Ruidri O Concobar 1167-1171 died 1198

Ruidri O Concobar 1167- 1171

Ruidri O Connor m Tourdealbach m Ruidr Ua Connocobar of Connact became the 50th hi king of Ireland since the 1st Century Ad and also its last native king of the Melisian race.
He was the second son of Toirdealbach.

He was accepted by all and inagurated as rightful king.

In 1167 a Great Dial was made by O Connor the king wence came the chiefs of Leith Cuin, the chiefs of Gallaib, the Successor of Patrick, Arch bishops of Connact and Leinster, the lords of Briefne and Oirgialla, the king of Ulidian the king of Teamair [Tara]
He had of the horsemen 1300 horsemen from the Gallaib under Ragnall.

Many resolutions were passed here regarding veneration of the Church and clerics, control of the tribes the safety of traveling women and other serious social questions.
They parted in peace and amnity without battle or controversy and wishing prosperity to the king who had assembled them all in one place.

Ruidri made a hosting to Munster with the men of Ireland and their Chieftains.
He was joined by Desmond ,Thomond ,Meath Oirgialla and Leinster.
They went to Tir Eogain and Conaill and divided Tir Eogain into 2 parts north of the mountains[Sperrin] to Niall Ua Lochlinn .
Slieve Gallion made a border between Derry and Tyrone and the south of this mountain to Aed Ua Neill .
Each of these lords gave Conor 2 hostages.
Conor took
Desmonds Lord with his forces through Thomond to Conor-Aine and gave him jewels and riches.

Diarmaid m Murchada came back from England with Galls a name formerly applied to the Norse but now applied to the Norman English.
These forces of Dairmaid took Ui Censealalgh his righful heritage.

Ruidri with Tingernan O Ruairc went to Cill Osnad at Carlow where they fought a battle with some of the Ceinsealaigh recruits.
A battle was fought a second time and in this battle the son of the king of Britain was killed.
he was probably the son of the king of Wales Reesap Griffith.

Diarmaid came to O Conor and gave him 7 hostages for ten cantreds of his own land, 100 oz of gold to Tigernan Ua Ruairc for abducting his wife Dearforgaill.

In this year Thomas a Beckett the archbishop of Canterbury was killed by Wlm Bretton, Hugh Morvilbe, Sir Wlm Troy and Reynold Fitz Vrse.
This act of treachery was accomplised on 29 December either in 1167 or 1171 depending on the record read.

The Oenach of Tailten was revived by O Connor and held at the river Sele [Blackwater] in Meath.

In 1167 Dearforgaill in the meantime finished the Church of the Nuns of Claunmacnoise where she was than living.
She had been 44 years of age when she ran of with Diarmaid.

In 1168 Ruidri O Conors mothers son was Toirdealbach Ua Brian of Munster and was killed by Conor O Briens grandson who was than killed by the Ua Faelain of Deise Mumnan .

Ruidri conviened a Dial at Ochainocha for all Conaill to demand eric from Meathmen for the killing of Ua Finnallain whose protection Connact guranted.

Ruidri lead an army with Ua Ruairc to Munster and divided it into 2 parts between McCarthy and OBrien.
He was given 420 cows by Diarmaid as an eric for the killing of Muircheartach Ua Brian.

Dubrablaun daughter of the son of Tadg Maelseachlain Ua MaelRuanaid wife of Toirrdealbach O Connor died.

The chiefs of Cinel Eogan and the Conairbe of Doire came into Conors house and he gave them many cows and gold rainment.

They recieved in eric 800 Cows.

ruidri pg 2


In 1169 Ruidri established a custom from himself and any kings succeeding him to give 10 cows to Ard Macha and to interest youth in literature.

In these way religion orders kept a close control on the labors and beliefs of the ruling classes and their clients.
Thorugh the christain era of kingship and monarchy throughout the areas of its preachment Europe the Near East and North Africa and later the new world where the consept of the wrath of God and the last judgement for sin continues as surely as it did at the fall of Rome 1607 years ago.

The consept of the wrath of God decending to man via his own perenial sin and the collective sin of his tribe was a prevelant consept of paganism and the interference of the panoply of gods in the affairs of man developed by the Persiand Greeks Isreali and perhaps even older than that.

Hence an Irish king like Ruidri in 1156 as well as his predicessors was completely schooled in these doctrines from birth till death.

Ruidri one of 7 sons of his father Toirdealbach in following that path had for himself 6 wives and the than Pope offered him Ireland for giving up the sin of Adultry.
He would not and remained polygamous.
The father was alledged to have in additon to the 7 ligitimate sons 7 more illegal ones and all told 20 kids.

Ruidris sucessor his uncle Cathal Croibderg his brother and a ligitimate son of Toirrdealbach had one wife in conformity with Church teaching.

Domnall Breagach m Maelseachlain Crosaig with Donnchad Cumsealach Ua Ceallaig [Kelly] of Brega killed Diarmaid Ua Maelseachlain King of Meath .
For this offence O Connor led an army to Meath and expelled Bregtach for the deed and than divided Meath in two the east to Briefne and kept the rest for himself.

A fleet of Flemings came from England with 70 knights in mail.

Ruidri gathered an army and went to Ath Cliath but no battle was fought.
Later Ruidri went to Leinster and Diarmaid gave his son as hostage.

Concobar Ua Lochlainn became king of Cenel Eogain and Ailech.

In 1170 Concobar m Muircheartach Ua Lochlain Lord of Cenel Eogain was killed by Aed Beg M Cara Ua Caracain of Fearmagh on Easter Sunday at Train Mor Armagh.

Robert fitzStephen and Richard m Gilbert [Strongbow known as the Earl] arrived with knights and archers and m Murchada to contest Leinster and to disturb Ireland.

Diarmaid gave his daughter Ife to Richard Gilbert for coming.

They took Port Lairge and Wexfords Loch Garman by force and killed Gilla Marie and Ua Falain Lord of Deise and his son along with 700 persons.

Ruidri took his army against Leinster with the Galls.
A challenge of battle giiven but before it was fought Ath Cliath was set afire and the Danes diserted the Connactmen and Leith Cuinn.

The Danes however were set upon by the Saxons and M Murchach who slaughtered them.

Desmond gained a victory over Port Lairge but Murchad and his Saxons plundered Meath and Briefne along with all Meaths churches.

Ruidri put Dairmaids hosgtages too death one being his son at Ath Luain.
He than plundered the cattle.

Niall m Lochlain retired his army to Ulidia and carried of the cows.
He later recieved hostages from the Airgialla.

The Ulidians made 3 excursions into Ormond from Palm Sunday till Low Sunday.


A battle of Ath Cliath was fought by Munstervs Cogan the Norman and Asgall m Ragnall king of the Gallaib.
He was taken after his guard John or Eoin was killed before Miles de Cogan to be ransomed.
However when he appeared he was defiant and haughty so deCogan had him beheaded.

Ruidri O Conor with O Rourke and Carroll took an army to Ath Cliath to seige the Earl Stongbow and deCogan.
They skirmished for a few weeks and than O Conor went into Leinster to distroy the saxons crops of grain.

The Earl while they were thus engaged went into Leith Cuin slew many and took their provisions armour and horses.

At Limerich Cormac Mc Carthy had a victory over the foreigners.
He burned half the fortress and the market.

O Rourke and Airgialla again went to Ath Cliath but in a battle with deCogan and his knights they suffered defeat.


The plundering was concurrent with the wars between the new invadors and the Irish/Gallaib including plundering by the Earl Strongbow 2nd son which also included the churches.

ruidri pg 3

In 1170 a convocation was held at Clonfert commissioned by the Pope with the Bishops of Dublin and Leinster O Toole and the legate of Ireland Bishop of Meath Echytygermen , Moyle Kieran and the Bishops of Uriel, Connact Clonfert and others where it was ruled no man could rule the Church nor Cannon of women with husbands living and no sons of Bishops to be given Holy Orders.

In the folloing year 1171 Henry II came to Ireland on 18 October landing at Waterfords Port Laigre with 240 ships and many of his Lords, 4000 men in arms and 500 knights.
He was Duke of Normandy and Aqutaine, Earl of Ard Egavia and lord of many other countries.

Henry II took pledges from Munster, hostages from Leinster and Meath ,Ibriuin, Airgialla and Ulidia.

With the coming of the Normans a change in the English writing of Irish names took place with the English writing replacing in the annals the old Irish and Latin names.

Ua Cathar becomes O Kane or Cahir.

The Irish text keeps the old names and Irish spelling and is not anglasized.

Maoilean becomes Malone.

Ticcearnan ua Ruairce becomes Tiernan O Rourke.

He was killed at Tlachtga by General Hugo de Lacy and one of his own tribe Donell of ua Ruaric.
They beheaded him took his head to Dublin still called Ath Cliath in the Irish,.
The head of the tigerna of Briefne was placed over the gate of the Danish fortress know known as the Castle.

His body was hung upsidedown by the feet on the north side of Dublin.

Feargail of Conmacne becomes Donell O Farrell killed by the English.

Aengusa becomes Magennis.

Diarmait or Diarmaid becomes Dermott and later becomes Jeremiah.

Va Caidlaige becomes O Kaely and later Kelly part of old Osraighe now Ossory near the river Barrow.

Cenel Eogain becomes Kinel Owen,
Cenel Conniall becomes Kinel Conell.

Flaithbeartac O Maoldoraid becomes Flaherty O Muldory.
The Muldorys were lords of Cenel Conaill.

Giola mac Liacc remains bishop but is presented in English text as Gelasius which is Latin.

He went to Connact which was changed to Connaught in the English where he obtained his dues.

Ua Neochada of Ulaid becomes O Haughy who was the king of Ulidia.

These clans were located in Down and Antrim and were decended from the Clann Rury of Dal Fiatach and were called Ulidians.

Because Donslevy [Donslebe] has killed a cleric he was put to death.
.
The mac Giola Epscoip meaning the servant of the Church became the Gillespie.

The Angaile were the country of the Feargaill or Fergal now O Farrell which is now called Longford county.

Megiollgan becomes Magilligan a tribal name of the O Quinns of Longford.

Tuaim in Conncat becomes Tuam and its Archbishop a Dubtaig becomes O Duffy who held a synod and consecrated 3 churches.

This change of the English writing continues giving us the names known to us as Irish today.
How they replaced the old Irish and Church latin remains unidentified.

In the Annals written by Clonmacnoise and in the Ulster Annels rose a form of pig English or medieval English combined with Latin is used by the composers of these records all of whom were clerics.

Hence the constant disruption among the learned in spelling, phonetics and writing left Ireland and its nation confused and depeprived of the ancient history and their own identities.

They are still 500 years or more later still trying to figue this out.

A similar confusion of locations, ethnics and familial identies was done at Ellis Island in the immigrant center of the United States when admitting officers put names they couldnt read spell or understand into a nom de guerre form which had nothing to do with the persons they were prosessing.

The complete entries of modern useage to the 4 masters compilation since the coming of Henry II and his Normans gives no explaination but was probably related to the inqusitions and Henrys grant and regrant policy applied to the Church and its laity clerics and bishops as well as the Irish cantreds, Bally betaigs and Tigernas.

In 1173 Cobtaig becomes Coffey,
Muireadach becomes Murry,
Ua Aengusa becomes O Hennessy
Ua Iadacha become O Meehan
Ua Ronain is now o Rowan

Mac Baird becomes mac Ward
They were the heriditary poets of the O Kellys or Hi Maine.

Maoileachlainn is now Mealalyn these are the decendants of Malacy II who was displaced by Brian Borama.
It is also now spelled Mael.

Seachniall meaning a servant of Seachnall or Secundinus in the latin.

Donnal Bregagach O Maoileclanna king of Meath marbad by his fathers son.

It is said that Giolla mac Liacc Archbishop of Armagh the corab of Patrick son or Ruidri and Echtigern the poet of Ireland died on March 27 the week after Easter at age 87.

Before coming to Armagh he had been 16 years at the Abby of Colum Cille in Derry.
He was born in 1085 Ad.

By 1174 ua Banain becomes O Bannan now O Bannon.
He was bishop to Conor and Down in Dal Raide .

Flann or Florentius O Gormain died at age 70 He was lector at Armagh.
He had studied for 21 years in France and England and 20 years the director of Irelands schools.

Cearbaill bcame O Carroll and was killed.

Maol Ruanaid Ua Ciarda becomes Mulrony O Keary or Carey.
The Cairdri becames Carbury

Brigit becames Briget.

Ruidri O Conor still hi king went with an army to defend agaisnt the Earl Strongbow.
The English enlisted the Danes of Dublin called Ostmen who now came to the Ards of Durlas [Thurles] Tipperary.
Donell O Brien with the Dal Cais with Sil Murry and a battle was fought between the English and the Irish where the English were defeated by Ruidris forces.

In 1175 Gilla mac Liag O Branan went to Colum Cille.
Enda was the youngest son of Nial Noigaillach and held lands beteen Lifford and Letterkenny.
These were defeated by O Kane and Niall O Gormly.

In Leitster Caomanac becomes Kavanah .

Tadg becomes Teige

Matgamain becomes Mahon

The son of Diarmaid m Murhada was killed by the ua Foirtcern and the Hua Nuallain or Nolan.

Rory O Conor the king marches again into Munster expelled Donail O Brien from Thomond[Tuadmumain]

Concobar is changed to Coglan or Conor.

In 1176 Maoilechlain m Maclochlainn ticcearna of Cenel Eogain and Cend Reogain Buda of Oriel raided the castle Slaine where was Richard Flemming.
The Irish killed all 500 of them with their womena and children.
No one escapted.
Flemming was killed.

A Ballybetaig was granted by Rory O Connor forever at Tuam.
Surities were given and these people guaranteed that the property would be forever the property of God and St Berach.

A ballybetaig is a 30th part of a Troica cead which equal a barony.
It has 4 seisreags of 120 acres per which would be 580 Irish Acres.

The Giolla Patrick of Osraighe now become Fitz Patrick.

In 1177 Ui Vianus [Vivianus] a Cardnal arrived in Ireland and held a synod of the clergy Bishops and Abbots.

Aod O Neill known as mac aom toinleascc[ toinleacc in english] lord of Eogain heir of the Irish throne was killed by O Louglin and Ardgar OLochlin.

Fabar [Foe] in Ceanannus[Kells] was distroyed by the Gallaib or English.
Lugmag or Louth was laid waste by the Saxaib [Saxon]

Niall m Loughlin was killed by the Dal Bruinic [Boyne]of Loch Neagh Antrim.

Rury O
Conors daughter and wife of Muldory was killed by Ua Cairellain.

Flann becomes Flynn

Ciardail becomes Castle or Caiseal.

Ruidri m Toirdealbach was given his home province of Connact in its entirity when Henry II accepted the lordship of Ireland.

He ruled there until he was deposed by his own son Conor Moinmoy in 1186.
Ruidir was banished by this son from Connact but his loyal people brought him back and he was given a cantred of land for his own use.

When Ruidri was deposed with his usual luck he went north looking for help to recover Connact and did not get it.
He than went to the English who also refused him.
He than went to Munster where the Sil Muiredach gave him some land in SW Galway known as Tir Fiachrach or Kineleo of Echte.

Ruidi had had trouble all his life being a son of the volitile and perhaps paranoid Toirdealbach.
He had been imprisoned by this father for some years and was only rescued from this sorry fate by the intervention on his behalf of most of the clergy and lords of Ireland including the O Neill Muicheartach Ua Loclain of the north.

He was the 50th AD and last Gaelic hi king of Ireland when his reign was ended with the lordhip imposed by Henry II when he came into Ireland in 1171 with a force to back up his claims the ancient gaedil sons of Niul and Miles fell to foreign rule of the harshest kind for 746 years when part of the island was finally freed after trials tribulations famine and continous usuraption of human and material rights by the Rising of 1916 when the than king of England and the Britsih army and Parliament agreed by a treaty to release control of the south of Ireland to the Republicans now famous for their IRA volunteers.

During this peiod of English rule the Irish people were not only kept at subsistance level poverty and in ignorance, their native language was distorted by the English they were forbidden to speak it or teach it.
Their historical records kept by the Bards and nobles were consealed from their understanding and their children and minds were imbued with the correctness of English culture and depriciation of their own.
The Irish thus lost not only their freedom and an acceptable human condition but their self respect and confidence in their own innate abilitys which they as a people have not fully rcovered today.

They were denied any employment beyond minimal common labor or housekeeping for their English lords and ostrazised from any social inclusion beyond their cabin walls which made them an inferior class in the eyes of not only their captors but themselves.

This inferiority came full circle in the great famine of 1845 when millions of Irish hovels became coffins for their starved inhabitants as their British overlords remained well fed and well moneyed under their little princess Queen Victoria an opulant age named after her bubble existance while this Irish holicast was in progress.

The lands were cleared of the cabin society either by death eviction or immigration and the people of Ireland were replaced by cattle eating the green green grass of home so deadly a diet for these former human residents.

Some millions were able to escape this death by starvation and its concurrent deseases by taking the ships from the ports over to the new world where many of them died and those who survived were not welcome by the prosperous new nations in the west.

If the Church was prominent in this famine in its relief the Irish do not well remember it.

They remember the soup kitchens of the Quaker Friends and the uneatable corn meal of the Americas and the payment of rent to their lords by the dying cabin livers as the jews remember the ovens.

In the 1916 Rising The province of Ulster in the north was contested hotly by the then prominet anglo-irish peer Lord Carson and his followers and this province was allowed in the form of 6 counties to opt out, alledgedly for the time being, forming its own independant unionist mini state.

This division by force of the Island is still ongoing from time to time into the 21st century where British troops have again occupied these northen counties.
Death and fear and distruction have roamed in ghoastial form across the province and spilled uncerimoniously into the Republic of Eireann and over seas into Europe and the United States holding many thouands of its expatriats on both sides of the question of union vs independence.

During the remaining years of the 1100s John de Coursy and Hugh De Lacy along with the Fitzgerald lords and the Butlers and the Burkes got into the country with land grants and fiefs issued by the royal rulers of England.

These were enforced by force and by Parlimentary acts oppressing the natives and forcing them into a continual battle between themselves their neighbors and the English who along with their Norman cousins participated readily in the customary rule of killing and prey common among the old gaelic Irish.
In fact in future the Norman lords as the Gaillaib before them were termed to have become more Irish than the Irish.

Englad during this 750 or so years of occupation maintained a continous presence of British army units along with a succession of Viceroys of the king all of whom worked for their own advancment and benefit and agains the success of any Irish order.

In 1170 when Henry II came
Niall O Neill was Tigerna of Cenel Eogan
Brian M Mahon was lord of Oriel
Tiege O Rourke Lord of Breifne
Brian O Kennedy Lord of Ormond
Rory mc Turlogh O Conor tigerna of Connact

All these lords and rulers still continued their policy of maintaining preys and attacks on each other and their neighbors as well as sometimes cooperating and sometimes fighing the English depending on what they wanted or needed from them in the way of controlling or overpowering each other.
Most of the cenels were still extant and operative under the Norman rule.

Ruidri O Conors daughter Rose was the second wife of deLaci.
She produced a son called William Gorm of Limerich later called the Lynches of Galway.

De Lacys first wife Rosa de Muine Mene had two sons Walter and Hugh one the king of Meath and the other Earl of Ulster.

John de Courscy arrived in Ireland and set of to conquer his desires in Ulster.
He ws met with the Irish force from Down of Donnlevy their king but he suceeded in conquering Down and Donnlevy was killed.
He than went north to fight the Firli at Coleraine and was roundly defeated there escaping with his life to Carrickfergus castle and Dorgheda.

Through these incursions o Conor ruled and lived peacefully in Connact having only bouts with his rival Cathal Croibderg the son of his father and his brother.

English aid was given in this matter and the O Connors were split into waring factions which continued for several centuries.
Croibderg had taken over the rule of Connact when Moinmoy Ruidris son as killed in battle and cemented his control of Connact.

When Ruidri died an old man in 1198 Croibderg ruled it until 1224 sometimes with the English and somtimes without.

Croibderg submitted to King John at Meath in 1200 giving the province of Connact to English rule.

His decendants claim to be the Conor Donn as do the o Connor Roe.
The OConnor Sligo claim to be the decendants of Brian Luignech another son of Toirdealbach.


Ruidri m Toirdealbach m Ua Concabar m Ruidri Ua Saide Buide m Aed in Gae Be n Naig m Tadg in Eichgil m Cathal m Concobar m Tadg m Cathal m Concobar m Tadg Mor m Muirguis--
The line extending bach from there to Brian son of Muigmedoin and his wife Mongfind who poisoned her brother Crimthann so that her son Brian could become hi king of Ireland.

This was not to be as Niall the youngest son of Muigmedoin was chosen hi king and his decendants continued to rule for 600 years.


Rudris son Concobar Moinmoy was killed before he died.

His other listed sons were Concobar ua Diamata, Toirdealbach and Aed Diamait.

As there were allegedly 6 wives of this king it is probable there were more sons and as his father Toirdealbach none of these are acknowledged in history probably causing more problems in Connact over the years in sibling rivalry for land power and status.

In 1200 king John son of Henry II came to Ireland as lord confident in his belief of his divine right to rule.

And so ends the story of the Anni Domini kings of Ireland so

CRIOCHNAIGH MO CHARA

Judi Donnelly

copyright May 25 2008


Sourses:

Early Christian Ireland,T M Charles-Edwards, 2000, Cambridge University Press Cambridge UK
Irish Kings and High Kings, F J Byrne, 1973, B T Batsford Ltd, London
Early Irish Kingship and Sucession, Baret Jaski,2000, Four Courts Press, Dublin
Annala Rioghachta Eireann, Four Masters,J O Donnovan ,Vol 1,2,3, 1856, Hodges Smith and Co, Dublin