Greater than Kings - An Exploration of the Gaelic Lordship of the O'Cathain Sept of Ulster
Gaelic Medieval Historian. – see www.about.me/lorna.moloney This talk concerns the Sept of O'Catháin, part of the larger Clan Owen; a fearless, dominant clan in North east Ulster. At one point almost two-thirds of the present county of Derry was under the control of the O'Catháin Sept. This did not come about by accident, but by skill in politics, diplomacy and war. Above all, it came about because of the strong kinship bonds inherent in Gaelic lordship. This talk analyses the growth of this Gaelic lordship within the framework of anglo-norman conquest and early expansion. It assesses the strategic tools employed by a gaelic lordship to establish an ideological traditional past through genealogy, marriage and propaganda in Medieval Ireland. The concepts of gaelic lordship are comparatively analysed with their European and Irish counterparts. It sets out to tell the story of the Gaelic Lordship of the O'Cathain Sept of Ulster. Descended from the Ui Neill Kings of Ulster,