Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/O'Connor, Turlough
O'CONNOR, TURLOUGH (1088–1156), king of Ireland, called by Irish writers Toirdhealbhach mór Ua Conchobhair, son of Roderic or Ruaidhri O'Connor (d. 1118) [q. v.], king of Connaught, was born in 1088 in Connaught. His brother Domhnall was deposed in 1106 by Murtough (Muircheartach) O'Brien (d. 1119) [q. v.] O'Connor was inaugurated king of the Sil Muireadhaigh, as the O'Connors and their allied septs were called, at Athantearmoinn, co. Roscommon. His first war was in 1110 with the Conmhaicne, the group of tribes allied to O'Farrell, who had invaded his country, and whom he defeated at Ros, co. Roscommon, but was soon after routed at Magh Breanghair, with the loss of Meanman and Ruaidhri O'Muireadhaigh, two of his most important feudatory chiefs. In 1111 he made two successful forays into the south of Ulster, invading it from the mountains south of Lough Erne, plundering Termonmagrath and the country north of Swanlinbar, and near Binaghlon, co. Fermanagh. He acknowledged Domhnall O'Lochlainn [q. v.] as king of Ireland in 1114 at Dunlo, co. Galway, and marched with him to Tullagh O'Dea, co. Clare, where a truce of a year was made with the Munstermen. When the year was up the Munstermen invaded Meath, and O'Connor took advantage of the occasion to march into Thomond, which he plundered as far as Limerick; but on his way home he was attacked in force and himself severely wounded. He was able later in the year to make a successful attack on the Conmaicne by taking his army in boats across Lough Rea. After a year of such successful plunder he made a present of three pieces of plate to the monastery of Clonmacnoise, a drinking-horn mounted in gold, a gilt cup, and a patena (mullog) of gilt bronze.
He continued his wars with Munster in 1116, demolishing Cenncoradh, the chief fortress of the Dal Cais, and making a great spoil of cows and prisoners. A spirited attack on his communications by Dermot O'Brien compelled him to abandon his prisoners. The war was continued throughout 1117, and in 1118 the death of the king of Munster gave Murchadh O'Maeleachlainn, king of all Ireland, an opportunity for interference, and he marched as far as Glanmire, co. Cork, accompanied by O'Connor. They made a partition of Munster, and took hostages. O'Connor then fought the Danes of Dublin, and carried off a son of the king of Ireland who had been captive among the Danes. He then again marched into Munster and sacked the rebuilt Cenncoradh, near Killaloe. In 1119 he again invaded Munster, and lived upon the district round Killaloe. He had made alliances with the king of Leinster, with the Danes of Dublin, and with the king of Ossory, and in 1120 was strong enough to invade Meath, drive Murchadh O'Maeleachlainn into the north, obtain the sanction of the archbishop of Armagh, assume the style of Rí Eireann, king of Ireland, and celebrate the Aonach, or open-air assembly and games of Taillten. He built bridges, probably of wattles, across the Shannon at Shannon harbour and Athlone, and across the Suck at Dunlo. In 1121 he marched into Munster as far as Tralee, co. Kerry, and on his way back, taking many cattle, visited Lismore, co. Waterford. At Dunboyne, co. Meath, in 1122 he took hostages from the king of Leinster in acknowledgment of his kingship over Ireland. A fresh foray into South Munster towards Youghal occupied him in 1123. He put a fleet of boats on the Shannon in 1124, plundered its shores as far as Foynes, co. Limerick, and kept an armed camp for six months at Woodford, co. Galway, close to the Munster boundary, thus preventing any raid into Connaught.
He also attacked his old enemies the Conmhaicne in Longford. They had some success against him in the Carn mountains, but he made a fresh attack, and defeated them with great slaughter. In this year, probably for some breach of treaty, he put to death the hostages he had received from Desmond or South Munster. Meantime Murchadh O'Maeleachlainn had returned from the north into Meath, and in 1125 O'Connor drove him out again, and divided the kingdom into three parts, under three separate chiefs. In 1126 he made his own son Conchobhar king of Dublin and of Leinster, defeated Cormac MacCarthy in Munster, and plundered as far as Glanmire, co. Cork. Next year he marched as far as Cork, divided Munster into three parts, and carried off thirty hostages. He had 190 vessels on Lough Derg, and ravaged the contiguous parts of Munster. In 1128 he sailed round the coast of Leinster to Dublin. Ceallach, the archbishop of Armagh, then made peace for a year between him and Munster. He made a foray into Fermanagh, but lost many men. The summer of 1129 was very dry, and he took advantage of the extreme low water of the Shannon to build a castle and bridge at Athlone. In 1130 he sailed to Tory Island, and carried off what booty there was from the desolate promontory of Rosguill, on the east side of Sheep Haven. He then sailed south and plundered Valentia and Inis-mor, near Cork. After an attack on Ui Conaill Gabhra, co. Limerick, he was himself attacked by the northerns under Domhnall O'Lochlainn [see O'Lochlainn, Domhnall], and fought a drawn battle with great loss in the Curlew mountains. Peace was made the next day at Loch Cé, co. Roscommon, for a year. Several of his feudatory chiefs were routed during 1131 and 1132 by the men of Meath and others of his enemies. There were also several invasions of Connaught in 1133, and O'Connor had to make peace for a year with Munster. A cattle plague diminished his resources in this year, and he made no expedition in 1134.
In 1135 he had many misfortunes; the Conmaicne burnt Roscommon and ravaged all the country round. He had to give hostages to Murchadh O'Maeleachlainn, and thus ceased to be chief king of Ireland. He had to deal with revolts at home in 1136, and had the eyes of his son Aedh put out. He blinded Uada O'Conceanainn in 1137, and was defeated in the same year on Lough Rea, where Murchadh O'Maeleachlainn destroyed his fleet, and then wasted all Connaught from Slieveaughty, on the borders of Munster, to the river Drowse, which separates Connaught from Ulster. He tried in 1138, with the aid of the men of Breifne and of the Oirghialla, to defeat Murchadh O'Mealeachlainn in Meath, but had to retreat without fighting a battle, and stayed in his own country throughout 1139. St. Gelasius visited Connaught in 1140, received tribute as primate of all Ireland, and blessed the king and his chiefs. O'Connor made a wicker bridge across the Shannon at Lanesborough, and established a camp on the east bank, which was burnt by Murchadh O'Mealeachlainn, after which peace was made. O'Connor made short raids into Teffia, the country east of Athlone, but was driven back by its clans with much loss.
In 1141 O'Connor had again got together a large force, and made Murchadh give him hostages, so that he again became king of all Ireland. He plundered the country near the hill of Croghan in the King's County, and next year invaded Munster, but was driven back. He captured by a ruse his old enemy Murchadh O'Maeleachlainn in 1143, but had to release him, though he gave his territory to O'Connor's son, Conchobhar, who was killed by O'Dubhlaich, a Meath chieftain, in 1144, whereupon O'Connor divided Meath into two parts, and gave each a chief. He received four hundred cows from the men of Meath as eric for his son. He carried off a great spoil of cows from Leinster, and, in 1145, another from Breifne. In 1148 he plundered Teffia, but did not get away without fighting a battle before Athlone. Next year he could not prevent O'Brien from plundering Connaught, and had to give hostages to Muircheartach O'Lochlainn, king of Ailech, and thus again ceased to be Ardrigh. He consoled himself later in the year by a successful foray into Munster. Gillamacliag, primate of all Ireland, visited Connaught in 1151, and O'Connor gave him a gold ring weighing twenty ounces. Tadhg O'Brien fled to O'Connor, who invaded Munster in his interest, and subdued all but West Munster. He won a great victory over the Dal Cais at Moinmór, in which seven thousand Munstermen were slain, with sixty-nine chiefs, including the most important men of Clare, Muircheartach O'Brien and Standish O'Grady. O'Connor's loss was heavy, and Muircheartach O'Lochlainn crossed Assaroe and took hostages from him on his return home.
Next year O'Connor again invaded Munster with success, and it was on the march back, in alliance with the king of Leinster, that Dermot carried off Dearbhforgaill, wife of Tighearnan O'Ruairc, and sister-in-law of O'Connor, who carried her back in 1153. That year was occupied with a war with O'Lochlainn, in which the balance of success was against O'Connor. Maeleachlainn had died; but O'Lochlainn, who had a better title, prevented O'Connor by force of arms from becoming king of Ireland. In 1154 O'Connor sailed north, and attacked the coasts of Donegal, as far as Inishowen; but the northerns got ships from the western isles and from Man, and fought a battle off Inishowen, defeating the Connaughtmen and slaying O'Connor's admiral, Cosnamhaigh O'Dowd. O'Lochlainn then attacked Connaught, and marched safely home to Ailech, through Breifne. O'Connor attacked Meath, but lost his son Maelseachlainn, and carried off twenty cattle. He made a few small incursions in the following year into Meath. In 1156 he sailed to Lough Derg, and took hostages from O'Brien. This was the last of his many invasions of Munster, for he died soon after, and was buried by the altar of St. Ciaran at Clonmacnoise.
He left many cows and horses, as well as gold and silver, to the clergy, and is described in a chronicle as ‘King of Connaught, Meath, Breifne, and Munster, and of all Ireland, flood of the glory and splendour of Ireland, the Augustus of Western Europe, a man full of charity and mercy, hospitality and chivalry.’ He was twice married: first, to Tailltin, daughter of Murchadh O'Maeleachlainn, king of Ireland, who died in 1128; and, secondly, to Dearbhforgaill, daughter of Domhnall O'Lochlainn [q. v.], king of Ireland, who died in 1151. She was the mother of Aedh, Cathal (killed in 1152), Domhnall Midheach, and assumably of a second Cathal O'Connor [q. v.], called Crobhdhearg; and by his first wife he had Tadhg (who died in an epidemic in 1144), Conchobhar (slain in Meath), Roderic (who succeeded him and is noticed separately), Brian Breifnach, Brian Luighneach, and Muircheartach Muimhneach. He had a daughter, who married Murchadh O'Hara, and who, with her husband, was murdered in 1134 by Taichleach O'Hara. His chief poet was Ferdana O'Carthaigh, who was killed in a fight with Munster horsemen in 1131; and his chief judge was Gillananaemh O'Birn, who died in 1133.
[Annala Rioghachta Eireann, ed. O'Donovan, vol. ii.; Annals of Ulster, ed. MacCarthy, vol. ii.; O'Donovan's Tribes and Customs of Hy Many, Dublin, 1843.]