 = Domnall mac Murchada = 
 
 Domnall mac Murchada ( died 1075 ) , also known as Domnall mac Murchada meic Diarmata , was a leading late eleventh @-@ century claimant to the Kingdom of Leinster , and a King of Dublin . As a son of Murchad mac Diarmata , King of Dublin and the Isles , Domnall was a grandson of Diarmait mac Máel na mBó , King of Leinster , and thus a member of the Uí Chennselaig . Domnall was also the first of the Meic Murchada , a branch of the Uí Chennselaig named after his father . 
 In 1071 , the year before his grandfather 's death , Domnall and an Uí Chennselaig kinsman , Donnchad mac Domnaill Remair , battled for control of Leinster . Although Domnall is accorded the title King of Leinster in one mediaeval king @-@ list , Donnchad was evidently a more powerful claimant , and Domnall appears to have held the Leinster kingship in name only . 
 Domnall 's rise to power in the Kingdom of Dublin took place in 1075 , after the expulsion of the reigning Gofraid mac Amlaíb meic Ragnaill , King of Dublin by the latter 's overlord , Toirdelbach Ua Briain , King of Munster . The circumstances surrounding Domnall 's accession are uncertain . He may have collaborated with Gofraid to wrench the kingdom from the grip of the Uí Briain , or he may have been installed in the kingship by Toirdelbach himself , and ruled under the latter 's overlordship . Whatever the case , Domnall died within the year , and Toirdelbach placed his own son , Muirchertach , upon the throne . 
 
 = = Background = = 
 
 Domnall was a son of Murchad mac Diarmata , King of Dublin and the Isles ( died 1070 ) , who was himself a son of Diarmait mac Máel na mBó , King of Leinster ( died 1072 ) . Domnall was , therefore , a member of the Uí Chennselaig ; as well as the first of the Meic Murchada , a branch of the Uí Chennselaig named after his father . Domnall had two brothers : Donnchad ( died 1115 ) , a later King of Leinster , and Énna . 
 In 1052 , Domnall 's aforesaid grandfather conquered the Kingdom of Dublin from Echmarcach mac Ragnaill , King of Dublin and the Isles ( died 1064 / 1065 ) , and soon after appointed Murchad as King of Dublin . About a decade later , Murchad appears to have driven Echmarcach from Mann , after which he gained the kingship of the Isles . Diarmait 's deep @-@ rooted authority in Norse @-@ Gaelic Dublin lasted for two decades , and was a remarkable achievement that no other Irish king had ever accomplished . Unfortunately for the Uí Chennselaig , two of Diarmait 's sons — Murchad and Glún Iairn — unexpectedly predeceased their father in 1070 , and Diarmait himself fell in battle two years later . 
 
 = = Kingship of Leinster = = 
 
 Even before Diarmait 's demise , the Uí Chennselaig began to fight amongst themselves in a struggle that was almost certainly an after @-@ effect of Diarmait 's sons ' untimely deaths . Specifically , the Annals of the Four Masters , and the Annals of Inisfallen reveal that Domnall battled against the forces of his own first cousin once removed , Donnchad mac Domnaill Remair ( died 1089 ) , before Diarmait 's ally , Toirdelbach Ua Briain , King of Munster ( died 1086 ) , was able to intervene and restore order in the Kingdom of Leinster . 
 Up until about the time of his death , Diarmait had been the most powerful king in southern Ireland . In consequence of the void left by his demise , Diarmait 's erstwhile ally Toirdelbach seized the initiative , and moved to enforce his own claim to the high @-@ kingship of Ireland . He immediately imposed his overlordship on Leinster — a task almost certainly expedited by the aforesaid infighting amongst the Uí Chennselaig — and took control of Dublin . Whilst the imposition of authority upon rival provincial kingdoms was a fundamental part in gaining the high @-@ kingship , Toirdelbach 's decision to march @-@ on Dublin reveals that the acquisition of this coastal kingdom had also become an essential part of the process . 
 Toirdelbach 's subsequent capture of Donnchad in Dublin suggests that the latter was not only the leading Uí Chennselaig dynast , but was also in the process of using the town as the capital of Leinster . Although the list of Leinster kings in the Book of Leinster declares that Domnall had succeeded his grandfather as King of Leinster , it is apparent that Donnchad was indeed the more powerful claimant . In fact , the king @-@ list of Uí Chennselaig in the same source makes no notice of Domnall , and states that it was Donnchad who succeeded Diarmait as King of Uí Chennselaig . Domnall , therefore , may not have reigned in Leinster , and could well have been King of Leinster in name only . 
 If the Annals of Inisfallen is to be believed , Toirdelbach acquired possession of Dublin when the Dubliners themselves offered him its kingship . Although this record may be mere Uí Briain propaganda , it could instead reveal that the Dubliners preferred a distant overlord from Munster rather than one from neighbouring Leinster . Within the year , the kingship was held by Gofraid mac Amlaíb meic Ragnaill ( died 1075 ) . The latter appears to have been a kinsman of Echmarcach , and may well have been handed the kinship by Toirdelbach , perhaps on account of the considerable distance between the kingdoms . 
 
 = = Kingship of Dublin = = 
 
 In 1075 , Toirdelbach drove Gofraid from the kingship and Ireland itself . There is uncertainty concerning the circumstances of Gofraid 's expulsion , and of Domnall 's accession . On one hand , it is possible that Gofraid was involved in lending assistance to Anglo @-@ Danish resistance against the Norman regime in the recently conquered Kingdom of England . If correct , Gofraid would appear to have been at odds with Toirdelbach , a monarch who appears to have cultivated close links with the Norman regime . Domnall , therefore , may have had Toirdelbach 's consent to rule in Dublin as Gofraid 's replacement . In fact , Toirdelbach 's placement of Domnall in Dublin , and his allowance of the latter 's aforesaid cousin in Leinster , may have been a way in which the Uí Briain exploited the fractured Uí Chennselaig . Certainly , Domnall 's cooperation would have been a valuable asset to Toirdelbach , considering the prominence of his father amongst the Dubliners , and the likelihood that Domnall himself may have lived most of his life there . On the other hand , it is possible that Gofraid was driven from the kingship because he had aligned himself with the Leinstermen against the Uí Briain . If such a sequence of events is correct it could mean that , even though Gofraid was unable continue on with the revolt , it was his Uí Chennselaig confederates who succeeded in securing Dublin from the Uí Briain . 
 Whatever the circumstances of Domnall 's accession , the Uí Chennselaig regime in Dublin was short @-@ lived . The Annals of Inisfallen , the Annals of the Four Masters , and the Annals of Ulster , all reveal that , within the year , Domnall died after a brief illness , with the latter two sources specifying that he succumbed after three nights of sickness . The Annals of Inisfallen and the Annals of Ulster accord him the title King of Dublin , and make no mention of any connection with the Leinster kingship . Upon Domnall 's demise , Toirdelbach had his own son , Muirchertach ( died 1119 ) , appointed King of Dublin . In so doing , Toirdelbach reinforced his authority in Dublin , and followed a precedent started by Domnall 's grandfather , in which a claimant to the high @-@ kingship of Ireland installed his own heir to the kingship of Dublin . 
 
 = = Ancestry = = 
 
 
 