2.1: Ulster Before the Normans - The O'Neills, MacLoughlins & the Divided North

Season Two begins by turning our attention north. While Strongbow, Raymond le Gros and the first Norman invaders were transforming Leinster and Munster, the kingdoms of the north had been fighting wars of their own. Beginning with the dramatic fall of Murtough MacLoughlin in 1166, we explore the political landscape of Ulster and the bitter struggle for supremacy within Cenél nEógain. Rory O'Connor attempts to impose order by dividing Tír Eógain, but instead the rival MacLoughlin and O'Neill dynasties spend the following decade competing for power. We also travel beyond Tír Eógain to examine Ulaid, Airgialla and Cenél Conaill, meeting the kings and dynasties who dominated the north during the first years of the Norman invasion. For most of this period, the Normans were a distant problem. But by 1176, that was beginning to change.