Kingdom of Thomond

Thomond, also known as the Kingdom of Limerick, was a Gaelic Irish kingdom in the north of the province of Munster. It emerged in the twelfth century when the collapse of the Kingdom of Munster divided the province between the O'Brien rulers of Thomond and the Mac Carthy lords of Desmond. The kingdom covered much of present-day County Clare, together with parts of Limerick and Tipperary, and it was the core homeland of the Dál gCais, the kindred of Brian Boru. Its rulers had their main seat at Limerick and later at Clonroad near Ennis. Thomond lay outside the area of direct Anglo-Norman control for much of the Middle Ages, although the de Clare family established a colony at Bunratty and other Anglo-Irish families made inroads. After the Battle of Dysert O'Dea in 1318 the O'Briens recovered much of their authority. The kingdom survived until the sixteenth century, when the ruling O'Brien dynasty submitted to English rule and Thomond was absorbed into the Tudor state. Its name survives in the Diocese of Killaloe and in the regional identity of County Clare.