UaRuairc dynasty never enjoyed such strength and
prominence after him.
After the death of Tigernán Ua Ruairc, the family
retreated into its Bréifne heartland. Throughout the thir-
teenth and early fourteenth centuries Bréifne was some-
thing of a backwater. However, even there the family
was challenged by the O’Reilly (Ua Raghailligh)
dynasty, who rose to prominence in east Bréifne (Co.
Cavan) at that time. From the mid-fourteenth century
onward, the lords of Bréifne also had to conduct a major
war with the nomadic Clann Murtough O’Connors,
who were encroaching on Ua Ruairc territory. In 1343,
Ualgharg Ua Ruairc, lord of Bréifne from 1316 to 1346,
drove the Clann Murtough out of Bréifne, although they
killed him at the battle of Calry in 1346. The Clann
Murtough killed Ualgharg’s wife, Dearbháil, in 1367.
Tighearnán Mór Ua Ruairc, lord of Bréifne from 1376
to 1418, managed to defeat the Clann Murtough in 1391,
and this chieftain also waged “great war” with the neigh-
boring O’Reillys. Tadhg Ua Ruairc, lord of Bréifne from
1419 to 1435, was also at war with the O’Reillys. In
1429, when supported by Ua Néill, the O’Reillys
defeated Tadhg at the battle of Achadh Chille Moire.
It was only in the late sixteenth century that the
O’Rourkes of Bréifne again became a Gaelic power to
be reckoned with. Brian Ballagh Ua Ruairc, chieftain
from 1536 to 1562, with some interruptions, capital-
ized on the turmoil among the Ua Domhnaill dynasty
to become very powerful in Connacht. His son, Brian
na Múrtha Ua Ruairc, lord of Bréifne from 1566 to
1591, was also a successful chieftain. Noted for his
proud nature, he sheltered coiners and Spanish Armada
survivors in his lordship, for which he was attacked in
1589 and 1590 by the president of Connacht, Sir Rich-
ard Bingham. Brian na Múrtha fled to Tír Chonaill and
then to Scotland. However, he was arrested at Glasgow
by King James VI and extradited to England, where
Queen Elizabeth had him executed at Tyburn in 1591.
Brian na Múrtha’s son, Brian Óg, succeeded him as
Ua Ruairc and became an important figure in the
Gaelic confederacy that fought the Nine Years’ War.
Brian Óg participated in the Irish victory in the Curlew
mountains in 1599, and marched with Red Hugh
O’Donnell to the battle of Kinsale. Following that
defeat, it was O’Rourke’s advice that every chieftain
should return to defend his own lordship that was
followed by most Irish leaders. Brian Óg Ua Ruairc
died in Galway city in 1604.
DARREN MCGETTIGAN
References and Further Reading
Byrne, Francis John. Irish Kings and High-Kings.London, 1973.
Gallogly, Rev. Daniel. “Brian of the Ramparts O’Rourke
(1566–1591).” Breifne vol. 11, 5 (1962): 50–79.
Morgan, Hiram. “Extradition and Treason-Trial of a Gaelic
Lord: The Case of Brian O’Rourke.” The Irish Jurist 22
(1987): 285–301.
O’Donovan, John, ed. and transl. Annala Rioghachta Eireann,
Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland.Dublin, 1856.
Simms, Katharine. “The Norman Invasion and Gaelic Recov-
ery.” In The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland, edited by
R. F. Foster, 3–103.
See alsoUí Briúin; Connacht; Ó Conchobhair:
Mide; Tairrdelbhach Ua Conchobair; Ruairí Ua
Conchobair; Leinster; Diarmait Mac Murchada;
Anglo-Norman Invasion; Strongbow; Hugh de
Lacy; Ó Néill; Ó DomhnaillUA T UATHAIL (O’TOOLE),
ST. LAWRENCE (d. 1180)
The first Irishman canonized as a saint of the Roman
Catholic Church (the second was Máel-Máedóc—
St. Malachy), Lorcán Ua Tuathail achieved distinction
as prelate, church reformer, and diplomat. He belonged
to the Uí Muiredaig dynasty; his father, Muirchertach
Ua Tuathail, was principal subking of Diarmait Mac
Murchada, over king of Leinster, and his mother a
daughter of an Uí Fáeláin dynast, Cerball mac meic
Bricc. One of seven siblings, his half-sister Mór later
married Mac Murchada. Lorcán was born around
1128,tradition placing his birth at Mullach Roírenn
(Mullaghreelion Hillfort, Co. Kildare).
According to his Latin “Life,” the young Lorcán
was held hostage by Mac Murchada—probably after
the Leinster purge of 1141. As relationships with the
over king improved, he was placed in fosterage at
Glendalough. He received his education there, later
joining the religious community. By the early 1150s,
differences with Mac Murchada had apparently been
settled; the Synod of Kells (1152) confirmed diocesan
boundaries for Glendalough, which encompassed the
regional kingdom of Uí Muiredaig, and shortly after-
ward his sister Mór wed Mac Murchada. It seems
reasonable, as Flanagan considers, that the over king’s
influence lay behind the appointment of Lorcán (aged
only twenty-five) as abbot of Glendalough in 1153, and
as archbishop of Dublin in 1162—when the Hiberno-
Norse kingdom came under Mac Murchada’s sway.
Whether or not dynastic influences underlay his
preferment, Lorcán’s selection as papal legate proba-
bly acknowledged his efforts for church reform. With
diocesan reorganization already well advanced, he pur-
sued behavioral and attitudinal change. Contending
that continental religious orders offered a suitable
model for community discipline, he introduced the
Augustinian Canons to Glendalough in the 1150s and
later to Dublin, where they formed the chapter of Holy
Trinity (Christ Church) Cathedral. His concern withUA T UATHAIL (O’TOOLE), ST. LAWRENCE (d. 1180)