Toirdelbach Ua Briain

While not a great military leader, he was a capable politician whose influence extended as far north as Ulaid and who made and unmade Kings of Connacht.

Epigraphic evidence shows that he aimed to be king of Ireland, and perhaps considered himself to be such, but the annalists and later historians recognised no such pretensions.

Toirdelbach first joined with Áed in the early 1050s, raiding into Tuadmumu in 1052 and inflicting a heavy defeat on Donnchad's son Murchad in Corco Mruad, the north-west of modern County Clare in 1055.

[5] This was unsuccessful as Áed attacked again in 1061, razing the Dál gCais fortress at Kincora and burning their church at Killaloe.

Donnchad's son Murchad led the unsuccessful resistance, and even when Diarmait returned to Leinster, Toirdelbach defeated his kinsmen.

In 1066 Diarmait and Toirdelbach each paid 30 ounces of gold to the king of Ciarraige Luachra of West Munster for his help in assassinating their enemies.

The annal states that the hostages Toirdelbach took were handed over into the keeping of Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó.

He led an army on a raid into the midlands in 1071, and had his soldiers build wooden bridges across the Shannon, evidently for military purposes, at Áth Caille (perhaps modern O'Briensbridge) and Killaloe.

Diarmait had earlier given Toirdelbach treasures which included Brian Bóruma's sword, and "the standard of the king of the Saxons".

In Dublin he installed one Gofraid mac Amlaíb meic Ragnaill, perhaps a kinsman of Echmarcach, as his client king.

Toirdelbach's son Muirchertach was defeated by the Airgíalla near Áth Fhirdia (modern Ardee, County Louth) with heavy loss.

With Muirchertach securely installed in Dublin, and another son, Diarmait, ruling over Waterford, Toirdelbach was master of half of Ireland.

Lanfranc, basing himself, he said, on Bede's writings, had already assured Pope Alexander II that Dublin formed part of the province of Canterbury and that it was for him to consecrate the new bishop.

Bracken suggests that if this was the intention of the delegation, the otherwise astute Toirdelbach missed a significant opportunity to strengthen his position.

[25] Toirdelbach employed the policy of divide and rule to maintain control of Leinster and to prevent the emergence of a rival in Connacht.

Ruaidrí na Saide Buide of the Ua Conchobair was king of Connacht when he submitted to Toirdelbach in 1076.

The Annals of Ulster report that he "died in Kincora [near Killaloe] after great suffering and long repentance, and after receiving the Body of Christ and His Blood, on [14 July] in the seventy-seventh year of his age [1086]".

The Annals of Tigernach, another northern record, styles Toirdelbach rí urmóir Erenn, "king of the greater part of Ireland".