Origins and prehistory The tribal name
Osraige means "people of the deer", and is traditionally claimed to be taken from the name of the ruling dynasty's semi-legendary pre-Christian founder,
Óengus Osrithe. The Osraige were probably either a southern branch of the
Ulaid or
Dál Fiatach of
Ulster, or close kin to their former
Corcu Loígde allies. In either case it would appear they should properly be counted among the
Érainn. Authoritative scholars, such as
T. F. O'Rahilly believed that the Lagin pedigree of the Osraige is a fabrication, invented to help them achieve their goals in Leinster.
Francis John Byrne suggests that it may date from the time of Cerball mac Dúnlainge. The Osraighe themselves claimed to be descended from the
Érainn people, although scholars propose that the Ivernic groups included the Osraige. Prior to the coming of Christianity to Ireland, the Osraige and their relatives the Corcu Loígde appear to have been the dominant political groups in Munster, before the rise of the
Eóganachta marginalized them both.
Ptolemy's 2nd-century map of Ireland places a tribe he called the "Usdaie" roughly in the same area that the Osraige occupied. The territory indicated by Ptolemy likely included the major late
Iron Age hill-fort at Freestone Hill and a 1st-century Roman burial site at Stonyford, both in County Kilkenny. Due to inland water access via the Nore, Barrow and Suir rivers, the Osraige may have experienced greater intercourse with Britain and the continent, and there appears to have been some heightened Roman trading activity in and around the region. Such contact with the Roman world may have precipitated wider exposure and later conversion to
Early Christianity. From the fifth century, the name
Dál Birn ("
the portion of Birn"; sometimes spelt
dál mBirn) appears to have emerged as the name for the ruling lineage of Osraige, and this name remained in use through to the twelfth century. From this period, Osraige was originally within the sphere of the province of Leinster. Yet,
T. F. O'Rahilly considered Loegaire Bern Buadach, the mythical ancestor Dál Birn, was the 'same personage as the Loegaire Buadach of the Ulidian tradition' and, therefore, were not Laigin.
Déisi, Corcu Loígde usurpation and Christianization (c.450–625) Several
sources indicate that towards the end of the fifth century the Osraige ceded a swath of southern territory to the displaced and incoming
Déisi sometime before 489. The traditional accounts states that the landless, wandering Déisi tribe were seeking a home in
Munster, through the marriage of their princess Ethne the Dread to
Óengus mac Nad Froích, king of Munster. As part of her dowry, Ethne asked for the Osraige to be cleared off their land but were repulsed several times by the Osraige in open battle before finally overcoming them through magic, trickery and guile. The account mentions that at this defeat, the Ossorians fled like wild deer ("
ossa" in Irish), a pun on their tribal name. It appears that soon thereafter following this defeat, the hereditary Dál Birn kings were displaced for a period by the Corcu Loígde of south Munster. The Dál Birn remained in control of their northern territory while Corcu Loígde kings ruled the greater portion of southern Osraige around the fertile Nore valley until the latter part of the sixth century and the rise of
Eóganachta dominating Munster. The new political configuration, probably the result of an
Uí Néill-Eóganachta alliance against the Corcu Loígde, caused a reduction in Osraige's relative status. In 582,
Fergus Scandal mac Crimthainn, the king of Munster, was slain by Leinstermen and Osraige was therefore ceded from Leinster as blood-fine payment and attached the kingdom to the province of Munster. Around that time (in either 581 or 583) the Ossorians (also referred to in the
Fragmentary Annals as
Clann Connla) had slain one of the last usurping Corcu Loígde kings Feradach Finn mac Duach and reclaimed most of their old patrimony. The Dál Birn returned to full power by the first quarter of the seventh century. Throughout this period, Ireland and Irish culture was thoroughly
Christianized by the arrival of missionaries from Britain and the continent. Osraige appears to have seen a flourish of early Christian activity. Surviving hagiographic works, especially those relating to St.
Ciarán of Saighir, attest that Osraige was the first Irish kingdom to receive a Christian
episcopacy even before the arrival of
St. Patrick; however, some modern scholars dispute this.
St. Patrick is believed to have traversed through Osraige, preaching and establishing Christianity there on his way to Munster. An early Irish church was founded in Osraige, perhaps in connection with St. Patrick's arrival in the territory, known as "
Domhnach Mór" ("
great church", located at what is now St. Patrick's graveyard in Kilkenny). St.
Cainnech of Aghaboe founded two churches in Osraige which later grew in importance:
Aghaboe and Kilkenny, each of which successively held the episcopal see after Saighir. Additionally, a host of other early monastics and clerics laboured for the
gospel in Osraige, making a lasting impact on the region which still exists down to the present.
Dál Birn Resurgence (c.625–795) There is confusion among scholars as to the correct enumeration of the Corcu Loígde kings over Osraige, but by the reign of
Scandlán Mór (d. 643 ca.) the Dál Birn dynasts regained control of their own territory, but not without intermittent dynastic competition. The late seventh century witnessed an increase in hostilities between the men of Osraige and their neighbors to the south-east in
Leinster, especially with the
Uí Ceinnselaig. In the middle years of the eighth century,
Anmchad mac Con Cherca was the most militarily active king in Munster, and was the first Ossorian king to gain island-wide notice by the chroniclers. Upon his death in 761, Osraige witnessed civil war over the throne and
Tóim Snáma mac Flainn, a scion from a different lineage emerged as king. Tóim Snáma was opposed by the sons of
Cellach mac Fáelchair (died 735), and presumably
Dúngal mac Cellaig (died 772). In 769, he was successful in the battle versus them and they were put to flight. In 770, he was slain, presumably by Dúngal his successor. During this time the churches of Osraige witnessed a flourish of growth and activity, with notable clerics from Osraige being recorded in the annals and at least one,
St. Fergal, gaining international fame as an early astronomer and was ordained bishop of
Salzburg in modern-day
Austria. However, it is noteworthy that bishop Laidcnén son of Doinennach, abbot of
Saighir was slain in 744.
Osraige in the Viking Age (795–1014) Because Osraige is bounded by major rivers, this period witnessed the establishment of several significant
Viking bases on and around the kingdom's borders in the ninth and early tenth centuries; with the Nore, Barrow and Suir watershed systems providing deep access into Osraige's interior. A Norse
longphort was planted by Rodolf son of
Harald Klak at Dunrally between 850 and 62 on the border with the neighbouring kingdom of Laois. Other longphort settlements emerged at
Woodstown (c.830–860) and
Waterford in 914. Consequently, Osraige endured much tumult and warfare but subsequently emerged politically dominant, becoming a major force in southern Ireland and even one of the most militarily active kingdoms on the island by the middle of the ninth century. Originally granted semi-independent status within the province of Munster, the war-like and victorious rule of king
Cerball mac Dúnlainge birthed a dramatic rise in Osraige's power and prestige, despite a heavy influx of Viking marauders to Ireland's shores. Under the long reign of
Cerball mac Dúnlainge between 843/4 to 888, Osraige was transformed from a relatively unimportant kingdom into one of Ireland's most powerful overlordships, which surpassed that of both Munster and Leinster and even threatened
Uí Néill hegemony over southern Ireland. There is circumstantial evidence which indicates that early in his reign, Cerball may have even sent emissaries to establish international diplomacy with the
Carolingian Empire's western-third under
Charles the Bald who was also dealing with Viking threats. He established dual marriage alliances with the
High King Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid and successfully forced
Máel Gualae, king of Munster to recognize Osraige's formal independence from Munster in 859. The later Icelandic
Landnámabók uniquely names Cerball as king of Dublin and the
Orkney islands during his reign, yet scholars regard this as an interpolation borrowed from the influential narrative found in the
Fragmentary Annals of Ireland, likely composed by Cerball's eleventh century descendant
Donnchad mac Gilla Pátraic. Cerball's descendant king
Gilla Pátraic mac Donnchada (r. 976–996) proved an able ruler, and by the late 10th century the hereditary ruling descendants of Osraige had adopted the surname
Mac Giolla Phádraig as their patronymic. By the late tenth century, Osraige was brought into conflict with the ambitious
Dalcassian king
Brian Boruma, who gained supremacy over all Ireland before being killed in the
Battle of Clontarf in 1014, in which the Ossorians did not partake. The
Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib relates a story that victorious but wounded Dalcassian troops were challenged to battle by the Ossorians as they were returning home through Osraige after the battle of Clontarf, but some authors doubt the validity of this story, as the source is widely considered later Dalcassian propaganda.
Osraige during the First Irish Revival (c. 1015 – 1165) During the period after the decline of Viking threats, many of Ireland's smaller kingdoms became dominated by larger ones, in a natural yet bloody evolution towards centralized monarchy. Various families contended for the high-kingship. Allegiance with Osraige could make or break a king's bid for the high-kingship, although the kings of Osraige never attempted the position themselves. King
Donnchadh mac Gilla Pátraic, arguably Osraige's most powerful ruler who brought the kingdom to the zenith of its power, plundered Dublin, Meath and successfully conquered neighbouring
Leinster in 1033, held the
Óenach Carmán and ruled both kingdoms until his death in 1039. In 1085 and 1114, the city of
Kilkenny was burned. Additionally, major changes to the structure and practices of the Irish Church brought it away from its historic orthodox practices and more in line with the massive
Gregorian Reform movement which was already taking place on the continent. Significantly, the
Synod of Rath Breasail was part of this movement, likely held in the northernmost territory of Osraige in 1111. By the early-12th century, fighting had erupted within the dynasty and split the kingdom into three territories. In 1103,
Gilla Pátraic Ruadh, king of Osraige and many of the Ossorian royal family were killed on campaign in the north of Ireland. Two new claimants to the throne then emerged, both scions of the Mac Giolla Phádraig clan.
Domnall Ruadh Mac Gilla Pátraic was the king of greater Osraige, often called
Tuaisceart Osraige ("North Osraige") or
Leath Osraige ("Half-Osraige"); and Cearbhall mac Domnall mac Gilla Pátraic in
Desceart Osraige ("South Osraige"), a smaller portion of the southernmost part of Osraige bordering Waterford. Additionally, the Ua Caellaighe clan of Mag Lacha and Ua Foircheallain in the extreme north Osraige declared their independence from Mac Giolla Phádraig rule under Fionn Ua Caellaighe. Thus the north and south fringes of the kingdom broke apart from the centre, each with subsequent competing dynasts until the arrival of the Normans. While the north and south extremities of the kingdom were broken away, the majority of central Osraige around the fertile Nore valley maintained greater stability and is most often referred to simply as "Osraige" in most annals for the period. Despite its fracturing, Osraige was still powerful enough to oppose and inflict defeats upon Leinster. As retribution in 1156–7, the high king
Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn led a massive campaign of destruction deep into Osraige, laying waste to it from end to end, and officially subjected it to Leinster.
Decline during the Norman Invasion (1165–1194) ''; a romanticized depiction of the union outside the ruins of
Waterford by
Daniel Maclise. Much of the initial
Norman Invasion of Ireland occurred within and around Osraige's borders. Much of the background drama and initial action of the Norman advance played out on the battlefields and highways of Osraige. The kingdoms of Osraige and
Leinster had also witnessed increased mutual hostility prior to the Normans. Significantly,
Diarmaid Mac Murchadha, the man who would one day become king of Leinster and invite the Normans into Ireland, was himself fostered as a youth in north Osraige, in the territory of the Ua Caellaighes of Dairmag Ua nDuach who sought to undermine their Mac Giolla Phádraig overlords. In the 1150s, high king
Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn made a devastating punitive campaign on the divided Osraige, burning and pillaging the whole kingdom and subjected it to Leinster overlordship. Thus, Diarmaid Mac Murchadha came to intervene several times in the disputes of Ossorian succession. After Mac Murchadha's exile and return in 1167, tension was heightened between Osraige and Leinster by the blinding of Mac Murchadha's son and heir, Éanna mac Diarmat by the prince of greater Osraige, king
Donnchad Mac Giolla Phádraig. Mac Murchadha's initial mercenary force under
Robert FitzStephen landed close to the border of Osraige at
Bannow, took
Wexford and immediately turned west to invade Osraige, acquiring hostages as a nominal token of submission. Later still, another auxiliary force under
Raymond FitzGerald (le Gros) landed just opposite Osraige's border at
Waterford, and won a skirmish with its inhabitants. By 1169,
Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (Strongbow) had also landed with a major force outside of Waterford, married Mac Murchadha's daughter
Aoife and sacked the city. Later that year, a major conflict was fought in the woods of Osraige near
Freshford when Mac Murchadha and his
Norman allies under
Robert FitzStephen,
Meiler FitzHenry,
Maurice de Prendergast, Miles FitzDavid, and Hervey de Clare (Montmaurice) defeated a numerically superior force under Domnall Mac Giolla Phádraig, king of greater-Osraige, at the pass of Achadh Úr following a
feigned retreat in a three-day battle. Shortly thereafter, de Prendergast and his contingent of
Flemish soldiers defected from Mac Murchada's camp and joined king Domnall's forces in Osraige before quitting Ireland for a time. In 1170, MacMurchada died, leaving Strongbow as the de facto king of Leinster, which in his understanding, included Osraige. At
Threecastles, Strongbow and Mac Giolla Phádraig agreed to the Treaty of Odogh (Ui Duach) in 1170, in which de Prendergast saved the life of the prince of Osraige from a treacherous assassination. Osraige was afterwards invaded by Strongbow's troops and an Ua Briain force from Thommond. In 1171, King
Henry II of England landed in nearby
Waterford Harbour with one of the largest injections of English military strength into Ireland. On the banks of the
Suir, Henry secured the submission of many of the kings and chiefs of southern Ireland; including Tuaisceart Osraige's king, Domnall Mac Giolla Phádraig. In 1172, the Norman adventurer Adam de Hereford was granted land by Strongbow in Aghaboe, north Osraige. After Henry was recalled from Ireland to deal with the aftermath of
Thomas Becket's murder and the
Revolt of 1173–74, Osraige continued to be a theatre of conflict. Raymond FitzGerald plundered Offaly and travelled through Osraige to win a naval engagement at Waterford. Later, a force from Dublin inflicted a defeat on Hervey de Clare in Osraige. In 1175, the prince of Osraige assisted a force under Raymond FitzGerald to relieve the city of Limerick which had been besieged by the forces of
Domnall Mór Ua Briain. Later,
Gerald of Wales relates a defeat of the men of Kilkenny and their prince by a Norman force from Meath. The noted adventurer
Robert le Poer won lands in Osraige, but was later killed there against the natives. In 1185, Prince John, then Lord of Ireland and future King of England, travelled from England to Ireland to
consolidate the Anglo-Norman colonisation of Ireland, landing at Waterford near the border of Osraige. He secured the allegiance of the Irish princes and travelled through Osraige to Dublin, ordering several castles to be constructed in the region. The last recorded king of central Osraige was
Maelseachaill Mac Gilla Patráic, who died in either 1193 or 1194. However, the kingdom and a continuous succession of rulers remained intact in the north, subsequently called "
Upper Ossory" into the mid-sixteenth century.
Upper Ossory and Kilkenny (1192–1541) After the initial
Norman Invasion of Ireland, the famous and formidable
William Marshal arrived in Osraige by 1192 and acquired claims to the land through his marriage to
Isabel de Clare, daughter of Strongbow and Aoife Mac Murchada, daughter of Diarmait Mac Murchada. Marshal began stone construction on the large fortification at
Kilkenny Castle which was completed by 1195 and was largely responsible for forcing the Mac Giolla Phádraigs from their southern power base around the
River Nore; their ancient rights revoked and a decree of expulsion pronounced on the entire clan. The northern districts of Mag Lacha and Ui Foircheallain (henceforth called
Upper Ossory) which had formerly broken away from Osraige under Ua Caellaighe/Ua Faeláin and Ua Dubhsláine rule since 1103, and which had subsequently seen English settlement from the Normans, thus became targeted by the expelled Mac Giolla Phádraigs and their Ossorian followers for resettlement. This caused a land war in Upper Ossory between those clans already residing there, the new English settlers, and the incoming clans from south and central Osraige driven out by Earl Marshal, which lasted more than a century and a half before the Mac Giolla Phádraigs established full supremacy over the region. Subsequently, the chaos of this poorly recorded conflict caused the then bishop of Ossory,
Felix Ua Duib Sláin, to permanently remove the episcopal see from Aghaboe and initiate construction of the cathedral in Kilkenny. Upper Ossory thus remained an independent Gaelic lordship until the mid-sixteenth century, with its Mac Giolla Phádraig rulers retaining claims to the kingship of all Osraige and being recorded as such, or sometimes "King of the Slieve Blooms". The majority of Osriage was divided up and partitioned amongst various Norman adventurers, especially those within the household of William Marshal who arrived to take charge of lands which were claimed by his wife's inheritance. Likely arriving under Marshal was Sir
Thomas FitzAnthony who was granted extensive lands in lower Ossory and elsewhere (
Thomastown, County Kilkenny is named after him) and was an important and successful administrator for the Crown; being made
seneschal of all Leinster from 1215 to at least 1223. Upper Ossory was formally incorporated into the
Henry VIII's Lordship of Ireland by the submission of
Barnaby Fitzpatrick, 1st Baron Upper Ossory under the policy of
surrender and regrant in 1537. This ironically had the effect of preserving Gaelic culture in Upper Ossory long into the future, since the Crown no longer dealt harshly with the territory. In 1541, The Mac Giolla Phádraig was ennobled as
Baron Upper Ossory. Other members of the family were later created
Earl of Upper Ossory and
Baron Castletown, the last of whom,
Bernard FitzPatrick, 2nd Baron Castletown, died in 1937. Because they clung to the last fragments of the kingdom, that Ossorian lineage is marked as one of the oldest known or most continuously settled dynasties in
Western Europe. By the late fourteenth century, members of the
Butler dynasty purchased or inherited most of southern Osraige, purchased Kilkenny Castle and used it as an administration centre as part of the
Earldom of Ormond (and later
Earldom of Ossory), from which
County Kilkenny was shired. During this period, Kilkenny ranked very close behind
Dublin as the main seat of English power in Ireland, with Parliament meeting there as early as 1293 and recurring many times until 1536. The Bruce Invasion of Ireland saw
Edward Bruce temporarily seize
Gowran, once a seat of the kings of Osraige. By 1352, the unified formation of modern
County Kilkenny had taken shape. In 1367, the
Statutes of Kilkenny were enacted attempting to quell intermarriage and commerce between the English and Irish, but to little effect. ==Ossorian clans==