O'Connor, Rory

O'Connor, Rory ( Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair O'Connor) (d. 1198), last high king of Ireland. He became king of Connacht in 1156, then sought to gain dominance over his northern rival, Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn, his reign as king of Ireland being dated from 1166, the year of the latter's death. One of his first acts as high king was to secure the banishment of the Leinster king, Diarmait Mac Murchada, which led to the Anglo‐Norman invasion. When Mac Murchada returned with mercenary aid in 1167 Rory was initially conciliatory, though he reacted strongly to the arrival of the main body of Anglo‐Norman forces in 1169, and made two unsuccessful attempts to dislodge them from Dublin. He did not submit to Henry II during his expedition to Ireland in 1171–2, but reached an accommodation under the ‘treaty’ of Windsor in 1175, which secured Rory's rule over the unconquered parts of the country. The treaty, however, was soon broken and O'Connor's position was gradually eroded. He suffered mounting opposition from within his own family and abdicated in favour of his son Conchobar in 1183. Though he later sought to regain power, he never recovered his former status. He died at Cong and was buried in Clonmacnoise.

Seán Duffy