High Kings and Kingdoms of Ireland

[mmrebel]

As a child i learned the very basics of who they were and where they were from etc the most famous probably being Brian Boru.
So thought it might be interesting to start a thread on our history that dont involve the last 100yrs .
Here is the list of Irish High kings

List of High Kings of Ireland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
If you click on each name it gives you a detailed history that i was not very aware off. Also with the arrival of the Vikings it created new kingdoms

The below link is a weighty piece done by UCC on a ancient history of Ireland
The History of Ireland (BOOK I-II)

The map below is a map of Ireland before the coming of the Normans



Hope people will add more info looking into this today i didnt realise there was a kingdom of Breifne in Ireland.

[IvoShandor]

I though there would be more

[Tommy Tayto]

Don't forget Kings of Leon ruled Punchestown.

[st333ve]

So thats why there's so many nutcases in Limerick.

[mmrebel]

So thats why there's so many nutcases in Limerick.

huh?

[Catalpa]

As a child i learned the very basics of who they were and where they were from etc the most famous probably being Brian Boru.
So thought it might be interesting to start a thread on our history that dont involve the last 100yrs .
Here is the list of Irish High kings

List of High Kings of Ireland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
If you click on each name it gives you a detailed history that i was not very aware off. Also with the arrival of the Vikings it created new kingdoms

The below link is a weighty piece done by UCC on a ancient history of Ireland
The History of Ireland (BOOK I-II)

The map below is a map of Ireland before the coming of the Normans



Hope people will add more info looking into this today i didnt realise there was a kingdom of Breifne in Ireland.

Excellent topic for discussion!

Breifne was one of the later kingdoms and not one of the traditions Five Provinces

- it was an arriviste as was indeed Brian Boru whose father had seized the kingdom of Munster as his own from the Eoghanachta extended family of royal households who had ruled there for centuries.


The 'High Kings' is a later term for the kings who attempted to rule Ireland.

The Ua Nialls were the most important family grouping who usually held Tara and thus the most sacred site in Ireland under their sway.

To be King of Tara was to be Top Dog in terms of Status - and that was the name of the game rather than actual direct rule of the whole of Ireland which no Gaelic King ever succeeded in doing that we know of anyway.

Starting point has to be Irish Kings & High Kings by FJ Byrne

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Irish-Kings-High-History-Classics/dp/1851821961"]Amazon.com: Irish Kings & High Kings: Irish Kings and High Kings (Four Courts History Classics): F. J. Byrne: Books[/ame]

Tough but rewarding.

[5intheface]

I would urge you to invest in a copy of The Annals of Ireland by The Four Masters to fill in all the gaps. A remarkable doccument in so many ways and despite it costing 600-700 euros, it will keep you going a lifetime. I've spent entire evenings without leaving the index volume, fascinating.

[Catalpa]

I would urge you to invest in a copy of The Annals of Ireland by The Four Masters to fill in all the gaps. A remarkable doccument in so many ways and despite it costing 600-700 euros, it will keep you going a lifetime. I've spent entire evenings without leaving the index volume, fascinating.

A most excellent document but its a flawed one I'm afraid

- to be consulted but used with caution....

This Site here is the best online with a wealth of sources on ancient Ireland incl many of the Annals.

CELT: The online resource for Irish history, literature and politics

- and of course Dr. Daniel P. Mc Carthy has done trojan work in recent years to bring the fullest picture of the historical records from the Annals to light

https://www.cs.tcd.ie/Dan.McCarthy/

[mmrebel]

I would urge you to invest in a copy of The Annals of Ireland by The Four Masters to fill in all the gaps. A remarkable doccument in so many ways and despite it costing 600-700 euros, it will keep you going a lifetime. I've spent entire evenings without leaving the index volume, fascinating.

There are also the
Annals of Boyle
Annals of Clonmacnoise
Annals of Connacht
Annals of Inisfallen
Annals of Lough Cé
Annals of Ulster
Annals of Tigernach

All of which the annals of the four masters took something from.

There was also Chronicle of Ireland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I posted the link earlier but it really is a wealth of info CELT: The online resource for Irish history, literature and politics (Corpus of Electronic Texts)

[mmrebel]

I would urge you to invest in a copy of The Annals of Ireland by The Four Masters to fill in all the gaps. A remarkable doccument in so many ways and despite it costing 600-700 euros, it will keep you going a lifetime. I've spent entire evenings without leaving the index volume, fascinating.

Is this the same one you have read ?


[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Annals-Ireland-Translated-Original-Masters/dp/0940134144]Amazon.com: The Annals of Ireland: Translated from the Original Irish of the Four Masters, Part 2: Books[/ame]