Ruidhéan, son of Laimhean, Prince of
Uí Dróna, does not appear in the genealogy lists yet he is mentioned in the
“history” stories. A small kingdom like Uí Dróna only features in the records
when its story links up with the history of an adjacent big kingdom like
Osraige of Uí Chennselaig. Tracing the full history of Uí Dróna is therefore a
difficult task full of many gaps and information that cannot be properly
explained. It is possible that Ruidhéan, son of Laimhean, was Prince of Uí
Dróna before Áed Rón became king thereof in about 700.
Drón and Áed Rón as ancestors
of Uí Dróna
The genealogists placed Drón as
ancestor of the Uí Dróna royal family and the person who gave the kingdom of Uí
Dróna its name. Drón was a brother of Énna Cennsalach who was the ancestor of
the Uí Chennselaig royal family and lived in the mid fifth century. A later
entry in the Uí Chennselaig genealogy mentions Áed Rón, son of Crundmáel (King
of Leinster, d.656), as King of Uí Dróna. This Áed Rón was the great, great,
great, great, great grandson of Énna Cennsalach.[6] The recorded
Annals are silent about this change in the Uí Dróna royal family. Maybe the
reference to Drón as a brother of Énna Cennsalach was just a fabrication; a way
of just saying that the kingdoms of Uí Dróna and Uí Chennselaig were political
allies.
This story of two different royal
families in Uí Dróna seems to fall into the political story. The Uí Chennselaig
were originally based around Rathvilly in northern Carlow but around 600 they
were driven south into modern-day Wexford after failing in their attempt to
push north and control the Liffey valley. It would seem that as the Uí
Chennselaig went south they conquered not just Wexford but other small kingdoms
like Uí Dróna and installed a small branch of the family as the new royal
family.[7]
The history of Leinster and Uí
Dróna in the fifth and sixth centuries is very scanty and confusing. What is
called history from that time seems to be a combination of fiction and
guesswork. The seventh century is still no better with more obscurity than
clear facts.[8] It is only in the eight century that the
Annals deal with Leinster in any detail.[9] In
history as in archaeology, the only story you can tell is the one based on the
presented facts. When new information comes to light the course of the story
may change or even be rewritten.
Later records show that the
descendants of Áed Rón did not confine themselves to rule just the kingdom of
Uí Dróna but had bigger ambitions. Áed Rón was a member of the Síl Cormaic
segment of the Uí Chennselaig genealogy. The two chief lines of Síl Cormaic
provided thirteen kings of Uí Chennselaig between 624 and 978.[10]
On the provincial scene Donngal (d.761), Dub Calcaig (d.769) and Cairpre
(d.793) were each kings of Leinster and all great grandsons of Áed Rón.[11]
The O Ryan family of Uí Dróna and Idrone
The genealogists say that Áed Rón,
king of Uí Dróna, was the ancestor of the O Ryan family of Idrone, the post
Norman name for Uí Dróna. Áed Rón was the father of Colman with Laignen, his
son, Cairbre, his son, Hugh, his son, Bruadar, his son (ancestor of Broderick
family) and Dubhghall, his son. Righin was the son of Dubhghall and gave his
name to the O Righin family which was later changed to Ryan. Cairbe was the son
of Righin and Teige was his son, Donoch, his son, Melachlin, his son, Lucas,
his son, Daithi, his son, Neimheach, his son, Jeffery, his son, Henry, his son
and Henry Mulrian, his son.[12]
This genealogy appears to be in proper order. If we take thirty years per
generation then Áed Rón was alive about the year 690 and Henry Mulrian was
alive about 1200. This would be in line with historical context as after 1170
it would be acceptable for Irish families to adopt Anglo-Norman names such as
Henry and show their approval for the new masters.
However the first Henry O’Ryan
that appears in historical records is from the 1420s when Henry O’Ryan was
described as Lord of Idrone. If indeed this 1420s reference was the first Henry
O’Ryan then it would appear that the genealogists had cemented on the later
pedigree of the family unto the very earliest ancestors of the family without
giving a thought to the large time gap between the early ancestors and the
later family. Professor Eoin MacNeill once wrote that “In endeavouring to
arrive at a basis for the earliest part of Irish history, and to distinguish
the true historic from the prehistoric period, I have from time to time
described certain views and statements, which purport to be historical, as the
creations of a number of writers whom I have called the synthetic historians”.[13]
One could say that there was some “synthetic historian” at work with the O’Ryan
pedigree of Idrone or that more investigation is needed.
Another connected genealogy was
described by Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh when he wrote of the Ó Maoil Riéin
family that Diarmaid was the son of Conchabhar, son of Diarmaid, son of
Conchabhar, son of Domhnall, son of Lorcan, son of Donnchadh Cam, son of
Donnchadh Mór, son of Conlochach, son of Conchabhar, son of Uilliam, son of
Cairbre Óge, son of Cairbre Mor, son of Uilliam, son of Riéan, son of
Duibhghiolla, son of Bruadar, son of Aodh, son of Cairbre, son of Laighnéan,
son of Colman, son of Áed Rón.[14]
This genealogy looks good and compares well with that give by John O’Hart but
the appearance of two person called Uilliam, i.e. William, is a bit suspect as
William is very much a Norman name and would not be in use in Ireland until
after 1169. Yet the first Uilliam stated above would have live about 930 which
is far too early
There is a record for a Domnall,
son of Lorcan, King of Uí Forga, dying in battle against Maelsechlainn, High
King of Ireland, in 990. This kingdom of Uí Forga was said to be in the region
around Nenagh in County Tipperary.[15]
Christianity in Uí Dróna
It is difficult to known how
Christianity was introduced to Uí Dróna and how it spread among the people. The
acceptance of Christianity by the king usually encouraged his people to follow
the new religion. When and where the first church in Uí Dróna was, is open to
debate and discovery. The earliest documented church of significance was at Old
Leighlin. Here about 600 St. Gobban is said to be first abbot of a new
monastery but he didn’t stay long at Leighlin. Instead he left to found a new
monastery and gave the abbacy of Leighlin to St. Mo-Laise who had returned from
Rome or so it is said. In reality St. Gobban was possibly the legendary figure
called Goban Saor, a figure noted for building with stone. Therefore St.
Mo-Laise could be the first abbot/bishop of Leighlin.
St. Mo-Laise was active in
encouraging Ireland to adopt the Roman method of calculating the date of
Easter. A major synod held at Leighlin in 630 under the chair of St. Mo-Laise
the Irish church adopted the Roman date for Easter. But the controversy over
the date of Easter continued until the Synod of Whitby in 664. St. Mo-Laise
died about 639 or 641 leaving a large monastery of about 1,500 monks.[16]
In 1111 the monastery of Leighlin in Uí Dróna was chosen as one of the five
bishoprics in Leinster.[17]
In the early 620s St. Moling from
Luachair was active in the southern part of Uí Dróna. According to genealogists
St. Moling (also known as Taircheall) from Luachair was the son of Faoileann,
son of Fearadhach, son of Earc, son of Fiachra, son of Eoghan, son of Daigh,
son of Labhraidh who was the son of Bressal Bélach, King of Leinster.[18]
This Daigh, son of Labhraidh, was a brother of Enna Cennsalach (ancestor of the
Uí Chennselaig) and of Drón (ancestor of the Uí Dróna).[19] By
this genealogy St. Moling was connected with the chief families of South
Leinster.
St. Moling founded a monastery
beside the River Barrow near the southern point of the Uí Dróna kingdom. The
monastery grew large and became known as Tech Moling or the House of Moling.
The place later became known as St. Mullins. It is said that St. Moling was
granted the site by St. Aidan, Bishop of Ferns (d.625) and that St. Moling
succeeded St. Aidan as Bishop of Ferns.[20]
This foundation story may be a later invention to emphasise the political
alliance between Uí Dróna and Uí Chennselaig in the eleventh and twelfth
centuries.
Oratory at St. Mullins by Brian McElherron
St. Moling’s chief political
claim to fame was in relation to the bóruma,
the supposed tax levied on Leinster by the Kings of Tara since the first
century. When Finsnechta Fledach was High King, he was approached by St. Moling
to grant a remission of the bóruma
until Monday. Finsnechta Fledch agreed to this until St. Adomnan told him that
the Monday meant was not in a few days’ time but the Day of Judgment which
according to the Irish would happen on a Monday. Finsnechta Fledach got so mad
that he poured curses on St. Moling to which the saint replied with curses and
Finsnechta Fledach died in 695 by the hands of his cousins.[21] St.
Moling died according to the Annals of
Inisfallen in 696 while the Annals of
Ulster give it as 697.[22]
Apart from St. MoLaise and St.
Moling a number of other saints were associated with the kingdom of Uí Dróna.
These include Foirtchearn (from Ath Truim in Laoghaire and from Ceall
Fhoirtcheirm in Uí Dróna, 11th October), son of Feidhlimidh, son of
Laoghaire, son of Niall Naoighiallach and Bairrfhionn of Achadh Cailltean on
the west side of the River Barrow at Killoughternane in Uí Dróna. Bairrfhionn
was a brother of Fionnbharr of Inis Domhail and son of Aodh, son of Dallán, son
of Liathan, son of Bran, son of Eóghan Brec, son of Art Cearb who was son of
Cairbre Nia.[23]
Uí Dróna in the tenth century
It is only in the tenth century
that the history of Uí Dróna enters into the Annalistic record in any helpful
way to construct the kingdom’s history. In 906 [910 in Annals of Ulster, alias
911] Aedh, son of Dubhghilla, King of Uí Dróna of the Three Plains, was also
tanist of Uí Chennselaig.[24]
Thus the connection between the royal family of Uí Dróna and that of Uí
Chennselaig may not be as fabricated as we first thought.
In 911 Aedh, King of Uí Dróna,
was killed by the Uí Bairrche according to the Four Masters. Other sources say he was killed by local people in Osraige in an act of divine vengeance for the murder of the priest of Cell na gCaillech by the army of Uí Dróna.[25]
The Kingdom of Uí Bairrche was north of Uí Dróna and on the east side of the
River Barrow.[26]
A poem was written about Aedh which said:
Oh youths of pleasant
Ailbhe [plain in south Kildare, east of the Barrow], mourn ye the king of noble
Slaine [River Slaney],
Slain is the populous
Aedh of the Bearbha [Barrow], the just king of the land of peaceful Fearna
[Ferns],
To great Fearna of
the thousand noble graces there came not, if I remember rightly,
A corpse of most
illustrious fame, since the populous Bran Dubh [King Leinster, d.605/8] was
slain,
My shelter, my
protection has departed, may the King of kings make smooth his way,
Tis easily known by
Aedhan’s rath [Ferns] that Aedh is dead, oh youths.[27]
It is not known who succeeded
Aedh as lord of Uí Dróna but in 944 Dunlaing, son of Aedh, slain as Lord of Uí
Dróna.[28]
The circumstances of his death were not recorded. The biggest military activity
of 944 was made by the Vikings of Dublin as they raided Clonmacnoise and the
monasteries of Meath.[29]
Uí Dróna in the eleventh century
Although Uí Dróna was crowded
over by the more power kingdoms of Osraige and Uí Chennselaig it was still
sometimes recognised as a full kingdom. In 1016 Tadhg Ua Riain was described as
King of Uí Dróna. In that year King Tadhg was killed in the middle of Leighlin
along with Donncuan, son of Dunlaing, King of Leinster by Donnchadh son of
Gillapatraic. The circumstances for the killing were not stated but the scribe
of the Annals of Ulster said there
was “peace in Ireland”.[30]
The Annals of the Four Masters provided some details on the killing of
Tadhg Ua Riain. It seems that both parties had met in Leighlin to negotiate
peace between their warring kingdoms. On the morning of the murder a peace
treaty was conducted and oaths of friendship given all round. But St. Moling
had prophesied the day with the words;
Donndurgen and the
royal Bard [Tadhg] of lances,
Shall violate
friendship at Glinngerg [Leighlin];
mutual oaths shall
not prevent bloodshed.[31]
In 1071 another Tadc Ua Riain was
described as King of Uí Dróna. In that year there was a battle in Leinster
between Domnall, son of Murchad, grandson of Mael na mBó and Donnchad son of
Domnall Remar. It is not clear on which side King Tadc Ua Riain died but he was
killed along with many other soldiers and chieftains.[32] The
battle was a civil war encounter between Domnall son of Murchad and Donnchad
son of Domnall Remar as both were close cousins within the Uí Chennselaig
kingdom.[33]
In 1087 a great battle was held
between the men of Munster and those of Leinster at the Fort of Edar which was
said to be in the vicinity of Howth, Co. Dublin. The Munstermen were victorious
and there was great slaughter among those of Leinster. Among the dead was the
son of Murchadh Ua Domhnaill, Lord of Uí Dróna and possibly a good number of
his followers. The people of Uí Dróna had to deal with this loss while also
suffering the death of their cows and the destruction brought by a powerful
wind which knocked houses and churches.[34]
Uí Dróna in the twelfth century
In 1103 Ua Riain, King of Uí
Dróna, went north into Ulster with his army as part of a grand army from
Leinster, Ossory, Munster and from the Viking communities under the leadership
of Muirchertach O Briain. A great war had broken out between Cinel Eoghan and
the Ulstermen. Muirchertach had gone to help the Ulstermen. But the campaign
was far from successful. Instead Muirchertach was defeated in the invasion of
Dal Araidhe. Subsequently the Ulstermen took advantage of this defeat to attack
the Leinstermen and those of Ossory at Magh-Cobha. The battle between the sides
was fiercely fought but the Leinstermen were defeated with great slaughter.
Among the dead was Ua Riain, King of Uí Dróna.[35]
In 1111 the monastery of Leighlin
in Uí Dróna was chosen as one of the five bishoprics in Leinster.[36]
The new diocese of Leighlin included a larger area than just the kingdom of Uí
Dróna but the two religious centres within Uí Dróna, namely Leighlin and St.
Mullins were important places in the new diocese. Some writers have suggested
that St. Mullins was part of the new diocese of Ferns because of its long
association with Ferns monastery but St. Mullins was included in the deanery of
Idrone in the diocese of Leighlin. The county boundary between Wexford and
Carlow was changed in the early seventeenth century and this change placed part
of St. Mullins parish within County Wexford.[37]
By the 1160s the regal status of
Uí Dróna was no longer recognised by its more powerful neighbours. Instead
Diarmait Ua Riain was described as duke of Uí Dróna. But other people such as
the author of the Song of Diarmait still recognised Diarmait Ua Riain as king
of Uí Dróna even if he was called a rebel king. In the period 1162-65 King
Diarmait Ua Riain gave certain lands to establish the Benedictine house of
Killenny which foundation was confirmed by Diarmait Mac Murrough, King of
Leinster.[38]
Felix, abbot of Ossory was to provide the religious foundation with monks while
King Diarmait Ua Riain gave land in Dunleckny parish and elsewhere.[39]
By 1185 Killenny changed its
order and became Cistercian, subject to Jerpoint. Killenny continued to be
ruled by an abbot but by the 1220s the house was heavily in debt. In 1227
Killenny was suppressed and was united to Duiske Abbey at Graiguenamanagh. An
attempt was made about 1276 to restore the independent abbey but without
success. Even after the suppression of Killenny as an independent abbey the
O’Ryan family did not abandon it. In 1424 Henry O’Ryan, lord of Idrone, confirmed
the lands granted by his ancestor Diarmait Ua Riain to Killenny. In 1540
Killenny was referred to as “Old Abbey” and was listed as a grange of Duiske
Abbey when it was held by Charles Kavanagh, last abbot of Duiske. Charles
Kavanagh was buried at “Old Abbey” sometime about 1558 when he was said to be
about one hundred years old. The location of Killenny or “Old Abbey” is unclear
but the townland of Barrowmount near Goresbridge is suggested.[40]
After the Norman
invasion 1169
It seems initially that the
leaders of Uí Dróna opposed the claims and campaigns of Diarmuid MacMurrough to
recover the kingship of Leinster. After May 1170 the men of Uí Dróna joined
those of Waterford city and the Deisi in attacking Raymond le Gros Fitzgerald
at Baginbun promontory fort. The Irish lost the battle and Waterford city fell
shortly after.[41]
The Uí Dróna may possibly have
supported the joint Uí Chennselaig and Norman invasion of Osraige in 1170 but this
is unlikely considering other events. When Richard de Clare (Strongbow) landed
at Waterford in August 1170 the joint army marched on Dublin where after some
resistance they took the city.[42]
After taking Dublin the invaders
and the Uí Chennselaig seemed to have prospered together. Richard de Clare
married MacMurrough’s daughter, Eva, and began to parcel out parts of Leinster
to his followers. In about 1170 Richard de Clare (Strongbow) granted St.
Mullins and its half cantred to Peter Giffard. This charter was witnessed by
Richard, Ralph and Ruelet Bluet among others. Members of the Bluet family were
tenants of Richard de Clare in various parts of his estate in English and Welsh
lands. They got lands at Kilcorkey in Wexford.[43]
But when Diarmuid MacMurrough
died in the winter of 1171 the tide quickly changed. The lords and kingdoms of
Leinster (including Uí Dróna) refused to recognise Richard de Clare as King of
Leinster. The usual warring Irish stopped their fighting and arrayed themselves
together against the Normans. Richard de Clare was besieged in Dublin while his
gains in Leinster disappeared. But the Irish army failed to see the job through
and the Normans sallied forth and defeated the Irish army.
While besieged in Dublin, Richard
de Clare was told that Robert Fitzstephen was also besieged in Wexford and was
short of supplies. Initially Richard de Clare couldn’t help but once the siege
of Dublin was lifted he went south to Wexford. While passing through Uí Dróna
the Normans were attacked by O’Ryan and his army. But the men of Uí Dróna were
no match for a Norman army that was full of victory and its blood up to any
challenge. O’Ryan was defeated. But on reaching Wexford the Normans found they
were too late and Fitzstephen was a prisoner.[44] The
Song of Dermot and the Earl recorded the battle in Uí Dróna in these words:
“That he [Earl Richard de Clare]
came to Odrone / Now the Irish of the district / Were assembled at the Pass
[Scollagh Pass], / To meet the Earl Richard, / At one side they were assembled:
/ To attack the English / Were the Irish assembled. / The Earl Richard with his
men/ Through the midst of the pass in safety / though surely to advance / when
an obstacle met him.
The rebel king of Odrone, /
O’Ryan was his name, / Shouted out loudly: / “To your destruction, Englishmen,
have you come!” / He rallied his men to him, / And attacked the English
sharply; / And the English, of a truth, / Manfully defended themselves. / But
Meiler, son of Henry / Carried the prize that day / In the battle, known in
smooth / There was no better than the son of Henry / And much renowned that day
/ Was Nicol, a cowled monk / For with an arrow he slew that day / The lord of
Odrone / By an arrow, as I tell you / Was O’Ryan slain that day / And Meiler,
the strong-limbed baron / Was stunned by a blow / Of a stone in this fight / So
that he reeled to the ground / But when O’Ryan was slain / The Irish separated
/ This wood was afterwards named / And called the Earl’s pass / Because the
Earl was attacked there / By his enemies”.[45]
The death of the Uí Dróna king
and the loss of some many warriors severely weakened the small kingdom at a
critical time. In October 1171 King Henry II arrived at Waterford and
proceeding in a procession through the country to Dublin, receiving the
submission of great and small kings along the way and at Dublin. It is likely
that a much weakened Uí Dróna was one of the submitting kingdoms. Over the next
few years all trace of Irish lordship in Uí Dróna was eliminated as the kingdom
became the Norman cantred of Idrone
In 1175 the half cantred of St.
Mullins, along with the cantreds of Idrone East and Forth in County Carlow, was
granted to Raymond le Gros Fitzgerald by Richard de Clare on the occasion of
the marriage of Raymond to Richard’s sister, Basilia. Raymond le Gros left no
legitimate children and five knight’s fees in Idrone were granted by Raymond to
his brother, Odo de Carew Fitzgerald or to his nephew, William de Carew.
Elsewhere it is showed that William de Carew held Dunleckny and St. Mullins.[46]
For a topographical study of the relationship between Idrone and the earlier
kingdom of Uí Dróna see the book by Paul MacCotter, Medieval Ireland: Territorial, Political and Economic Divisions
(Four Courts Press, Dublin, 2008).[47]
The Anglo-Normans held Idrone until after the Black Death in
1350 when a number of factors caused the decline of their influence and the
rise of the Irish influence. By the late fifteenth century much of Idrone was
in Irish hands.
=============
End of post
============
[1]
John O’Donovan (ed.), Leabhar na g-Ceart
or the Book of Rights (Celtic Society, Dublin, 1847), p. 212, note k
[2]
Francis J. Byrne, Irish Kings and
High-Kings (Four Courts Press, Dublin, 2001), pp. 130, 131, 132
[3]
John O’Donovan (ed.), Leabhar na g-Ceart
or the Book of Rights, p. 213
[4]
Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh, Leabhar Mór
na nGenealagh: The Great Book of Irish Genealogies, edited by Nollaig Ó
Muraíle (5 vols. De Búrca, Dublin, 2003), no. 950.4
[5]
Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh, Leabhar Mór
na nGenealagh, no. 752.4
[6]
Francis J. Byrne, Irish Kings and
High-Kings, pp. 288, 290
[7]
Francis J. Byrne, Irish Kings and
High-Kings, pp. 148, 149
[8] Gearoid
Mac Niocaill, Ireland before the Vikings
(Gill & Macmillan, Dublin, 1972), pp. 19, 21, 98
[9]
Francis J. Byrne, Irish Kings and
High-Kings, p. 134
[10]
Paul MacCotter, Medieval Ireland:
Territorial, Political and Economic Divisions (Four Courts Press, Dublin,
2008), p. 130
[11]
Gearoid Mac Niocaill, Ireland before the
Vikings, pp. 128, 130
[12]
John O’Hart, Irish Pedigrees: or the
origin and stem of the Irish nation (Gill, Dublin, 1878), vol. 2, pp. 300,
301
[13]
Eoin MacNeill, Celtic Ireland (Martin
Lester, Dublin, 1921), p. 25
[14]
Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh, Leabhar Mór
na nGenealagh, no. 474.4
[15] Annals of Ulster, 990
[16]
A. Gwynn & R.N. Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses in Ireland (Irish Academic Press, Blackrock, 1988), p. 89;
Rev. Gordon Wynne, ‘St Laserian’s Cathedral, Old Leighlin’, in Carloviana 2006, pp. 31, 32
[17]
A. Gwynn & R.N. Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses in Ireland, p. 89
[18]
Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh, Leabhar Mór
na nGenealagh, no. 724.3
[19]
Francis J. Byrne, Irish Kings and
High-Kings, p. 288
[20]
A. Gwynn & R.N. Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses in Ireland, p. 43
[21]
Francis J. Byrne, Irish Kings and
High-Kings, pp. 144, 145, 146
[22] Annals of Inisfallen, 696
[23]
Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh, Leabhar Mór
na nGenealagh, nos. 706.12, 718.6, 718.7; Tomás Ó Carragáin, Churches in early medieval Ireland (Yale
University Press, New Haven, 2010), p. 311
[24] Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four
Masters, 906
[25] Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four
Masters, 906; Morgan Thomas Davis, 'The somewhat heroic biography of Brandub mac Echach', in Essays on the Early Irish king tales, edited by Dan M. Wiley (Four Courts Press, Dublin, 2008), p. 186
[26]
Francis J. Byrne, Irish Kings and
High-Kings, p. 132 map of Leinster
[27] Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four
Masters, 906
[28] Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four
Masters, 944
[29] Annals of Ulster, 945 (alias 946)
[30] Annals of Loch Cé, 1016; Annals of Ulster, 1016
[31] Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four
Masters, 1015
[32] Annals of Inisfallen, 1071.2
[33]
Francis J. Byrne, Irish Kings and
High-Kings, p. 290
[34] Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four
Masters, 1087
[35] Annals of Loch Cé, 1103; Annals of Ulster, 1103; Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four
Masters, 1103
[36]
A. Gwynn & R.N. Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses in Ireland (Irish Academic Press, Blackrock, 1988), p. 89
[37]
Billy Colfer, Arrogant Trespass:
Anglo-Norman Wexford 1169-1400 (Duffry Press, Enniscorthy, 2002), p. 3
[38]
Marie Therese Flanagan, ‘Strategies of Lordship in pre-Norman and post-Norman
Leinster’, in Anglo-Irish Studies edited
by Christopher Harper-Bill, Vol. XX,1997 (Boydell Press, Woodbridge1998), p.
116
[39]
David Howlett, Sealed from Within:
Self-Authenticating Insular Charters (Four Courts Press, Dublin, 1999), pp.
81-6
[40]
A. Gwynn & R.N. Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses in Ireland, p. 138; Edmund Curtis, A history of Medieval Ireland from 1086 to 1513 (Methuen, London,
1968), p. 312; Colmcille Ó Conbhuidhe, Studies
in Irish Cistercian History (Four Courts Press, Dublin, 1998), pp. 56, 117
[41]
David W. McCullough, Wars of the Irish
Kings (Three Rivers Press, New York, 2002), p. 156; Billy Colfer, Arrogant Trespass: Anglo-Norman Wexford
1169-1400, pp. 30, 32
[42]
Rev. E.A. Dalton, History of Ireland from
the earliest times to the present day (Gresham, London, 1910), half volume
1, pp. 230, 231
[43]
Eric St. John Brooks (ed.), Knight’s Fees
in Counties Wexford, Carlow and Kilkenny: 13th-15th
century (Stationery Office, Dublin, 1950), p. 26
[44]
Rev. E.A. Dalton, History of Ireland from
the earliest times to the present day, half volume 1, p. 233
[45]
David W. McCullough, Wars of the Irish
Kings, pp. 171, 172; Giraldus Cambrensis, Expugnatio Hibernica: The Conquest of Ireland, edited by A.B. Scott
& F.X. Martin (Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, 1978),p. 308 note 128
[46]
Eric St. John Brooks (ed.), Knight’s Fees
in Counties Wexford, Carlow and Kilkenny, pp. 27, 28, note 4
[47]
Paul MacCotter, Medieval Ireland:
Territorial, Political and Economic Divisions, pp. 129, 130
