Tighearnán Mór Ua Ruairc (older spelling: Tigernán Mór Ua Ruairc), anglicised as Tiernan O'Rourke ( fl.

1124 Year 1124 ( MCXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1124th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 124th year of the 2nd millennium, the 24th year of ...

– 1172) ruled the

kingdom of Breifne Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

as the 19th king in its Ua Ruairc (later O'Rourke) dynasty (964–1605 CE), a branch of the

Uí Briúin The Uí Briúin were a royal dynasty of Connacht. Their eponymous apical ancestor was Brión, son of Eochaid Mugmedon and Mongfind, and an elder half brother of Niall of the Nine Hostages. They formed part of the Connachta, along with the U ...

. He was a descendant of Uí Riagain, and one of the provincial kings in Ireland in the twelfth century, constantly expanding his kingdom through shifting alliances, of which the most long-standing was with

Toirdelbach Ua Conchobair Toirdhealbhach Mór Ua Conchobhair (old spelling: Tairrdelbach Mór Ua Conchobair; 1088 – 1156) anglicised Turlough Mór O'Conor, was King of Connacht (1106–1156) and High King of Ireland (ca. 1120–1156). Family background and early life ...

King of

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

and

High King of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ga, Ardrí na hÉireann ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and later sometimes assigned ana ...

, and subsequently his son and successor Ruaidhrí Ua Conchobair. He is known for his role in the expulsion of

Diarmait Mac Murchada Diarmait Mac Murchada (Modern Irish: Diarmaid Mac Murchadha), anglicised as Dermot MacMurrough, Dermod MacMurrough, or Dermot MacMorrogh (c. 1110 – c. 1 May 1171), was a King of Leinster in Ireland. In 1167, he was deposed by the High King ...

, King of

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

, from Ireland in 1166. Mac Murchada's subsequent recruitment of

Marcher Lords A Marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A Marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in Fra ...

to assist him in the recovery of his Kingdom of Leinster ultimately led to the

Norman invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land from the Irish, over which the kings of England then claimed sovereignty, all allegedly sanc ...

Early career

Ua Ruairc may have ruled Bréifne as early as 1124, as indicated in

Mac Carthaigh's Book ''Mac Carthaigh’s Book'' is a collection of annals of the period AD 1114– 1437 inclusive. It was compiled from earlier material by Fínghin Mac Carthaigh Mór (c. 1560–1640) an Irish nobleman who was imprisoned for years in London. He was a ...

and the

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Deluge, dated as 2,24 ...

, the former indicating he allied at the time with the kings of Meath and Leinster against

. However the

Annals of Ulster The ''Annals of Ulster'' ( ga, Annála Uladh) are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, ...

and the

Annals of Tigernach The ''Annals of Tigernach'' ( abbr. AT, ga, Annála Tiarnaigh) are chronicles probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin and Old and Middle Irish. Many of the pre-historic entries come from the 12th-cent ...

do not mention him until 1128, where they record his robbing and killing of some of the

Archbishop of Armagh In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

's company, the former calling it 'A detestable and unprecedented deed of evil consequence'. He appears to have carried out a number of raids into other territories in 1130s and in 1143 assisted

in the capture of his son Ruaidhrí. In 1144 he was given half of East Meath, with the other half going to

, king of Leinster, by Ua Choncobair. Both Ua Ruairc and Mac Murchadh joined the High King in a raid into Munster in 1151.

Abduction of Derbforgaill and Norman Invasion of Ireland

Diarmaid_Mac_Murrough_Expugnatio_Hibernica

In 1152, Ua Ruairc's wife,

Derbforgaill Dearbhfhorghaill (older spelling: Derbforgaill) (1108–1193), anglicised as Derval, was a daughter of Murchad Ua Maeleachlainn, king of Meath, and of his wife Mor (died 1137), daughter of Muirchertach Ua Briain. She is famously known as the "Hele ...

, was abducted along with her cattle and material wealth by

Mac Murchada Mac or MAC most commonly refers to: * Mac (computer), a family of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * A variant of the word macaroni, mostly used in the name of the dish mac and cheese * Ma ...

, who made a hosting into Ua Ruairc's territory aided by

. Although the

state that Derbforgaill returned to Ua Ruairc the following year, the matter may not have ended there. In 1166, Mac Murchada was driven from Leinster by Ua Ruairc, Ruaidhrí Ua Conchobair, who had succeeded his father as king of Connacht and High King of Ireland, and Diarmait Ua Mealseachlainn, King of Meath. Despite the fourteen-year gap between Derbforgaill's abduction and Mac Murchada's expulsion from Leinster, several sources attribute Ua Ruairc's role in Mac Murchada's expulsion to a desire for revenge for the kidknapping of Derbforgaill. Mac Murchadh fled to the court of

Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...

in Aquitaine, where he asked Henry for help in regaining his territory in Leinster. Henry agreed to allow Mac Murchada to recruit mercenary soldiers from amongst his subjects. He ultimately persuaded

Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (of the first creation), Lord of Leinster, Justiciar of Ireland (113020 April 1176), also known as Richard FitzGilbert, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman notable for his leading role in the Anglo-Norman invasion ...

, known as Strongbow, to assist him, promising the inheritance of Leinster in return. He initially returned to Leinster in 1167 with a small band of Norman knights and was defeated by Ruaidhrí Ua Conchobair, Ua Ruairc and Ua Maelseachlainn. On this occasion he was allowed to remain in Ireland, but was forced to pay one hundred ounces of gold to Ua Ruairc for the kidnapping of Derbforgaill (thus proving under Brehon law that the abduction of his wife was unlawful) and submit and give hostages to Ruaidhrí. It wasn't until the arrival of Robert Fitz Stephen, Hervey de Montmorency,

Raymond le Gros Raymond (or Redmond) Fitz William Fitz Gerald (died 1185–1198), nicknamed ''Le Gros'' ("the Large"), was a Cambro-Norman commander during the Norman invasion of Ireland. Raymond was among the first of a small band of Norman knights who l ...

and eventually Strongbow himself that Mac Murchada met with success. Ua Ruairc had his territories in Meath plundered by Mac Murchada and Strongbow in 1170. In response, the

state that he persuaded Ruaidhrí Ua Conchobair to execute hostages he had taken from Mac Murchada the previous year. In 1171 he joined Ruaidhrí in an unsuccessful siege of Dublin, which had by then been captured by Mac Murchada and Strongbow. He raided the territory around Dublin later in the year, unsuccessfully engaging the Normans stationed there under

Miles De Cogan Milo de Cogan ( fl. 1170–1182) was an Anglo-Norman knight from Glamorgan who played a significant role in the Norman conquest of Ireland under Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke; a man better known to Irish history as ''Strongbow''. Origins ...

. In this engagement, his son, Aodh, was killed. According to Giraldus Cambrensis, Ua Ruairc was one of the Kings of Ireland who submitted allegiance to Henry II after his arrival to assert control over Strongbow in 1171.

Death

According to

Giraldus Cambrensis Gerald of Wales ( la, Giraldus Cambrensis; cy, Gerallt Gymro; french: Gerald de Barri; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively. He studied and taugh ...

, Ua Ruairc was killed at a parley on the Hill of Tlachtga by a

Cambro-Norman Cambro-Normans ( la, Cambria; "Wales", cy, Normaniaid Cymreig; nrf, Nouormands Galles) were Normans who settled in South Wales, southern Wales, and the Welsh Marches, after the Norman invasion of Wales, allied with their counterpart families ...

knight named Griffin FitzWilliam, acting in defence of

Hugh de Lacy Hugh de Lacy may refer to: * Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Lassy (c.1020–1085), first recorded member of the Norman noble family de Lacy * Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath (died 1186), 4th Baron Lacy * Hugh de Lacy, Abbot of Shrewsbury (died c. 1215/18) *Hug ...

and Maurice FitzGerald, whom Giraldus claims Ua Ruairc attempted to kill after failed negotiations. This occurred shortly after the departure of Henry II from Ireland. However, the

indicate that he was betrayed and killed by Eoan Mer, Richard de Clare the Younger, a son of Strongbow, and Domhnall, a son of Annach Ua Ruairc in 1172. The

, which claims that his death was at the hands of de Lacy and Domhnall states that he was 'a man of great power for a long time'. Prior to his departure, Henry, in his capacity as

Lord of Ireland The Lordship of Ireland ( ga, Tiarnas na hÉireann), sometimes referred to retroactively as Norman Ireland, was the part of Ireland ruled by the King of England (styled as "Lord of Ireland") and controlled by loyal Anglo-Norman lords between ...

, granted the

Lordship of Meath The Lordship of Meath was an extensive seigneurial Liberty (division), liberty in medieval History of Ireland (1169–1536), Ireland that was awarded to Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath, Hugh de Lacy by King Henry II of England by the service of fifty ...

to de Lacy in 1172.

Family

Via his mother, Ua Ruairc was a half-brother of

Donnchad Ua Cerbaill Donnchad Ua Cerbaill or Donnchadh Ó Cearbhaill, king of Airgíalla, fl. –1168. Ua Cerbaill was a supporter of the Irish religious reform movement of the 12th century. He was a close associate of Saint Malachy, and with him founded Mellifont A ...

(d. 1168). Ua Ruairc had at least three children, a son Maelseachlainn Ua Ruairc, who was killed in 1162, a son Aodh Ua Ruairc, who was killed attacking Dublin, and a daughter Dubhchoblaigh, who was married to Ruaidhrí Ua Conchobair.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ua Ruairc, Tigernan 1172 deaths People from County Leitrim People from County Cavan 12th-century Irish monarchs Murdered royalty Assassinated Irish politicians Year of birth unknown Ancient Irish dynasties

Early career

Abduction of Derbforgaill and Norman Invasion of Ireland

Death

Family

See also

Notes