User:Finnrind/Historiography

Ireland 800–1169 aims to describe the history of Ireland from the first Viking raids to the Norman invasion. The first two centuries of this period are characterised by Viking raids and the subsequent Norse settlements along the coast. Ports were established at Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Cork and Limerick, which became the first large towns in Ireland.

Ireland consisted of many semi-independent túatha, and during the whole period attempts were made by various factions to gain political control over the whole of the island. For the first two centuries of our period this was mainly a rivalry between High Kings of Ireland from the northern and southern branch of the Uí Néill. The one who came closest to being de facto king over the whole of Ireland however was Brian Boru, the first high king in historical times not belonging to Uí Néill.

Following Brian's death at the battle of Clontarf in 1014, the political situation became more complex with rivalry for highkingship from several clanns and dynasties. Brian's descendants failed to maintain a unified throne, and regional squabbling over territory led indirectly to invasion of the Normans under Richard de Clare in 1169

Historiography
Due to the rich amount of written sources, the study of Irish history 800–1169 has to a large extend focused on gathering, interpretation and textual criticism of these. Only recently have other sources of historical knowledge gotten more attention, and then in particular archaeology. Since the modern excavations of Dublin started in 1961, followed by similar efforts in Wexford, Waterford and Limerick, great advances have been made in the understanding of the physical character of the towns established in this period.

The first part of the period from 800 to 1169 is well-studied; the "Viking age" has attracted the interest of historians for quite some time. The period between 1014 and 1169 has gotten less attention. In the words of Sean Duffy: "[eleventh-century Ireland] has – historiographically speaking – fallen between two stools. Historians of early medieval Ireland, seeking to conclude their narratives on a high note, have traditionally done so after recounting the death of the famous high-king Brian Bórama (Boru) at the battle of Clontarf in 1014. On the other hand, historians of later medieval Ireland generally choose to begin proceedings with the English invasion of the 1160s. Eleventh- and early twelfth-century Ireland has, therefore, often assumed the character of a snappy epilogue or a lengthy prologue."

In trying to interpret the history of early Ireland, one of the most frequently asked questions addressed by historians is how early it is possible to speak of an Irish nation, a natio encompassing the whole island of Ireland. Early poet-historians like Flann Mainistrech constructed a history of a monarchy of all Ireland going back to St Patrick and beyond. Only a hundred years after Flann, Gerald of Wales described the Irish society in his Topographia Hibernica as utterly primitive and savage. At the beginning of modern scholarly interpretation of Irish history, Eoin MacNeills and G.H. Orpen came to very different conclusions analysing the same period. This has remained a much debated and somewhat controversial issue in Irish historiography.

Nature of the written sources
A large body of contemporary and near-contemporary material on early medieval Ireland has survived. From the titles of works mentioned in these sources, it is clear that a great deal of additional material has now been lost. The surviving materials usually exist in the form of much later copies, and it is only from comparison of the various texts that the original documents can be reconstructed.

Extant Irish annals are ultimately derived from the now-lost Chronicle of Ireland which was probably being compiled in the midlands of Ireland by around 800. All include material derived from other sources, or added at a later date. The Annals of Ulster and the Annals of Innisfallen cover the years around 800. The Annals of Clonmacnoise survive only in an eccentric 17th century English translation, and the Annals of Tigernach for this period are lost with Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh's abbreviated copy known as the Chronicon Scotorum supplying only part of the missing material. The Annals of the Four Masters are late, and include some material of doubtful origin. While the annals provide a considerable amount of information, they are generally terse, and most focus their attention on the doings of the Uí Néill and of churchmen.

In addition to the annals, a large number of genealogies survive along with geographical and legal texts, poetry, sagas and hagiography.

In the 12th Century, propaganda text like Caithréim Chellacháin Chaisil and Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib were composed. Even though the historical accuracy of these accounts is dubious, especially the Cogad has had a great impact on the interpretation of Irish medieval history until recently.

Background
At the end of the 600s, Ireland was homogeneously Gaelic, in terms of society, culture and language. People lived in rural communities, and the only larger settlements was monastic towns of varying sizes. The monasteries played an important part in society not just with regards to religious and cultural life but also economy and politics. Christianization had begun in the 400s, and by the early 800s the island was almost wholly Christian. However, the Martyrology of Tallaght (written sometime in the 700s or 800s) hints that paganism had not yet been fully uprooted.

Political landscape c. 800


Eoin MacNeill identified the "oldest certain fact in the political history of Ireland" as the existence in late prehistory of a pentarchy, probably consisting of the cóiceda or "fifths" of the Ulaid (Ulster), the Connachta (Connacht), the Laigin (Leinster), Mumu (Munster) and Mide (Meath), although some accounts discount Mide and split Mumu in two. This is not an accurate description of the political landscape c. 800, but when discussing the political subdivisions of Ireland at this time it is still useful to refer to this pentarchy, roughly corresponding with the modern provinces of Ireland.

The Uí Néill, divided in two main branches known as "Northern Uí Néill" and "Southern Uí Néill" was the leading dynasty in Ireland. The Northern Uí Néill controlled the north-western part of Ireland, and was divided into two leading branches, the Cenél Conaill in the west and Cenél nEógain, also known as the kingdom of Ailech. Cenél nEógain had become the more powerful of the two in 789, and had expanded east and southwards, gaining control over the important monastic centre Armagh and the large sub-kingdom of Airgíalla. The traditional kingdom of Ulaid, dominated by Dál Fiatach and Dál nAraidi, was now more or less confined to the area east of the river Bann.

The central region of Mide had been dominated by what became known as the "southern Uí Néill" since the 7th Century. Until the 8th century, the Síl nÁedo Sláine (also known as the kingdom of Brega) was pre-eminent, from 728 the western dynasty of Clann Cholmáin was dominant.

In Laigin, Uí Dúnlainge was the dominant dynasty c. 800. They were closely associated with the large monastery of Kildare. Their main rival for dominance in Leinster, the Uí Cheinnselaig had not been able to claim the title king of Leinster since 728. The Uí Cheinnselaig now controlled a territory in the south-eastern part of Leinster, and had close links to the monastery of Ferns.

The kingdom of Osraige, occupying roughly the same area as the present County Kilkenny, was considered part of Munster. Munster was dominated by the Eóganachta, centred around Cashel and with Emly as ecclesiastical centre. The Dál gCais (not yet known under this name) had defeated the Corcu Modruad in 744 and taken control over the area in present County Clare from which they would later rise to dominance, but were not yet a significant power in Munster. Eóganachta rivalled the Uí Néill in power and influence, and claimed suzerainty over the southern part of Ireland. This claim was in part anchored within the legendary ancient division of the island in Leath Cuinn and Leath Moga, "Conns half" (north) and "Mugs half" (south).

During the 7th Century the Uí Briúin had emerged in Connacht, and since the first half of the 8th Century been the dominant dynasty. Uí Briúin also influenced the kingdom of Breifne on the southern borders of the Northern Uí Néill.

Early Viking raids
The first recorded Viking raid in Irish history occurred in 795 when Vikings from Norway looted the island of Lambay. This was followed by a raid on the coast of Brega in 798, and raids on the coast of Connacht in 807. These early Viking raids were generally small in scale and quick.

These early raids interrupted the golden age of Christian Irish culture starting the beginning of two hundred years of intermittent warfare, with waves of Viking raiders plundering monasteries and towns throughout Ireland. Most of the early raiders came from the fjords of western Norway. They are believed to have sailed first to Shetland, then south to Orkney. The Vikings would have then sailed down the Atlantic coast of Scotland, and then over to Ireland. During these early raids the Vikings also travelled to the west coast of Ireland to the Skellig Islands located off the coast of County Kerry. The early raids on Ireland seem to have been aristocratic free enterprise, and named leaders appear in the Irish annals: Saxolb (Soxulfr) in 837, Turges (Þurgestr) in 845, Agonn (Hákon) in 847.

Áed Oirdnide
Áed Oirdnide of the Cenél nEógain branch of the Northern Uí Néill became High King of Ireland in 797, after the death of his successor, father-in-law and political rival Donnchad Midi. This followed the classic Uí Néill political arrangement, where over-kingship alternated regularly between Cenél nEógain and Clann Cholmáin of the Southern Uí Néill. During his reign he campaigned in Mide, Leinster and Ulaid to assert his authority, though unlike Donnchad he did not campaign in Mide.

Thomas Charles-Edwards credits Áed for "the absence of any major Viking attacks on Ireland during his reign after 798". The annals gives no reference, however, to Áed at any time being involved with warfare against Viking raiders.

Áed was connected to the monastic community at Armagh, and a supporter of the familia of Patrick. His rivals for supremacy within Uí Néill, the Clann Cholmáin and the Cenél Conaill, had on the other hand supported the familia of Columba. During Áeds reign the Columban familia, following several Viking raids against Iona, established a new monastery at Kells, a royal site in the possession of Armagh. Byrne states that "...the foundation [of Kells] marked the resolution of any remaining rivalry between the Columban and Patrician churches...". That the community of Columba in 817 tried to have Áed excommunicated may show that not all rivalry was resolved after all.

Rivalry between North and South
Fedelmid mac Crimthainn from the Eóganacht Chaisil acceded to the kingship of Munster in 820, beginning a 130-year domination by this branch of Eóganachta. Combining military campaigns with manipulation of ecclesiastical affairs, he embarked a policy of aggressive expansion to counter the growth in power of the Uí Néill. Conchobar mac Donnchada succeeded Áed Oirdnide as Uí Néill over-king in 819, and soon found himself challenged by Feidlimid, both by Feidlimid launching raids into Mide and Connacht and by him interfering (as would be the Uí Néill view) in the affairs of Armagh. Conchobar and Feidlimid met at Birr in 827 to discuss peace terms, and the very fact that "the king of Munster could force the high-king to a peace conference is indicative of Feidlimid's growing power".

Conchobar was succeeded by Niall Caille in 833. With Niall, we for the first time see a reference in the annals of a Uí Néill leading an army against the Vikings, he defeated Viking raiders in Derry the same year. He sought to further expand Uí Néill influence in the south, in 835 he led an army to Leinster and installed Bran mac Fáeláin as king of Leinster. This brought him in conflict with Feidlimid however, and in 838 a conference (rígdál mór - "great royal meeting") between Niall and Feidlimid was held. This meeting did not result in any lasting peace though, in 840 Feidlimid led an army into Mide and encamped at Tara and thereby challenged the Uí Néill also in the north. In 841 however, Feidlimid was routed in battle by Niall in Leinster. His successors in the south would not be able to challenge the north again to this extent until some 150 years later.

Intensified raiding and the first viking settlements in Ireland
The Viking raids on Ireland resumed in 821, and intensified during the following decades. The Vikings were beginning to establish fortified encampments, longports, along the Irish coast and overwintering in Ireland instead of retreating to Scandinavia or British bases. The first known longports were at Linn Dúachaill (Annagassan) and Duiblinn (on the River Liffey, at or near present Dublin). They were also moving further inland to attack, often using rivers such as the Shannon, and then retreating to their coastal bases. The raidingparties also increased in size, becoming regular armies - in 837 the annals report a fleet of sixty longships on the Liffey, carrying 1.500 men.

One of the first named Viking leaders was Thorgest (in Latin Turgesius). The Annals of the Four Masters connect him with attacks on Connacht, Mide and the church at Clonmacnoise in 844. He was captured and drowned in Lough Owel by Máel Sechnaill mac Maíl Ruanaid, King of Mide.

In 848 a Norse army was defeated at Sciath Nechtain by Ólchobar mac Cináeda of Munster and Lorcán mac Cellaig of Leinster. For the first the leader of the Vikings is described as royalty from Lochlann. Máel Sechnaill, now High king, defeated another army at Forrach the same year. These victories form the background of an embassy sent to the Frankish emperor Charles the Bald, reported in the Annales Bertiniani.

In 853 Olaf, identified as a "son of the king of Lochlann", came to Ireland. "Lochlann" has been understood as (a district of) present Norway, it is now considered more plausible that it refers to a Scandinavian colony in the Western Isles of Scotland. Olaf assumed leadership of the Vikings in Ireland, probably in some way shared with his kinsman Ivar, first mentioned in the Irish Annals in 857. Olaf and Ivar remained active in Ireland and around the Irish Sea for the next two decades. The descendants of Ivar, the Uí Ímair, would be an important political factor for the next two centuries.

Shifting alliances and struggle for power
A significant new trait from the middle of the 9th century was that the Norse now also entered alliances with various Irish rulers. Cerball mac Dúnlainge had become king of Osraige in 842. Cerball had successfully defeated Viking raiders in 846 and 847, but from 858 he is allied with Olaf and Ivar against Máel Sechnaill, campaigning in Leinster and Munster, and in 859 also raiding Máel Sechnaills heartlands in Mide, though Cerball had to submit to Máel Sechnaill later the same year. These alliances were by no means permanent. In 860 Cerball was allied with Máel Sechnaill in a campaign against Áed Findliath of the Northern Uí Néill, while Olaf and Ivar has allied themselves with Áed. In 870, however, Cerball and Áed appeared as allies in Leinster.

Máel Sechnaill had more success as high-king than his predecessors Niall Caille and Conchobar Donnchada in dealing with the south, and forced Munster into submission in 858 and as noted above Osraige in 859. He also asserted control over Ulaid, Leinster and Connacht, and was in his obituary in the Annals of Ulster described as ri h-Erenn uile, king of all Ireland. The last years of his reign he had however experienced serious opposition from his Uí Néill kinsmen of Ailech and Brega, allied with the Norse of Dublin. Byrne notes: "Máel Sechnaill's unprecedented success in achieving the high-kingship of all Ireland was marred by the chronic complaint of Irish politics: having united the Ulaid, Munster, Osraige, Connacht and Leinster, he was attacked at the end of his reign by a combination of Uí Néill kings."

Áed Findliath was king of Ailech and the leading king within the Northern Uí Néill. After the death of Máel Sechnaill he is counted in the regal lists as high king, following the established scheme where this alternated between Cenél nEógain in the north and Clann Cholmáin of Mide. His kingship was disputed though, and he did not come close to being an actual king over Ireland. He could count some successes against the Norse however, most notably burning all the Norse longports in the north in 866. Áed seem to have used the opportunity while Olaf was involved in warfare in Pictland, presumably bringing a large contingent of the Norse forces in Ireland with him. The Vikings never managed to establish permanent settlements in the north. Ó Corráin observes: "Ironically, [Áed Findliath's] success may have held back the economic development of the north and ultimately prevented the growth of port towns like those on the east and south coasts, on which the Leinster and Munster kings subsequently depended for much of their wealth."

The last report of Olaf is when he and Ivar returns to Dublin in 871 from Alba. . Ivar died in 873. In his obituary, the Annals of Ulster call Ivar "king of the Norsemen of all Ireland and Britain". With their disappearance, there were frequent changes of leadership among the Norse in Ireland and a great deal of internecine conflict is reported for the following decades. In 902 Máel Finnia mac Flannacain of Brega and Cerball mac Muirecáin of Leinster joined forces against Dublin, and "The heathens were driven from Ireland, i.e. from the fortress of Áth Cliath [Dublin]".

The second Viking age 914–980
After having been forced to leave Dublin in 902, the descendants of Ivar, now described in the annals as Uí Ímair remained active around the Irish sea, there are reports of their activities in Pictland, Strathclyde, Northumbria and Man. In 914 a new Viking fleet appeared in Waterford Harbour, and soon the Uí Ímair followed, again taking control over Viking activities in Ireland. Ragnall arrived with a fleet in Waterford, while Sitric landed at Cenn Fuait (possibly near Leixlip) in Leinster. Niall Glúndub had followed Flann Sinna as Uí Néill over-king in 916, and he marched into Munster against Ragnall, but no decisive engagement followed. The men of Leinster under Augaire mac Ailella attacked Sithric but were heavily defeated in the Battle of Confey. This victory allowed Sithric to re-establish Norse control over Dublin. Ragnall left Ireland again in 918, and became king of York. With Sithric in Dublin and Ragnall in York, an axis Dublin-York had been established which would have influence on both England and Ireland for the next half a century.

A new and more intensive period of settlement in Ireland began in 914. Between 914 and 922, Waterford, Cork, Dublin, Wexford and Limerick were established. Significant excavations in Dublin and Waterford in the 20th century has unearthed much of the Viking heritage of those cities.

The Vikings founded many other coastal towns, and after several generations of coexistence and intermarriage a group of mixed Irish and Norse ethnic background arose (often called Norse-Gaels or Hiberno-Norse). This Norse influence is reflected in the Norse-derived names of many contemporary Irish kings (e.g. Magnus, Lochlann or Sitric), and DNA evidence in some residents of these coastal cities to this day. A genetics paper in 2006 by Dr Brian McEvoy found that most men with Irish-Viking surnames carried typically Irish genes. This suggests that Viking settlements may have had a Scandinavian elite but with most of the inhabitants being indigenous Irish.

Niall Glúndub marched on Dublin in September 919, but his forces were met by Sihtric at Islandbridge and suffered a decisive defeat, with Niall and numerous other Irish leaders among the casualties. Dublin was secured for the Norse, and in 920 Sitric left for York and following Ragnalls death succeeded him as ruler there in 921. Their kinsman Gofraid assumed control of Dublin. Gofraid was active as a Viking raider and slaver, but there were signs during his reign that the Norse were not just mere Vikings any more. During a raid at Armagh in 921 Gofraid "...spared the prayerhouses... ...and the sick from destruction", considerations never taken by the raiders of the previous century. Another was the intense campaigns led by Dublin in eastern Ulster from 921 to 927, where the purpose seem to have been conquest in order to create a Scandinavian kingdom like the one on the eastern side of the Irish sea.

Dublins ambitions in Ulster was halted by a series of defeats inflicted upon the them by Muirchertach mac Néill, the son of Niall Glúndub. According to Benjamin Hudson, "Muirchertach was one of the most successful generals of his day and was described as the ‘Hector of the Irish’". In the annals, it is Donnchad Donn from Clann Cholmáin who is titled "high king" after Niall however, and Muirchertach didn't succeed his father as king of Ailech either until 938. Apart from his victories over the Norse, Muirchertach successfully lead campaigns forcing other provincial kingdoms into submission, most notably taking the king of Munster Cellachán Caisil captive in 941. The same year he led a fleet to the Hebrides, collecting tribute there.

When Sihtric died in 927 Gofraid left for York, trying to assume kingship there. He was driven out by Athelstan, and returned to Dublin half a year later. The Vikings of Limerick, had taken Dublin in his absence. Gofraid retook the city, but the struggle between Limerick continued well after Gofraids death in 934. He was succeeded by his son, Amlaíb, who inflicted a decisive defeat on Limerick in 937. The same year Amlaíb went to Northumbria and allied himself with Constantine II of Scotland and Owen I of Strathclyde. This coalition was defeated by Athelstan at Brunanburh, but after Athelstans death in 939 Amlaíb was made king of York. He was joined by a kinsman with the same name, Amlaíb son of Sihtric, known as Amlaíb Cuarán.

Congalach mac Máel Mithig, known as Cnogba, succeeded Donnchad Donn as Uí Néill overking in 944 (Muirchertag, who otherwise might have been the obvious successor had been killed in 943). Congalach was king of Brega and a member of Síl nÁedo Sláine, and the first of this dynasty called "High King" since Cináed mac Írgalaig in the early 8th century. In 944 he sacked Dublin, now ruled by Blácaire mac Gofrith. When Amlaíb Cuaran returned to Ireland the next year, he became ruler of Dublin an acted as an ally of Congalach in the struggle against Ruaidrí ua Canannáin, a rival Uí Néill claimant for High Kingship from Cenél Conaill. This alliance didn't last long after Ruaidrís death in 950 however, and Congalach was killed in 956 in a battle against an alliance of Dublin and Leinster. He was succeeded by Domnall ua Néill, and in the following decades alliances shifted constantly between the different branches of Uí Néill, Leinster and Dublin.

In 980 Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill succeeded Domnall, and the same year he defeated the forces of Dublin at the battle of Tara. Following this victory Máel Sechnaill forced Dublin into submission, and his half-brother, Amlaíbs son Glúniairn became ruler in Dublin.

Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill and Brian Boru 980–1022
In Munster, the influence of the Dal gCais had grown under Cennétig mac Lorcáin, and his son Mathgamain was the first non-Eóganachta ruler to be named by the annals as king of Cashel (i.e. king of Munster) in historical times. He was killed in 976, and succeeded by his brother Brian, later famously known as Brian Boru.

Brian quickly established himself as the most powerful ruler in Munster, defeating the Norse Limerick in 977 and the Eóganachta the following year. Having gained control over Munster, he tried to extend his authority by raiding Osraige in 982 and 983, and also, according to the annals of Innisfallen, entering an alliance with the Norse Waterford, with the intention of attacking Dublin. There was such an attack, but Brian does not seem to have been involved - instead it was Domnall Claen of Leinster who was allied with Ivar of Waterford, and they were defeated by Glúniairn and Máel Sechnaill.

Máel Sechnaill obvioulsy perceived Brian as a threat, and as early as as 982 raided Munster and the territory of the Dal gCais. The next two decades saw more or less constant warfare between them, mostly with Leinster as their battleground. Even if Brian never defeated Máel Sechnaill in battle, Brians and Munsters influence was growing on the expense of Máel Sechnaill and the Southern Uí Néill. In 997 Máel Sechnaill was forced to acknowledge Brians authority over the south of Ireland, and they formally divided Ireland according to the traditional scheme of Leath Cuinn and Leath Moga. For the years to follow, the two of them acted as allies in accordance with this agreement. In 999 Brian successfully quelled a revolt against him by the men of Leinster and Dublin at the battle of Glen Mama, and only restored Sigtrygg Silkbeard as ruler of Dublin after he had formally submitted to Brian by handing over hostages.

In 1000, Brian turned against Máel Sechnaill, and by 1002 he had forced Máel Sechnaill to submit to him, and now claimed kingship over the whole of Ireland. In the following decade, there was several campaigns in the north to force the Ulaid and the Northern Uí Néill into submission as well. Even if faced with multiple rebellions, both in the north and in Leinster, by 1011 had received submission from every major regional king in Ireland, and thus earned the recognition by historians as the first real king of Ireland. During his visit to Armagh in 1005, he had his secretary add a note to the Book of Kells where he is proclaimed as Imperator Scottorum'' (emperor of the Irish). According to Bart Jaski, "This can be regarded as a claim that he ruled both the Irish and the Norse in Ireland, and may even imply suzerainty over the Gaels of Scotland". In his obituary in the Annals of Ulster he is styled as "over-king of the Irish of Ireland, and of the foreigners and of the Britons, the Augustus of the whole of north-west Europe".

In 1012, Flaithbertach Ua Néill, revolted against Brian, and the following year Máel Mórda of Leinster and Sigtrygg of Dublin too. The latter led to the famous battle of Clontarf, where Brian was killed, even if his army was victorious over Máel Mórda, Sigtrygg and their allies. Sigurd Hlodvirsson, Earl of Orkney as well as forces from Man participated on the Dublin/ Leinster side, and this may, in conjunction with the propagandistic account of the of the battle given in the Cogad, have created the still popular myth that what took place at Clontarf Good Friday 1014 was a decisive battle where the Irish defeated Viking invaders and was liberated from oppression. Donnchadh Ó Corráin was one of the first to publicly debunk this national myth, in his groundbreaking Ireland before the Normans from 1972 "The battle of Clontarf was not a struggle between the Irish and the Norse for the sovereignty of Ireland; neither was it a great national victory which broke the power of the Norse forever (long before Clontarf the Norse had become a minor political force in Irish affairs). In fact Clontarf was part of the internal struggle for sovereignty and was essentially the revolt of the Leinstermen against the dominance of Brian, a revolt in which their Norse allies played an important but secondary role."

- Donnchadh Ó Corráin

Following Brians death, Máel Sechnaill resumed as High King, supported by Flaithbertach ua Néill. In Munster, internal strife almost immediately began between Brians sons Donnchad and Tadc, and Dúngal Ua Donnchada of Eóganachta also claimed the kingship of the province. Though Donnchad eventually was victorious, the descendants of Brian would not be able to make a real claim for kingship over Ireland again until Toirdelbach Ua Briain. In Leinster, the defeat at Clontarf and death of Máel Mórda seriously weakened the Uí Dúnlainge, and opened the way for a new Uí Cheinnselaig dominance in the region. Despite the defeat at Clontarf, Sigtrygg remained ruler of Dublin until 1036.

High Kings with Opposition. 1022–
Donnchad mac Brian styled himself as 'King of Ireland' after the death of Máel Sechnaill, but was not recognised as such. A glossing of Baile In Scáil lists Flaitbertach Ua Néill as high king, but he proved unable even to control the north of Ireland. Neither was anyone else able to make a recognised claim for kingship over all of Ireland, according to Byrne, "what distinguished the great interregnum of 1022–72 from other periods in Irish history is is at is was recognised as such by contemporary observers"

Flann Mainistrech had written Ríg Themra tóebaige iar tain, a regnal poem on the Christian (Uí Néill) kings of Tara some time between 1014 and 1022. When he wrote in 1056 he evidently did not know any high-king of Ireland, and instead lists a number of kings of the day: Conchobar, Áed, Garbith, Diarmait, Donnchad and two Nialls. According to Byrne, these are Conchobar Ua Maíl Schechnaill of Mide, Áed Ua Conchobair of Connacht, Garbíth Ua Cathassaig of Brega, Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó of Leinster, Donnchad Mac Briain of Munster, Niall mac Máel Sechnaill of Ailech and Niall mac Eochada of Ulaid.

The term rí Érenn co fressarba ("High kings with opposition") was used from the twelfth century. According to Byrne, "it could be argued that the 'high kings with opposition' met with opposition precisely because they tried to become kings of Ireland in a real sense. They were not less successful than their predecessors, but only seemed so in the light of the teaching of the schools". Following a similar line of reasoning, Byrne suggests that the focus from historians on the decline of the Uí Néill in the eleventh century, may be a "tribute to the success of their own propaganda". After Brian, the previous Uí Néill monopoly of high kingship as described in poems and chronicles, was anyway broken for good. The Cenél nEógain suffered from internal faction, and this allowed the Ulaid, under Niall mac Eochada to expand their influence. Niall and Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó became allies, and effectively controlled the whole east coast of Ireland. This alliance helped to make it possible for Diarmait to take direct control of Dublin in 1052. Unlike Máel Sechnaill in 980 or Brian in 999, he wasn't content just looting the city and expelling the Hiberno-Norse ruler (Echmarcach mac Ragnaill); in an unprecedented move he assumed the kingship 'of the foreigners' (ríge Gall) himself.