by Wayne Grant
Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn—King of Tyrone: Here I took a few liberties with the historical record. Muirchertach did die in 1196, but it was not in a battle with de Courcy as depicted. He was actually assassinated at the council in Armagh that year, allegedly by an O’Neill adherent. Perhaps the fact that at least four O’Neill claimants to the throne were killed by the Mac Lochlainns in the 12th century may have had something to do with this. The assailant was never brought to justice.
Hugh O’Neill—King of Tyrone: I took fewer liberties with Hugh. He was a dynamic leader and adept at guerrilla warfare. After 1196 he became King of Tir Eoghain and kept the Anglo-Normans at bay until his death in 1230. He was one of the few Gaelic Irish kings to keep his people free of Norman rule and his descendants did the same until his distant namesake Hugh O’Neill (Hugh is an Anglicized version of the Gaelic name, Aedh) joined other rebellious Irish nobles in the Flight of the Earls in 1607.
The Maelchallain Clan: This is an amazing story. The Maelchallain family was, in fact, charged with the safekeeping of Saint Patrick’s bell in 1091. They retained unbroken possession of the bell for over seven hundred years. The last custodian, Henry Mulholland, died childless in 1819. Mulholland is the Anglicized version of Maelchallain. The bell and its ornate shrine are now displayed at the National Museum of Ireland. The pictures of the bell and its shrine that follow were taken by me at the Museum in Dublin. The story of its loss in battle and subsequent theft are fictional as is the character of Margaret Maelchallain.
The battle scenes in the book are fictional, but loosely based on actual battles between the men of Tir Eoghain and the English.
The battle described in the prologue is based on the Battle of Downpatrick, fought in 1177/1178. In that battle the King of Tyrone led an army against John de Courcy with seven holy relics in the vanguard. The Irish were routed and the relics seized by de Courcy.
The fight at the River Bann ford is based on the Battle of the Yellow Ford, which was actually fought in 1598. The Battle of the Yellow Ford took place near the Blackwater River where the Irish dug a deep trench by the ford to block the English advance.
The climactic battle for Armagh Abbey in the story is an amalgam of various encounters around the abbey town in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. Armagh was sacked over a dozen times during the medieval period.
I had the good fortune to visit many of the places described in the book.
Carrickfergus Castle is one of the best preserved Norman castles in the world. The inner ward and keep are little changed from when they were first constructed in the 1180s. Roland’s escape from the keep via the privy would have been difficult, though not impossible. There were a number of toilet facilities set into the western curtain wall of the castle and into the keep itself that emptied into the harbour. They were designed such that high tide would wash away the waste twice a day and they still exist today. Allegedly, King John used one of these during his progress through Ireland in 1210 AD and the folks who manage the castle site have installed a life-sized replica of the maligned king in the actual privy there. See my picture three pages on!
The Abbey at Down is no longer there, but the cathedral church, rebuilt many times, is and Saint Patrick is reputed to be buried there. Saint Patrick’s church in Armagh was destroyed and rebuilt seventeen times and is now a Church of Ireland cathedral.
Tullyhogue is now referred to as Tullyhogue Fort and is a few miles outside of Dungannon. The inauguration ceremony described herein includes what is known about the procedure as well as a few fictional flourishes. The O’Hagans occupied the site through the 17th century and the O’Cahans did officiate at inaugurations. It is well-documented that a golden shoe was thrown over the O’Neill chief’s head during the ceremony to signify submission.
The Shrine of Saint Patrick’s Bell
Saint Patrick’s Bell
Privy, Carrickfergus Castle
Carrickfergus Castle
1196
Books by Wayne Grant
The Saga of Roland Inness:
Longbow
Warbow
The Broken Realm
The Ransomed Crown
A Prince of Wales
Declan O’Duinne
About The Author
I grew up in a tiny cotton town in rural Louisiana where hunting, fishing and farming are a way of life. Between chopping cotton, dove hunting and Little League ball I developed a love of great adventure stories like Call It Courage and Kidnapped.
Like most southern boys, I saw the military as an honourable career, so it was a natural step for me to attend and graduate from West Point. I just missed Vietnam, but served in Germany and Korea. I found that life as a Captain in an army broken by Vietnam was not what I wanted and returned to Louisiana and civilian life. I later served for four years as a senior official in the Pentagon and had the honour of playing a small part in the rebuilding of a great U.S. Army.
Through it all, I kept my love for great adventure stories. When I had two sons, I began making up stories for them about a boy and his longbow. Those stories grew to become my first novel, Longbow.
I expect to write one more Roland Inness book to complete the Saga and hope to have it out by late summer, 2019.
To learn more about the author and my books check out my website: www.waynegrantbooks.com or my Longbow Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Longbowbooks/
You can also follow me on BookBub: www.bookbub.com to get information on when my books go on sale and on Goodreads www.goodreads.com.
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The picture was taken at Carrickfergus Castle in May, 2018.