Brian Boru

Brian Boru was king of Munster and later high king of Ireland, building power through warfare, alliances and control of important river and coastal routes. He defeated a coalition at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 but was killed after the battle, becoming a major figure in Irish historical memory.

In Morgan Llywelyn’s Pride of Lions, after Brian Boru is killed at Clontarf, his fifteen-year-old son Donough inherits a famous name but not an uncontested throne. Cecelia Holland’s The Kings in Winter places Brian Boru within a narrative shaped by court politics and dynastic power, military command and battlefield decision-making, and family, marriage and personal loyalty. Other novels featuring Brian Boru include Morgan Llywelyn’s Lion of Ireland.