The Killing of Tadc
Archived: 26 September 2026
In 1023, Ireland experienced political fragmentation after Máel Sechnaill’s death. Rivalries destabilised Mide, where Domnall Ua Máel Sechnaill was killed, while Dublin’s Hiberno-Scandinavian rulers raided South Brega, killed Ainbíth Ua Cathasaigh, and seized King Donnchad Ua Duinn. Tadc son of Brian Bórama, a Munster dynastic rival, was killed by the Éile, allegedly at his half-brother Donnchad’s instigation. Connacht and northern kings also died in factional conflict. Clonmacnoise’s church lands were plundered of cattle. Annalists recorded January lunar and solar eclipses, spring drought, ecclesiastical deaths, and foreign rulers, revealing monastic learning and Ireland’s links across the Irish Sea and Christian Europe.