Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair was the legal child of the King of Connacht. His mother was the great-granddaughter of Brian Bóru (and Irish Hero) and that legacy meant everything to him. He was taught to respect and admire everything Bóru stood for. By the time he was eighteen, he was happy that he was still alive, having witnessed some of the tremendous violence that followed the death of Brian Bóru and the struggle to fill the void left behind at the High King's death. It wasn't until circumstances forced the Kingship of Connacht on him, that he began to believe his purpose in life was to fulfill Brian Bóru's dreams.Tairrdelbach had endless energy, intelligence and ambition when he was elected King of Connacht. The rest of Ireland was alternately awed or annoyed, by his refusal to follow the unwritten rules of Kingship. First of all, you were supposed to be thirty-five when elected to a Kingship, yet Ua Conchobair was barely eighteen. He spent fifty years, forcing Ireland to change and evolve. His innovative ideas brought Éire into European awareness. He came closer to establishing an Irish monarchy than any other Irishman. He rose to power at a time when Ireland had no strong champion to step forward and defend her. When Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair did so, all of Ireland threw themselves behind his cause. His teachings taught the Irish how to stand up to the English, which resulted in the Irish regaining their political political freedom. The events that took place between 1014 and 1175, are pretty much written off as unimportant years in Irish history. This is something the historians -- be they English or Irish -- seem to agree on. Thus, a century-and-a-half of Irish History is largely unknown, historically.This book recounts those years, 1014 to 1175. It tells the story of Brian Bóru, his grandson, Tairrdelbach Ua Brien and his great-grandson, Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair, who was King of Connacht. He was loved by his people and feared and respected by the other Kings of Éire.A few words about all those strange Irish names. Many of the names used in these books are difficult for modern-day readers to understand and pronounce. There is a section called Supplementary Material at the end of this book, where you can find this information, as well as the relationships between the characters and how they are related to each other.I use, for the most part, the original spelling for names and places as Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair would have known them. For instance, Dubh-Linn instead of Dublin, Cenn Cora instead of Kincora and Ath Luan instead of Athlone.This series, When Ireland Had Kings, is a two-part story.This first book in this series, The Irish Warrior, covers the events that took place during the period of 1014-1115. It chronicles the life of Brian Bóru and the O'Brien family. It goes on to the rise of Tairrdelbach O'Connor, the great-great-grandson of Brian Bóru, to the Kingship of Connacht. It was Revised, Reedited, Reformatted and Republished in January 2021.The second book in this series, The Irish High King, covers the events that took place during the period of 1116-1224. It is the story of Tairrdelbach O'Connor, King of Connacht and how his rose to rule all of Ireland as the High King. It goes on to chronicle the story of his children, after his death. It will be published in early 2021.