The Kingdom of Ormond (

Modern Irish Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was t ...

: - "East Munster") was a short-lived kingdom in

medieval Ireland Ireland in the Middle Ages may refer to: * History of Ireland (400–800), Ireland in the early Middle Ages * History of Ireland (800–1169), Ireland in the high Middle Ages * History of Ireland (1169–1536), Ireland in the late Middle Ages See ...

. It existed in 12th century AD, comprising the eastern part of Munster, in what is now

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after t ...

, with parts of County Kilkenny and County Waterford. The kingdom was formed from a partition of the preceding

Kingdom of Munster The Kingdom of Munster ( ga, Ríocht Mhumhain) was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland which existed in the south-west of the island from at least the 1st century BC until 1118. According to traditional Irish history found in the ''Annals of the Four M ...

. It was a fief of the

O'Kennedy The O'Kennedy family (Irish: ''Ó Cinnéide''), sometimes Kennedy, were an Irish royal dynasty, a sept of the Dál gCais, founded in the Middle Ages who were Kings of Ormond. Their founder was the nephew of High King Brian Boru (1002–1014). ...

family, but was soon conquered by the

Anglo-Normans The Anglo-Normans ( nrf, Anglo-Normaunds, ang, Engel-Norðmandisca) were the medieval ruling class in England, composed mainly of a combination of ethnic Normans, French, Anglo-Saxons, Flemings and Bretons, following the Norman conquest. A sma ...

, who created the Earldom of Ormond as part of the

Lordship 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 ...

, under the suzerainty of the Butler family. However, the O'Kennedys, now styled "Lords of Ormond",

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 Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Flood myt ...

/ref> long struggled with the Butlers for control of the region. In 1336 a peace treaty was signed between the two families, but in 1347 the O'Kennedys were able to drive out the Butlers from Nenagh Castle and install there, keeping the manor for more than two hundred years. Two modern Irish baronies,

Ormond Upper Ormond Upper (Irish: ''Urumhain Uachtarach'') is a barony in County Tipperary, Ireland. This geographical unit of land is one of 12 baronies in County Tipperary. Its chief town is Toomevara. The barony lies between Ormond Lower to the north (who ...

and

Ormond Lower Ormond Lower ( Irish: ''Urumhain Íochtarach'') is a barony in County Tipperary, Ireland. This geographical unit of land is one of 12 baronies in County Tipperary. Its chief town is Nenagh. The barony lies between Ormond Upper to the south-east ...

, are named after the kingdom.

Kings of Ormond

* Olaf Húa Cennétig (...-1164) * Domnall Húa Ceinneidig (...-1181) * Brian O Cennetig * Tomas O Cennetig, half-king of Ormond

References

{{Ireland-hist-stub History of County Tipperary Geography of County Tipperary Geographic history of Ireland Kingdoms of medieval Ireland