Malachy MacMurrough (; modern ; died 23 April 1014 AD) was King of Leinster, Ireland in the late 10th and early 11th century. Son of King Murchad mac Finn and brother of

Gormflaith (; ) is an Irish-language feminine given name meaning "blue princess" or "illustrious princess". is also a Irish mythology, Gaelic mythological national personification, personification of Ireland. The word ' is a compound of the Irish words ' ( ...

, he belonged to the northern Leinster dynasty of the Uí Dúnlainge, and in particular the branch of the Uí Fáeláin whose lands lay around the town of

Naas Naas ( ; or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In 2022, it had a population of 26,180, making it the largest town in County Kildare (ahead of Newbridge, County Kildare, Newbridge) and the List of urban ar ...

, anciently Nás na Rí, "the Assembly Place of the Kings" or Nás Laighean "the Assembly Place of the Leinstermen" on the middle reaches of the

River Liffey The River Liffey (Irish language, Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major Tributary, tributaries include t ...

, in modern

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

. Máel Mórda is best known as an enemy of

Brian Boru Brian Boru (; modern ; 23 April 1014) was the High King of Ireland from 1002 to 1014. He ended the domination of the High King of Ireland, High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill, and is likely responsible for ending Vikings, Viking invasio ...

, King of Munster, they fought at the

Battle of Glenmama The Battle of Glenn Máma or Glenmama (, The Battle of "The Glen of the Gap") took place most probably near Lyons Hill in Ardclough, County Kildare, Ireland, in AD 999The Battle of Glenn Mama, Dublin and the High Kingship of Ireland: a Mille ...

on 30 December 999 and both men died in the

Battle of Clontarf The Battle of Clontarf () 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 forces of Sigtrygg Silkbea ...

, fought on

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in 1014. According to the account of the battle contained in ''Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib'' ("The War of the Irish with the Foreigners") King Máel Mórda died in single combat with Conaing mac Donncuan, King of Desmond, Brian Boru's nephew, as follows ''"We must next speak of Conaing. He faced Maelmordha, son of Murchadh, king of Laighin, and sixteen men of the people were killed, each man of them, in front of his lord, before they themselves met, and fell by each other, viz., Conaing, king of Des-Mhumha, and Maelmordha, king of Laighin"'' According to the Annals of Tigernach, Máel Mórda's son ''"Cearball mac Mael Mordha, crown-prince of Leinster"'' was killed in 1017. His other son Bran mac Máelmórda was King of Leinster from around 1016 until he lost the kingship in 1018 after being blinded by his cousin the King of Dublin Sitric Silkenbeard son of Amlaib, after which Bran retired to Cologne, probably to the Benedictine monastery of Great St Martin which was run by Irish monks at the time. The Annals of Ulster record in 1052 that ''"Braen son of Mael Mórda, king of Laigin, died in Cologne".'' Perhaps as a result of the heavy losses at Clontarf, Braen was the last of the Uí Fáeláin line of Kings of Leinster, though his descendants achieved fame as the medieval O'Byrne sept of Leinster (O'Byrne or ''ó Broin'' in Irish translates as "grandson/descendant of Braen").

In popular culture

The Irish

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

group Mael Mórdha take their name from Máel Mórda mac Murchada and many of their songs are based on the events of the

References

* Byrne, Francis John, ''Irish Kings and High-Kings.'' Batsford, London, 1973. Kings of Leinster Kings of Uí Dúnlainge 10th-century births 11th-century deaths 1014 deaths 11th-century Irish monarchs People from County Kildare Monarchs killed in action {{Ireland-royal-stub