Above : Battle Of Clontarf Painting

The history of the century and a half which elapsed between the Battle of Clontarf and the coming of the Normans is sometimes presented as a narrative of complicated turmoil and disconnected warfare. The period is often dismissed as being one the record of which is a tedious story of unmeaning and purposeless dissensions. More careful study, however, will reveal the importance of this portion of Irish history, and will show a sequence of events and development of forces inevitably resulting in a politically unified nation. A knowledge of the changes that then took place is essential to a proper understanding of the future fortunes of the various elements in the Irish nation. It was an interval during which Ireland was left untroubled by external aggression and was thus free to work out its own destiny at the very time when many of the nations of modern Europe were being formed. Violence and ambition were unconsciously but inevitably resulting in greater political organisation in Ireland as well as in the rest of Europe. The barriers of the old divisions were falling, and the people were becoming fused ; the literature of the period shows the existence of a strong sense of nationality—oi the identity of the Gaedheal and the unity of Eire ; the object of ambition was the headship of all Ireland.

The history of the period is that of the conflict between the new conception of a united nation and the old system of ” provincial” Kings.

During the two centuries of conflict with the Norse, many changes had taken place in both the social and political organisation of the Irish clans. Of these the most important socially was the increased power of the chiefs, who had now around them a numerous body of military followers, their immediate dependents, to the prejudice of the influence of the free men of the clan. The political changes were even more important. We have seen that, before the Norse Invasions, ” Leabhar na g-Ceart” shows seven independent states, each governed by a king selected from two or three ” ruling clans,” descended in each state from a common ancestor. We now find in nearly all the states a tendency towards disruption. The ancient tradition which had, to some extent, bound the ” ruling clans ” by the theory of common descent has become weakened by age, and the clans themselves are splitting up into distinct families. In some cases the states separate into practically independent divisions, each under one of the ” ruling clans.” In others, internal feuds continue to be fought out between the rival branches. In Connacht alone does one family become unquestionably predominant.

The old tradition qf common descent has lost its binding influence.

Resulting from these divisions, we find that many of the minor states which formerly occupied a sub­ordinate position have now acquired a more independent political status —especially where they lie on the borders of the old states. Breifne, Osraidhe, Ui Maine, the Deisi, Uf Failghe, Laoighis, etc., now begin to figure as independent elements in the history of the country. The superior title of the ” ruling clans ” is still recognised. Indeed, their acknowledged leadership is an important factor until the Gaelic polity is finally destroyed in the seventeenth century. But the other clans were freeing themselves from their actual control, and many of these were now equal in strength to any single family of the disrupted dynasties.

The constituent parts of the old Kingdoms become nearly equal in importance.

The growth of the new family idea is illustrated by the adoption of surnames, which became general at this time.* Hitherto the different families of the political clan had been held together by the tradition of common descent from an ancestor who had flourished many centuries before. Now each family adopts its own distinctive family name, which is generally derived from an ancestor who flourished in or about the tenth century. The old political clan or ” tribe ” or ” tuath ” becomes sub-divided into family clans or ” septs,” each bearing a distinctive name. The innovation is typical of the new divisions, and it results in obliterating, to a great extent, the old distinctions not only between the great states themselves, but also between the minor states which were comprised within them.

The adoption of the new family names in place of the old clan names creates a difficulty in the study of this period. It suggests a break in the continuity. This, however, would °e a false assumption, and should be avoided. It should be clearly understood that the old traditions are still carried on and the political clan is still represented by the central family of the old stock under the new name. This is illustrated by the table attached to this section, which should be carefully noted.

The tradition of kinship between the newer families of the old clans did not disappear. On the contrary it survived the political Changes, and in later years supplied the clue, on the one hand, to the groupings and alliances, and on the other hand, to the lack of full co-operation, between the clans of Ireland. It is also of present-day interest to know the states and clans from which the various families were derived, for the names they then adopted are still the most numerous surnames in Ireland.