Early Irish Kings

It has already been stated that Ireland, at an early period, was divided into four great provinces, which we now know as Ulster, Leinster, Munster, and Connaught. The royal domain of Meath, moreover, was set apart from these, serving as the residence and appanage of the arch-king, or sovereign, of all Ireland. Each of the four great provinces was occupied by a separate tribe, and each tribe was ruled by a king of ancient and powerful family.

The reigning family of Ulster were the O'Neils; of Leinster, the Macmurroughs; of Munster, the O'Briens, alternating with the McCarthys; and of Connaught, the O'Connors. All of these names are still very common in Ireland. For several centuries the O'Neils of Ulster wore the arch-regal crown, and held sway over the entire island. Besides these arch-kings and kings, there were in Ireland a multitude of lesser rulers, who divided the various provinces. Among the most noted of these lesser chiefs were the O'Donnels, O'Kanes, O'Haras, O'Doghertys, O'Rourkes, O'Kellys, O'Reillys, O'Malleys, O'Dowds, O'Sullivans, and O'Donoghues,—names which we still often hear.

While the various provinces and tribes were thus governed by chiefs of the same families, the custom of electing them long continued. A majority of two-thirds was required to complete the choice of a king or chief; but it came to be more and more the case that he was chosen from the same family or clan as that of those who had preceded him. The kings were always crowned with much solemnity. The ceremony usually took place on the summit of a high hill. A white wand was given to the new monarch, who was attired in his royal robes, and who took an oath to rule wisely and well. Afterwards he was consecrated in a church, with imposing religious rites. Some of the festivals of the Irish kings, too, were attended by many ancient and hallowed customs. Especially was the festival which took place on the 1st of November noted for its ceremonies and general observance.

Gradually the laws introduced by St. Patrick were adopted by the arch-regal court, and the courts of the four provinces. These laws still enforced the principle of electing the kings and chiefs, but ordained that those chosen must be of noble descent. The kings and chiefs were still bound to each other by the ancient Druidic customs. Fines, taxes, and other payments continued to be estimated, not in money, but in cattle, sheep, horses, slaves, coats of armor, chess-boards, drinking-cups, and other articles in common or frequent use. The quantity of these things which was owed by the tribesmen to their chief, or by the chief to the king, was exactly fixed in each case by the laws. The laws, moreover, minutely described what privileges and powers each ruler might enjoy, and what he was prohibited from doing or receiving. Some of these privileges and restrictions are amusing. For instance, it was ordained that the arch-king must never, on any account, lie abed till the sun rose. On the other hand, it was laid down, that on a certain day,—the 1st of August,—the arch-king might eat fish from the Boyne, fruit from the Isle of Man, and venison from Naas.

The kings of the provinces, in like manner, had curious rights, and were forbidden to do certain things. The king of Leinster, for example, was expressly enjoined not to permit any Druidic ceremony to take place in his territories. To him, on the other hand, was granted the right to partake of the ale of Cullen, and to preside over certain ancient games. The king of Munster could not gather his warriors on the confines of Leinster; but he had the privilege of dwelling, during Lent, at Cashel, without cost to himself. The monarch of Ulster was warned not to drink from a certain fountain, nor to take heed of omens. His privileges were to preside over the festivities of Cooley, to drill his troops on the plains of Louth, and to quarter his soldiers for three nights in Armagh. If a king or prince adhered to the Druidic faith or practices, his tenants were relieved from paying rent to him, and his debtors were released from their debts to him.

The reigns of the early Irish monarchs were marked by many convulsions, by frequent struggles for supremacy, and now and then by assassinations. A long time elapsed after St. Patrick's death before the arch-kings themselves became Christian. Lewy, the son of Leoghaire, is related to have been struck by lightning because of his adherence to the Druidic faith; and, sixty years later, Dermid, who still fostered the Druid priests, and who caused an accused man to be seized on the altar of a Christian church, was solemnly cursed by a Christian bishop, who also pronounced condemnation on him on the hill of Tara (554). No Irish king, it is said, afterwards made Tara his place of abode. The successors of Dermid lived at Tailteen, and on the borders of Lake Ennell. Dermid himself was slain, soon after the bishop's anathema against him, in a furious battle with the king of Ulster.

Among the reigns which intervened between that of Dermid and the period of the invasion of the Danes (556-794), some are conspicuous for the important and thrilling events which took place within their span. Such was the reign of Hugh the Second, who sat upon the Irish throne for the long period of twenty-seven years. It was in this monarch's time that Columbkill established his colony on the Scottish isle of Iona, and that the attempt was made to suppress the ancient rank and power of the bards. King Hugh failed, indeed, to get rid of the bards, but succeeded in restricting many of their old-time privileges. They were forbidden to wander about the country, singing and reciting their poems, or to have companies of servants. Hugh also attempted, in vain, to impose taxes on the colony of Iona. It was during his reign that the Christian priesthood rose to a great height of power in Ireland.

A number of brief reigns followed the death of Hugh the Second. In that of Donald the Second (624-640), the final struggle took place between Druidism and Christianity. A pretender, Congal, Prince of Ulidia, rose to contest the crown of Ulster. Congal rallied under his banners the forces of Druidism in the North, and his cause became that of the ancient religion. He had also as allies numerous bands of Saxons, Scots, and Britons, who crossed the Irish Sea to join him. King Donald gathered his sturdy tribesmen, and went in person to encounter his foe. The royal banners bore upon them the ancient symbols of Irish sovereignty,—red hands and crosses, axes, eagles, and lions. Above the rebel prince floated the bright standard of the Red Branch Knights, displaying a yellow lion on a field of green satin. The rival hosts came into fierce collision on the broad plain of Moira. Donald and the Christian cause were completely victorious. Congal was killed in the battle, his forces were put to flight, and the triumphant king established his power beyond dispute. The battle of Moira was the death-struggle of Druidism in Ireland (637).

After the death of the brave Donald, two brothers, Connall and Kellach, reigned jointly over Ireland; and they, in turn, were succeeded by two brothers, Dermid and Blathmac, who also shared between them the government of the kingdom. The latter were earnest Christians, and ruled wisely and well. In their time the yellow plague ravaged Ireland and was finally fatal to the two kings themselves. The next reign of note was that of Finnacta, a monarch who was called the "Hospitable." It was during his rule, that the Anglo-Saxons, who had long been settled in Britain, made their first formidable invasion of Ireland. Egfrid, king of Northumbria, sent an expedition under Boert, one of his earls, across the Irish Channel. Boert disembarked at the mouth of the Boyne, and spread havoc and desolation through the fertile fields of Meath. But the force he led was not sufficient to attempt a conquest of the island; and so he retired, after seizing the cattle, burning the churches, and killing all the Irish who came in his way.

During the greater part of the eighth century the career of the Irish kingdom was, for the most part, tranquil and uneventful. Of all the kings for a hundred years, only three were killed in battle. Two of them, Flaherty and Nial the Second, gave up the burdens of sovereignty, and like the German emperor, Charles the Fifth, many centuries after, sought tranquility in the cloisters of a monastery. Hugh the Fifth, who succeeded Flaherty, was not only an able warrior, but was a poet of no small merit. He was devoted to the church, and engaged in a fierce war with the Prince of Ulidia, in defense of the rights of the bishop of Armagh. It was in the reign of Donald the Third, Hugh's successor, that learning and religious fervor reached their greatest height in Ireland (750). The longest and most troublous reign of the eighth century was that of Donogh the First, whose rule lasted twenty-one years. The sovereignty of Meath was contested during that period by the family of O'Melaghlin, who were forced at last, however, to yield to Donogh's powers. It was in the last years of Donogh that the first invasion of Ireland by the Danes took place.