Murchad mac Briain was the son and heir of

Brian Boru Brian Boru ( mga, Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig; modern ga, Brian Bóramha; 23 April 1014) was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill and probably ended Viking invasion/domination of Ireland. Br ...

, a High King of Ireland. He was the

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

leader of his father's army, killed on 23 April 1014 at the

Battle of Clontarf The Battle of Clontarf ( ga, Cath Chluain Tarbh) took place on 23 April 1014 at Clontarf, near Dublin, on the east coast of Ireland. It pitted an army led by Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, against a Norse-Irish alliance comprising the for ...

Biography

In 1013 there was a rebellion by Máel Mórda, the

King of Leinster The kings of Leinster ( ga, Rí Laighín), ruled from the establishment of Leinster during the Irish Iron Age, until the 17th century Early Modern Ireland. According to Gaelic traditional history, laid out in works such as the ''Book of Invasion ...

and

Sitric Silkenbeard Sigtrygg II Silkbeard Olafsson (also Sihtric, SitricÓ Corráin, p. 123 and Sitrick in Irish texts; or SigtrygWinn, p. 46 and SigtryggrMac Manus, p. 278 in Scandinavian texts) was a Hiberno-Norse king of Dublin (possibly AD 989–994; restored ...

, the Viking

king of Dublin Vikings invaded the territory around Dublin in the 9th century, establishing the Norse Kingdom of Dublin, the earliest and longest-lasting Norse kingdom in Ireland. Its territory corresponded to most of present-day County Dublin. The Norse refe ...

against Brian Boru's rule in Ireland. Murchad was sent by Brian to deal with the rebellion. According to the Annals of Ulster he "made a great raid into

Laigin The Laigin, modern spelling Laighin (), were a Gaelic population group of early Ireland. They gave their name to the Kingdom of Leinster, which in the medieval era was known in Irish as ''Cóiced Laigen'', meaning "Fifth/province of the Leinster ...

, plundered the land to Glenn dá Locha and Cell Maignenn, burned the whole country, and took great spoils and countless captives.". It is said that before the battle of Clontarf that some Vikings fled "for they dread the valor of Murchad and the

Dal gCais The Dalcassians ( ga, Dál gCais ) are a Gaels, Gaelic Irish clan, generally accepted by contemporary scholarship as being a branch of the Déisi Muman, that became very powerful in Ireland during the 10th century. Their genealogies claimed des ...

in general" He also allegedly carried two swords in battle. Some accounts say he died in battle with his father Brian though most accounts report that Brian never fought in the battle, which is the accepted version of events by historians. He was buried in Armagh along with his father and other relatives. He had a son called

Toirdelbach mac Murchada meic Briain Toirdelbach mac Murchada meic Briain (c. 999 – 23 April 1014) was the grandson of Brian Boru and one of the leaders of the Dál gCais-led Irish army at the Battle of Clontarf, where he was killed (likely by drowning) while leading Irish forces ...

References

10th-century Irish people 10th-century births 11th-century Irish people 1014 deaths Dál gCais Murchad {{middleages-stub