A reconsideration of the authorship and transmission of Cogadh Gáedhel re Gallaibh

Abstract:The eleventh-/twelfth-century encomiastic biography of Brian Bóroma (ob. 1014), Cogadh Gáedhel re Gallaibh ('The War of the Irish with the Foreigners'), was the most important text in cementing Brian's reputation as the medieval Irish king par excellence. Scholarly consensus considers it to have been written as a work of propaganda in favour of Brian's great-grandson, Muirchertach Ua Briain (ob. 1119), whose father, Tairdelbach, had earlier wrested the kingship of Dál Cais from his uncle, Donnchad (son of Brian). In this article it will be shown that, contrary to previous scholarly opinion, the text actually portrays Donnchad in a positive light. It will be argued that there may have been multiple versions of the text in existence but that the only surviving complete copy was written or reworked in favour of Donnchad's descendants (and not for Muirchertach) and it is this version which has influenced subsequent accounts of Brian's story, right into the modern period.