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Murchad mac Briain was the son and heir of Brian Boru, a High King of Ireland. He was the de facto leader of his father's army, killed on 23 April 1014 at the Battle of Clontarf.
References
- ↑ Howard's text as printed refers to "Saint Brandon". Evidently, Howard actually meant Saint Brendan, one of the most important early Irish Saints. Meve MacDonnal's words: "Saint Brandon's Cross, fashioned by the hands of the holy man in long ago, before the Norse barbarians made Erin a red hell - in the days when a golden peace and holiness ruled the land" fit with the known dates of Saint Brendan's life.
- ↑ The story makes no reference to why it was necessary to hide the Cross. It's noteworthy that in 1655, the date of Bishop Liam O'Brien's death, coincides with the Cromwellian Conquest of Ireland - a time of great persecution and oppression for Irish Catholics, when valuable Catholic items were in concrete danger of being looted by Protestant troops.
- ↑ Dorothy Sayers (1957). Song of Roland. Penguin Books. p. 20.
