MACMURROUGH (Medieval Ireland)

A family line of the Ui Chennselaig that held the kingship of Leinster from the middle of the 1040s to 1603. In the 1040s the Ui Chennselaig, under the leadership of Diarmait mac Mael na mBo (sl. 1072), emerged to claim the Leinster kingship and challenge for the high kingship. It was from Diarmait’s son Murchadh that the later MacMurroughs traced their descent. The death of Murchad in 1070 and the death of Diarmait mac Mael na mBo at the battle of Odba in 1072 were considerable blows, leaving the kingdom of Leinster vulnerable to Thomond and Connacht. Thereafter the descendants of Diarmait’s brother Domnall Remar (sl. 1041) tried to monopolize the Leinster kingship. It was not until 1114, when Donnchad mac Murchada (sl. 1115) defeated his cousin Mael morda, that the MacMurroughs firmly established themselves over Ui Chennselaig. This Donnchad, however, had to share the Leinster kingship with the powerful Conchobar Ua Conchobiar (O’Connor Faly) of Offaly (sl. 1115). Their joint reign was brief, as Domnall Ua Briain and the Dublin Ostmen routed the pair—burying Donnchad with a dog in the floor of the Ostman assembly house. The kingship thereafter passed to the shortlived Diarmait son of Enna MacMurrough (d. 1117) before Donnchad’s son Enna MacMurrough (d. 1126) was elected provincial king. Upon his death in 1126, it appears that he was succeeded by his younger brother—the famous Diarmait Mac Murchada (d. 1171). During his early reign, Diarmait’s kingship was disputed by Domnall Mac Faelain of Ui Faelain (sl. 1141)— a supporter of Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair, high king of Ireland. Mac Faelain’s opposition to Diarmait was finally ended in 1141, allowing the latter to rule uninterrupted until 1166. In that year Diarmait was driven from his kingdom by his enemies—allies of Ruaidn Ua Conchobair, high king of Ireland. Diarmait returned to Ireland in 1167, eventually establishing himself with English and Welsh help over Leinster and Dublin—threatening the O’Connor high kingship. Upon his death in May 1171, Diarmait’s kingdom passed to his son-in-law—Richard de Clare (Strongbow) (d. 1176). This angered some MacMurroughs, culminating in Diarmait’s brother Murchad MacMurrough (sl. 1172) with other Leinster nobles waging war on the English. De Clare did much to pacify the MacMurroughs, granting Uf Chennselaig to Muirchertach MacMurrough (d. 1192) and appointed Domnall Caemanach (Kavanagh) (sl. 1175) as seneschal of the pleas of the Irish of Leinster. Trouble flared again from 1173 to 1174 with Domnall’s followers routing some of de Clare’s forces. But the 1175 killing of Domnall Caemanach—described as king of Leinster—may have contributed to a gradual settling down of relations. Thereafter, leading MacMurroughs served as officers to the Marshal heirs of de Clare, attending upon English hostings to Ulster and Connacht in 1196 and 1225. Their good relationship with the English was evidenced in 1219. Then the MacMurroughs were among the "five bloods" to be enfranchised with common law by Henry III of England (d. 1272). Disaster struck the dynasty in 1225 when four prominent members were killed on an English expedition to Connacht— perhaps accounting for the subsequent long silence in the records. In the 1270s, the MacMurroughs under the leadership of two brothers—Muirchertach and Art—reappeared. This time the MacMurroughs were less well disposed toward the English, assuming in 1274 the leadership of an Irish rebellion raging in East Leinster from 1269. The assassination of these brothers at Arklow in July 1282 quietened the dynasty until the emergence of Muiris MacMurrough (d. c. 1314) in the middle of the 1290s. Under this Muiris and a series of later leaders, they sought to tack before the political winds. This they did with some success, fighting the English or serving them against the Leinster Irish whenever the occasion suited their purpose. The MacMurroughs achieved their greatest success under Art Mor (d. 1416/1417)—the greatest of the kings of medieval Leinster. Under his leadership, the dynasty enjoyed good relations with the Leinster nobility and successfully defied the second expedition of Richard II of England. After the death of Art in 1416/1417, the MacMurroughs declined rapidly, two rival branches emerging, one descended from Art’s son Donnchad (d. 1478), the other from Art’s other son Gerald (d. 1431). During the late 1440s Donnchad finally made peace with Domnall Riabhach (d. 1476), son of his brother Gerald, agreeing that the latter would be his successor. Under the kingship of Domnall Riabhach and through alliance with the Butlers of Ormond, MacMurrough fortunes revived. However, Domnall Riabhach’s successor from the rival branch, Murchad Ballach, grandson of Donnchad (d. 1511/1512), was faced with the rise of the power of Gerald Fitzgerald, eighth earl of Kildare (d. 1513). On 19 August 1504, Murchad and Kildare’s enemies were defeated by the earl at Knockdoe, County Galway. After this, Murchad Ballach accepted Kildare suzerainty until his death in 1511/1512, as did his successor, Art Buide Kavanagh (d. 1517), son of Domnall Riabhach. In this period, most of the important MacMurroughs began to side with Piers Butler (d. 1539), later ninth earl of Ormond, against the Kildares. After the death in 1531 of Art Buide’s brother Muiris MacMurrough, king of Leinster, Gerald Fitzgerald (d. 1534), ninth earl of Kildare, secured the election to the Leinster kingship of his cousin and rival Cathaoir "MacInnycross" MacMurrough (d. c. 1544). While Cathaoir fought for Kildare throughout the Fitzgerald rebellion of 1534-1535, his power was curtailed after the failure of the rebellion. The MacMurroughs survived, of course, but their leaders were generally taken henceforth from among the descendants of Gerald son of Art Mor. The last of them to bear the title king of Leinster, Domnall Spainneach Kavanagh, leader of Sliocht Airt Buide, finally submitted in April 1602 following the collapse of Gaelic power at the battle of Kinsale.