eventually wiped out at the battle of Ard Maicc Rimi
in 792.
With the extinction of the Uí Ailello and the decline
of the Uí Fíachrach, the kingship of Connacht from
the late eighth century on became the sole prerogative
of the Uí Briúin. In later centuries, their royal families
would play a major role in Irish politics.
DANM. WILEY
References and Further Reading
Byrne, Francis John. Irish Kings and High-Kings, 2nd ed. Dub-
lin: Four Courts Press, 2001.
Charles-Edwards, T. M. Early Christian Ireland.Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2000.
Mac Niocaill, Gearóid. Ireland Before the Vikings. Dublin: Gill
and Macmillan Ltd, 1972.
Ó Corráin, Donncha. Ireland Before the Normans. Dubin: Gill
and Macmillan Ltd, 1972.
Ó Cróinín, Dáibhí. Early Medieval Ireland 400–1200. New
York: Longman Group Ltd, 1995.
O’Rahilly, Thomas F. Early Irish History and Mythology. Dub-
lin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1946.
See alsoAnglo-Norman Invasion; Connacht;
Historical Tales; Leth Cuinn; Niall Noígiallach;
O Ruairc; Tírechán; Ua Conchobair, Ruaidrí;
Ua Conchobair, Tairrdelbach; Uí Briúin; Uí Néill;
Ulster Cycle.
CORK
The history of Cork may be traced to the foundation
of a monastery, reputedly by St. Finbarr, around 606.
Already by the late seventh century it was one of the
foremost ecclesiastical settlements in Ireland. Its abbot
was numbered among the leading Irish churchmen at
the synod of Birr (697). Its law school had a national
reputation. A contemporary law tract accorded its abbot
the same status as the king of Munster. Nonetheless,
early Christian Cork was the location of a monastery
and not of a town.
Cork experienced its first recorded Viking incursion
in 820. In 846 there was a Viking fortress at Cork,
possibly the “castle” destroyed in 865. A Viking town
may have developed at Cork from the early tenth cen-
tury, though it has left little impression in historical
records and has so far eluded systematic archaeologi-
cal study. Following the Meic Carthaig revolt against
Muirchertach Ua Briain in 1118, Cork became the
capital of the kingdom of Desmond (South Munster).
The Meic Carthaig constructed a major castle at Shan-
don, immediately north of Cork. It seems that the town
grew under Meic Carthaig auspices, with a mixed pop-
ulation of Irish and Scandinavians.
According to contemporary Irish annals, contradict-
ing Giraldus Cambrensis, Cork was seized and sacked
by English knights in 1177. Cork was granted the status
of a royal borough by Prince John around 1189. From
the early thirteenth century the two central islands of
Cork, an area of 14.5 hectares, were enclosed with great
stone walls. It was necessary to raise the level of the
ground within the walled town considerably to prevent
periodic flooding. The channel between the islands was
transformed into docks shielded by a fortified ship-gate,
as reflected in Cork’s coat of arms.
Cork’s trade increased tremendously in volume,
first with Bristol and then with southwestern France.
Its population grew commensurately, with many people
employed in handling traded goods and in processing
animal hides and foodstuffs. By the early fourteenth
century there was considerable suburban development
at Shandon and Fayth, subordinate boroughs on the
north and south banks of the Lee. Archaeologists have
found evidence of housing of improved quality and
greater density.
The fourteenth century proved calamitous for Cork.
Climatic deterioration, and the breakdown of law and
order in its rural hinterland, reduced the volumes of agri-
cultural surplus available for processing and trading in
Cork. These economic difficulties were compounded by
the Black Death, which exacted a heavy toll on the city.
For a century after the plague there is very little trace in
the archaeological record of Cork’s overseas trade.
The recovery of the English economy from the mid-
fifteenth century, and the increased order imposed on
Cork’s hinterland by the MacCarthys and the earls of
Desmond, facilitated a modest revival in Cork’s eco-
nomic fortunes. Much of the increased wealth, however,
was concentrated in the hands of a small mercantile
oligarchy. They monopolized control of the corporationDrishane Castle, Co. Cork. © Department of the Environment,
Heritage and Local Government, Dublin.
CONNACHTA