genealogical research

Brian Boru (941 – 1014) Founder of the O’Brien Dynasty of Irish High Kings

Post author By Steven Wood Collins
Post date December 16, 2021
154 Comments on Brian Boru (941 – 1014) Founder of the O’Brien Dynasty of Irish High Kings

Sculpture outside Chapel Royal.

Brian on the Morning of Clontarf

Oil painting of Battle of Clontarf by Hugh Frazer 1826.

Strongbow’s tomb monument in Christ Church, Dublin

Both Brian Boru and his son Murchad were killed at the Battle of Clontarf (23 April 1014). One the opposition army leaders, Orkney Earl Sigurd Hlodvirsson, father of Thorfinn “the Black”, 18th Jarl of Orkney (1009 – 1064), also perished during the battle.

The decisive victory for the Irish Gaels temporarily ended Norse hegemony as lords of Ireland. Temporarily, that is, until the Anglo-Norman invasion during the late 12th-century. Richard “Strongbow” de Clare, Earl of Pembroke (1130 – 1176) Justiciar of Ireland, led the invasion that forever ended the ancient Irish High King lordship dynasty as well as the nation’s sovereignty (at least until the 20th-century).

Brian Boru was an agnatic descendant of Galamh mac Bile “Míl Espáine” (1853 – 1806 BC) Primogenitor of High Kings of Ireland and an agnatic cousin of Niall Mor Noígíallach of the Nine Hostages (380 – 454) King of Tara, 126th High King of Ireland, Primogenitor of Uí Néill Dynasty

By Steven Wood Collins

I spent most of my life unaware of my ancestral heritage. Sure, I knew of the personal history of my more immediate relatives; but beyond that, I never had any inkling as to my ancestral heritage. Then one day many years ago my sister said to me, “I sometimes wonder about our family background.” And so my quest to discover our genealogical roots commenced.

I started building my family tree with the very basic relationships, going back in time from my grandparents, one ancestor at a time. That initial effort proved to be the hardest part of the pursuit, mainly due to my lack of expertise as a novice genealogical researcher. As I gained familiarity with the databases and how to efficiently mine them, my progress gained ever-increasing momentum. Today, The Patricians! tree (Ancestry.com) contains nearly 120,000 individuals, stretching over 135 generations, 5,800 of which are my direct ancestors in a genealogical sense.

During this trek back in time, I encountered fascinating figures in both history and obscurity. This blog contains many stories about their genealogical relationship to me (and many of you). By far and away, as a student of history, the historically obscure individuals are of particular interest to me. I cite Baron “Blue Beard” Montmorency-Laval de Rais (1405 – 1440) as an example of a historically maligned personage whose real contribution to history, as both a playwright and hero of France, has yet to be properly recognized. Another example is Earl Edward de Vere (1550 – 1604), who’s yet to gain widespread recognition as the actual author of the body of literary work wrongly ascribed to William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616).

My life-long interest in international economics and finance continues unabated. I primarily demonstrate this professional involvement as a contributor to the Long Room, the members-only international finance professionals' forum hosted by the Financial Times of London.

I'm an avid recreational scuba diver who enjoys traveling to exotic dive sites. My love of the sea and marine life gives me an unbounded appreciation and support of “green” issues, especially those devoted to the conservation of endangered species and coral reefs.

He continually posts results of his personal genealogical research to his Goodreads Authors Blog. Entitled The Patricians - The Ancestral Heritage of Steven Wood Collins, the work represents thousand of hours of his research efforts and related commentary.

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