Muircheartach Ó Briain was

King of Thomond The kings of Thomond () ruled from the establishment of Thomond during the High Middle Ages, until the Early modern period. Thomond represented the legacy of Brian Bóruma and the High Kings of Ireland of his line who could not hold onto all of ...

from 1317 until his death in 1343.

Reign

He was the son of Toirdhealbhach Mór Ó Briain. He was expelled by his Clann Briain cousin King Donnchad Ó Briain in 1314. He came to power after Donnchad supported

Edward Bruce Edward Bruce, Earl of Carrick (Norman French: ; ; Modern Scottish Gaelic: or ; 1280 – 14 October 1318), was a younger brother of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots. He supported his brother in the 1306–1314 struggle for the Scottish cro ...

and lost the support of Richard de Clare, then fleeing to join the Bruce camp in

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

. After Donnchad's departure Muircheartach came to power. He fought the Battle of Lough Raska where the rival Clann Briain whom the Norman de Clare's had supported were defeated. He banished de Clare's protege Mathgamain O'Briain from

Thomond Thomond ( Classical Irish: ; Modern Irish: ), also known as the Kingdom of Limerick, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Clare and County Limerick, as well as parts of County Tipperary around Nena ...

and then fought him at the

Battle of Dysert O'Dea The Battle of Dysert O'Dea took place on 10 May 1318 at Dysert O'Dea near Corofin, Ireland. It was part of the Bruce campaign in Ireland. The Norman Richard de Clare attacked the Gaelic Irish chieftain Conchobhar ÓDeághaidh, chief of the ...

where his forces were victorious in driving the Normans from

and Richard de Clare was killed.

Family

He married Étaín, the daughter of his standard bearer MacGorman of Ibrickane and had two known sons: John O'Hart,"Irish Pedigrees or the Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation", Volume 1, 1892, page 159, https://archive.org/stream/irishpedigreesor_01ohar#page/158/mode/2up * Mathghamhain Maonmhaighe *Toirdhealbhach Maol

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:O Briain, Muircheartach Kings of Thomond 1343 deaths Year of birth unknown