KINGS AND KINGSHIPreason—were passed over for the succession were
often unable to attract sufficient clients to maintain
noble status for several generations. Their descen-
dants became commoners and clients of their more
fortunate relatives. This fate could be avoided by
joining the ranks of the poets or clerics, or by com-
peting successfully for power. In order to relieve
internal pressure and extend the domination of the
kindred, a ruler could install brothers or sons as rulers
over neighboring client-peoples. The new noble or
royal branches thus created remained part of the same
kindred, and nominally subject to an over king as
their common head. The over kingship was often
contested by the leaders of the most powerful
branches of the kindred, and this often led to destruc-
tive succession struggles. An over king who was dis-
obeyed raided the territory of his errant subkings, in
order to drive off their cattle as tribute or to take their
hostages as guarantees for future obedience. Internal
warfare could weaken the kindred as a whole, with
the succession erratically being taken by this branch
or that. Usually, one or two branches came out on
top and subjugated all others. Yet within a few gen-
erations the winning branch would itself be split up
into rival lineages, and the whole cycle would start
anew. This process remained typical for Irish dynastic
kingship until the end of the Gaelic order in the
decades around 1600.
Over Kingships
The importance of blood relationship for claims of
submission and tribute is reflected in the Irish political
nomenclature. The ruling dynasties are all named after
a legendary or historical ancestor, whose name is pre-
ceded by a term expressing kinship, such as Corco
(seed), Dál (division), Clann (children), Cenél (kin-
dred), Síl (seed), and Uí (grandsons or descendants).
All those who recognized the same ancestor were
politically tied together. Certain dynasties were, by
mutual consent or a procured relationship, held to be
related. This is reflected in the Old-Irish word cairdes,
which means “kinship” and by extension, “friendship.”
A powerful over king could claim that others were his
relatives, and thus claim authority over them. Genea-
logical bonds expressed political bonds, hence the
importance of the recording of genealogy in the medi-
eval sources. The law tracts of around 700 recognize
a hierarchy of kings of a túath, kings of several túatha,
and the provincial kings. The provincial king ruled not
only a powerful dynasty but also a defined territory
that he habitually dominated, named a cóiced(literally
“fifth”). A king of Ireland only existed on a theoretical
basis, as no dynasty had been able to rule Ireland
permanently.
Political Structure
Already before the eighth century the over kingships
had begun to dissolve the túathas the basic sociopolit-
ical unit. Most of the Irish petty kings were subject to
an over king, and many were hardly independent rulers.
The power of the over kings over their dynasties and
neighboring kings increased in time, and about a dozen
were of major consequence. The Uí Néill ruled in Mide,
Brega, and The North (In Túasceirt); the Uí Briúin and
Uí Fhiachrach in Connacht; the Uí Meic Uais and Uí
Chremthainn in Airgialla; the Dál Fiatach and Dál
nAraidi in Ulster; the Uí Dúnlainge and Uí Chennselaig
in Leinster; and the Éoganachta in Munster. Until the
tenth century the over kings of the Uí Néill and the
Eóganachta dominated Ireland, and claimed suzerainty
over Leth Cuinn and Leth Moga, respectively. This
division of Ireland is named after Conn Cétchatach, the
legendary forefather of the Connachta, Uí Néill, and
Airgialla, and his alleged contemporary Mug Nuadat,
ancestor of the Eóganachta. The kings of Tara came to
overpower the kings of Ulster and Leinster as well.
Hence Máel-Muru Othna (d. 887) attaches the Laigin
and Ulaid (Dál Fiatach) to those who shared a common
ancestor with the Uí Néill in his poem on the Irish
invasion myth. A few kings of Tara, from Máel-Sechnaill
I (ruled 846–862) onward, took hostages of the kings
of Cashel and claimed to be kings of Ireland. Internal
rivalry and losses against the Vikings were among the
factors by which the Eóganachta and Uí Néill fell apart
in the tenth century.Later Developments
The career of Brian Boru (d. 1014) marked the end of
the domination of the Éoganachta and Uí Néill. This
gave other dynasties the opportunity to rise to power.
Notable kings were now given the honorary title “high
king” (ard-rí), a term subsequently used to denote the
kings of Tara of old. This gave rise to the anachro-
nistic notion of a high kingship of Ireland. In the new
political order that ensued the leading families were
Mac Murchada (Uí Chennselaig) in Leinster, Mac
Carthaig (Éoganacht Caisil) in Desmond, Ua Briain (Dál
Cais) in Thomond, Ua Conchobair (Uí Briúin Ái) in
Connacht, Ua Ruairc (Uí Briúin Bréifne) in the north-
ern Midlands, and Ua Domnaill (Cenél Conaill), Ua
Néill, and Mac Lochlainn (Cenél nÉogain) in the North.
Apart from Mac Lochlainn, they remained powerful
from around 1150 to 1600, which testifies to the resil-
ience of the main Irish dynasties. These families also
had the tendency to extend their domination by planting
branches on neighboring territories. After the Anglo-
Norman invasion there was an increasing development
toward the exercise of lordship among feudal lines, but