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

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1124 Year 1124 (Roman numerals, MCXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday 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 the 12th century, and ...

– 1172) ruled the

kingdom of Breifne The Kingdom of Breifne or Bréifne (), anglicized as Breffny, was a medieval overkingdom in Gaelic Ireland. It comprised what is now County Leitrim, County Cavan and parts of neighbouring counties, and corresponds roughly to the Roman Catho ...

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 th ...

. As one of the provincial kings in Ireland in the twelfth century, he constantly expanded 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 Kings of Connacht, King of Connacht (1106–1156) and High King of Ireland (ca. 1120–1156). Family backgro ...

King of

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 ...

and

High King of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ) 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 was later sometimes assigned anachronously or to leg ...

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

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

, 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 France ...

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

Anglo-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 in Ireland over which the List of English monarchs, monarchs of England then claimed sovere ...

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 in Ireland, 1114–1437 in Ireland, 1437 inclusive. It was compiled from earlier material by Florence MacCarthy, Fínghin Mac Carthaigh Mór (c. 1560–1640) an Irish noble ...

and the

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' () or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' () are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Genesis flood narrative, Deluge, dated as 2,242 Anno Mundi, years after crea ...

, 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'' () are annals of History of Ireland, 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 Luin� ...

and the

Annals of Tigernach The ''Annals of Tigernach'' (Abbreviation, abbr. AT, ) are chronicles probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin language, Latin and Old Irish, Old and Middle Irish. Many of the pre-historic entries come f ...

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

Archbishop of Armagh The Archbishop of Armagh is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from the Episcopal see, see city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic success ...

'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 County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

, with the other half going to Diarmait Mac Murchada, 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, was abducted along with her cattle and material wealth by Mac Murchada, 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

. 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 () was King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with the ...

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 (c. 1130 – 20 April 1176), the second Earl of Pembroke, also Lord of Leinster and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, Justiciar of Ireland (sometimes known as Richard FitzGilbert), was an Anglo-Norman nobleman notable for his leadi ...

, 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 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 T ...

. 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 Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

after his arrival to assert control over Strongbow in 1171.

Death

According to

Giraldus Cambrensis Gerald of Wales (; ; ; ) 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 taught in France and visited Rome several times, meeting the Pope. He ...

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

Cambro-Norman Cambro-Normans (; "Wales", ; ) were Normans who settled in southern Wales and the Welsh Marches after the Norman invasion of Wales. Cambro-Norman knights were also the leading force in the Cambro-Norman invasion of Ireland, led by Richard de ...

knight named Griffin FitzWilliam, acting in defence of Hugh de Lacy and Maurice FitzGerald, whom Giraldus claims Ua Ruairc attempted to kill after failed negotiations. This occurred shortly after the departure of

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 (), sometimes referred to retrospectively as Anglo-Norman Ireland, was the part of Ireland ruled by the King of Kingdom of England, England (styled as "Lord of Ireland") and controlled by loyal Normans in Ireland, Anglo ...

, granted the

Lordship of Meath The Lordship of Meath was an extensive seigneurial liberty in medieval Ireland that was awarded to Hugh de Lacy by King Henry II of England by the service of fifty knights and with almost royal authority. The Lordship was roughly co-extensive wit ...

to de Lacy in 1172.

Family

Via his mother, Ua Ruairc was a half-brother of Donnchad Ua Cerbaill (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 Murder victims from County Leitrim Murder victims from County Cavan 12th-century Irish monarchs Assassinated Irish people Year of birth unknown Ancient Irish dynasties 12th-century murdered monarchs

Early career

Abduction of Derbforgaill and Norman Invasion of Ireland

Death

Family

See also

Notes