2.7: The Partition of Munster and the O'Brien-MacCarthy Feud

Long before the Normans attempted to seize Cork and Limerick, Munster had already been divided by generations of rivalry. In this episode, we trace the struggle between the Eóganachta, the MacCarthys of Desmond, and the O’Briens of Thomond, beginning with the legacy of Brian Boru and the collapse of a united Munster. We explore Tairdelbach Ua Conchobair’s intervention in 1118, the lasting division between Thomond and Desmond, the rise and fall of Cormac MacCarthy, and the political world inherited by his son Dermot MacCarthy. We then return to the Norman invasion. Why did Dermot submit to Henry II in 1171? What happened when Raymond le Gros intervened in Munster? And how did Dermot survive rebellion, imprisonment and betrayal within his own family? By 1177, Dermot had regained his kingdom — only to discover that Henry II had granted much of it away at the Council of Oxford. Before the Normans could conquer Munster, however, they first had to enter a province already fractured by centuries of rivalry. Irish History Tales tells the story of Ireland chronologically, from 1166 to 1923.