rian Boru, or Brian Boroimhe, (This is pronounced variously as: brin, brn, broo, bro, ?): King of Ireland from 940 (?) to 1014. A clan prince, in 963 he succeeded his brother Mathghamhain who had seized the throne of Munster from the Eogharacht rulers . Brian subjugated Munster, extended his power over all of southern Ireland, and in 1002 became High King of Ireland by right of conquest.

As his power increased, relations with the Norse rulers on the Irish coast grew steadily worse. Sitric, king of the Dublin Norse, formed against Brian a coalition of the Norse of Ireland, the Hebrides, the Orkneys, and Iceland, as well as Brian's Irish enemies. On Good Friday (Apr. 23), 1014, Brian's forces met and annihilated the allies at Clontarf, near Dublin. Soon afterward he was murdered in his tent. Although Brian's victory broke the Norse power in Ireland forever, Ireland was then to fall into many years of anarchy.

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