Brian’s New Order
The most important political fact was Brian’s relationship with Máel Sechnaill. The former high-king did not disappear from public life; he remained king of Mide and was still a necessary partner in campaigns beyond Munster. The Annals of the Four Masters place in this year a joint expedition by Brian and Máel Sechnaill into north Connacht, as far as Tráig Eothail, with an apparent intention of making a circuit of Ireland. The same notice says that the Northern Uí Néill prevented their advance. Whether every detail belongs to the calendar year exactly as later compiled, the notice captures the unfinished nature of Brian’s overlordship. Connacht, Mide, Leinster and Dublin could be compelled or negotiated into submission, but Ailech and the northern dynasties were not yet simply at Brian’s command.