PLACES
Except in the case of Dublin itself, I have chosen not to burden the reader with archaic place names and I have not hesitated to use familiar place names—Wicklow, Waterford, Munster, and so forth—at a much earlier date than they would have been in use.
Places are generally as described. The rath of Fergus is sited at Dublin Castle, and it is quite possible that there was a rath there, just as it is possible that the Viking Thingmount was raised over a preexisting burial mound. The walled garden at Malahide Castle has been added for narrative convenience. Harold’s farmstead and Rathconan are inventions.
HISTORIC EVENTS
Wherever possible, I have tried to give the reader some account of the historical context, which has often been reevaluated by modern scholars, within the body of the text.
In particular, readers will have noticed a great degree of uncertainty surrounding the mission of Saint Patrick. I have not given the High King a name, for instance, because we are not sure who it would have been. Indeed, the dates given in the chapter headings for these first three chapters can only be taken as general guides to aid the reader. As to whether Saint Patrick ever came to Dublin, we do not know. But he could have done. The familiar legend of Cuchulainn may in fact have been formulated at a later period, but I have chosen to believe that it already existed then. As to the question of the sacrifice of Conall, there is clear evidence that human sacrifice was practiced, as described, by the druid priests of Celtic Europe. Whether such a ceremony might have taken place as late as this upon the pagan western island of Ireland is simply not known, but it is not impossible.
Readers familiar with the history of Brian Boru will be aware that the names of the various kings of Leinster and of the O’Neill kings can become highly confusing. For this reason, I have decided to avoid their names as far as possible, and to refer to the O’Neill King Mael Sechnaill, quite properly, as the King of Tara.
The account of the siege of Dublin at the time of Strongbow is well documented. Some believe that the O’Connor king’s men may have been surprised while bathing in the Tolka stream, rather than the River Liffey, but I have chosen the latter as more likely. As for the delightful idea that, while his men bathed in the stream, the king himself may have been sitting in a bathtub, I am indebted to Mr. Charles Doherty for sharing with me his note: “Ruaidhri Ua Conchobair’s Bath.”
The fourteenth-century story of the smuggling at Dalkey and the raid of the O’Byrnes at Carrickmines are a novelist’s invention. But the activities of the O’Byrnes at this time are accurately given; there was undoubtedly an organized evasion of customs dues through Dalkey at this period, and a generation later, a Walsh of Carrickmines was accused by the Dublin authorities of withholding the customs dues he had collected at Dalkey for his own personal use.
I have allowed myself some very minor simplifications of the often complex chain of events during the years of tension between the Fitzgeralds and the Tudor kings of England. It may surprise readers that I suggest that the pretender Lambert Simnel, in the time of Henry VII, may in fact have been the royal Earl of Warwick, as his supporters claimed. We shall never know for certain, but I have followed the arguments of the late Professor F. X. Martin, which show strong circumstantial evidence for this possibility. The version of the curious dispute between the Fitzgeralds and the Butlers at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral is my own. And I am grateful to Dr. Raymond Gillespie for pointing out to me that despite the usual version of Archbishop Browne’s burning of the relics in 1538, some of the relics, including the great Staff of Saint Patrick, may in fact have survived.
PRONUNCIATION
GUIDE
THE GUIDE that follows is designed to be helpful to the general reader. It in no sense represents a definitive, correct version of how to pronounce every word, and indeed, in many cases, no such correct rendering exists. For in modern Irish, there are often two different, regional pronunciations for a single word, and the spelling and pronunciation in Old Irish may be different yet again. Thus the May festival known to modern Irish as Bealtaine, and described during the ancient period in the novel, is in fact Beltaine in Old Irish, and would be pronounced Bell-ti-ne. But since the modern form is widely familiar, it is that form which is given here. The following list, therefore, represents, it is hoped, a sensible compromise.
A -ch indicates a soft sound, like that at the end of the Scottish word loch. A final -h indicates a similar sound, but much softer, hardly sounded at all.
Each syllable is usually pronounced separately in Irish words, and this is clearly shown. The stressed syllable is in capital letters.
Amairgen AV-irr-gen
Armagh Arm-AAH
Ath Cliath Aw KLEE-ah
Bachall Iosa BO-chal EE-o-sa
Bealtaine Be-AL-ti-ne
brehon BRE-hon
Brian Boru Brian Bo-ROO
Brigid BRIG-id
Brodar BRU-dar
Caoilinn KAY-lin
Carmun KOR-mun
Cessair KE-sar
Chi-Rho Kiy-Row
Clontarf Klon-TARF
Colum-Cille KUL-um-KIH-le
Conall KON-al
Connacht KON-aht
Cormac KOR-mak
Cuailnge KOOL-ne
Cuchulainn Koo-HU-lang
currach KUR-ah
curragh KUR-ah
Dagda DAG-tha
Dal Cais Dal Gash
Deirdre DARE-dra
derbfine De-re-VI-ne
Diarmait DEER-mat
Dubh Linn Doov Lin
Dyflin DIF-lin
Eriu E-ri-oo
Eva EE-fa
feis Fesh
fili FEE-lee
filidh FEE-leeh
Fingal Fin-GAWL
Finn mac Cumaill Fiong mok KOOL
Fionnuala Fin-OO-la
Fir Bolg Fir BOL-ug
Gaedhil and Gaill Gay-ill and Guy-ill
geissi GESH-ee
Glendalough Glen-da-loch
Glen Mama Glen MAA-ma
Goibniu GOV-ni-oo
Imbolc IM-bolg
Lagin LIE-in
Larine LA-ri-ne
Leth Cuinn Leh KING
Leth Moga Leh MOW-a
Lir Lirr
Lugh Loo
Lughnasa LOO-na-sa
Manannan mac Lir MAN-an-awn mok Lirr
Moher MO -her
Morann MO-ran
Morrigain MUR-ig-an
Nemed NEV-ed
Nuadu NOO-ad-oo
Ogham Owm
Padraic PAA-drig
Partholon PART-o-loan
rath Raah or Rath
Rathmines Rath-MINES
Rian REE-an
Ronan ROO-naan
Ruairi ROO-a-ree
Samhain SOW-wan
Sid Shee
Slieve Bloom Shleev Bloom
Slige Mhor Shlee voor
Tanaiste TAWN-ish-te
Tuatha De Danaan Two-a-ha day DAN-an
Ui Fergusa Ee FER-gu-sa
Uisnech ISH-nah
Ulaid UL-ad
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
DURING THE COURSE of the research for this novel I have consulted over a hundred books, but in addition to the works of authors mentioned below, I should like in particular to draw readers’ attention to the works of the following authors whose writings would be especially helpful to anyone wishing to know more of Ireland’s history. These are: Sean Duffy, Alan J. Fletcher, R. F. Foster, Emmett O’Byrne, Liam de Paor, and Alwyn and Brinley Rees.
I am grateful to the following, whose kind cooperation and professionalism were at all times of the greatest assistance: the director and staff of the National Library of Ireland; the director and curatorial staff of the National Museum of Ireland; the librarian and staff of Trinity College Library; the director and staff of Dublinia at Christ Church; the management and staff of the Office of Public Works at Dublin Castle.
Special thanks are due to Sarah Gearty, of the Royal Irish Academy, for kindly prep
aring maps, and to Mrs. Jenny Wood, without whose patience and astounding proficiency in the typing and revising of the manuscript, this book could never have been completed.
I owe a large debt of gratitude to the following, whose help, guidance, and technical advice were invaluable during this project: Dr. Declan Downey, lecturer at the School of History, University College, Dublin; Dr. Raymond Gillespie, senior lecturer in the Department of Modern History, National University of Ireland, Maynooth; James McGuire, editor of the Royal Irish Academy’s Dictionary of Irish Biography; and Mary Moloney Lynch.
But above all, I am indebted to three scholars without whose guidance, patience, encouragement, and extraordinary efforts this project could not have been undertaken and would certainly never have been successfully brought to completion. Between them they have read, and helped me revise, the whole of this manuscript—a time-consuming and complex task. Any errors that remain are mine alone. I am privileged to thank Professor Howard Clarke, lecturer in Medieval History at University College, Dublin; Charles Doherty, lecturer in Early Irish History at University College, Dublin; and Professor Colm Lennon, Department of Modern History, National University of Ireland, Maynooth.
Finally, as always, I thank my agent, Gill Coleridge, without whom I should be entirely lost, and I thank my wonderful editors, Oliver Johnson at Century and William Thomas at Doubleday, whose exemplary thoroughness and creative responses to problems have so hugely improved this manuscript.
EDWARD RUTHERFURD was born in Salisbury, England, and educated at Cambridge University and Stanford University in California. His bestselling novel Sarum is based on the history of Salisbury and Stonehenge. Russka, his second novel, recounts the sweeping history of Russia. London tells the two-thousand-year story of the great city, bringing all of the richness of London’s past unforgettably to life. In The Forest, Edward Rutherfurd returns to the Sarum area, to England’s legendary and mysterious New Forest. The Princes of Ireland captures the origins of the Celtic tradition and the colorful history of old Ireland, centering on Dublin—where Edward Rutherfurd has had a home for more than ten years. A former resident of London and New York City, he has two children.
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