Armagh

Who holds it

Name

Tommaltach Ua Conchobair (Thomas O'Connor)

Title

Archbishop of Armagh

Since

Restored about 1186 or 1187 (first held the see from before February 1180 until he resigned in 1184)

Confidence

high

Of the Uí Conchobair, the royal house of Connacht. He resigned in 1184; Máel Ísu Ua Cerbaill, bishop of Clogher, held Armagh until his death about 1186-87, and Tommaltach was restored. He dies in 1201; Echdonn Mac Gilla Uidir is elected in 1202.

What it holds

• The city of Armagh: its churches, schools and the primate's lordship
• The termon (sanctuary) lands of the see round Armagh, held through erenagh families
• The primacy of all Ireland, disputed by Dublin
• Claims to church lands in Uriel (Louth), where English lords now rule (thin)

How it was acquired

Ancient lands of the community of St Patrick; the primacy was confirmed when the Irish church was organised into provinces at the synod of Kells-Mellifont (1152).

How things stand that morning

Tommaltach holds the see; the city's safety turns on the balance between the Irish kings of the north and the English of Ulster.

Wealth

Rents and hospitality dues from the termon lands; pilgrims and schools.

Threats

• Raids by the English of Ulster
• Wars among the Irish kings of the north
• Dublin's challenge to the primacy

Advocates and rivals

John de Courcy, the English lord of Ulster; the Irish kings of Tír Eoghain and Airgialla, the city's neighbours and protectors; the archbishop of Dublin, who claims freedom from Armagh's primacy.

Places of note

• Armagh: St Patrick's church, the primatial see

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The succession of archbishops is clear; the extent of the termon lands in 1200 and the archbishop's rights over them are thin, as the campaign notes warn for Ireland.

On the map: The termon's real bounds are not traced; the district round the city stands for them.

Primary sources for Airgialla

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters, Various; compiled by Micheal O Cleirigh and others (1632 to 1636, from medieval annals now partly lost). A seventeenth century compilation but it draws on lost medieval annals, so its 1200 entries add names and incidents missing elsewhere: the Connacht war and the English of Meath and Munster, the deaths of Irish kings and churchmen across the island, and raids in Thomond and Desmond. Read online
• Annals of Ulster, Various; compiled by Cathal Mac Maghnusa (compiled about 1498 from much older annals; the entries for 1200 derive from contemporary record). The most reliable Irish annal for the north. Read online