Few traits capture the essence of Ireland's medieval kings as well as ambition. Ambition drove the attempts of these kings to develop their realms, compete for all-island supremacy and to forge diplomatic ties across the Irish sea. Seán Ó Hoireabhárd's The Medieval Irish Kings and the English Invasion reflects this ambition, in its endeavor to distill and reassess two centuries of Irish kingship in a single narrative. Ó Hoireabhárd's objective is to develop a framework that centers the aims and strategies of the dominant kings on the island from the eleventh to the mid-thirteenth centuries, reinterpreting their engagement with that great turning point in Irish medieval historiography—the 1169 English invasion of Ireland. This is to upend what Ó Hoireabhárd diagnoses as an Anglocentric approach to the post-1169 Irish political landscape. Although the narrative structure adopted for the bulk of the text may reiterate the familiar for those seasoned in the field, the post-invasion arguments fashioned from them are often illuminating.

The initial three chapters comprise a narrative political history detailing the strategic concerns and military conflicts of three of the island's most prominent kings: the Uí Chonchobair of Connacht, the Uí Briain of Munster, and the Uí Néill of “The North” (effectively the modern province of Ulster), each of whom are the focus of a chapter. These histories deal primarily with the high politics and wars engaged in by these kings, drawing from the rich annalistic corpus bequeathed to us by (mostly) Gaelic scribes. The absence of the Annals of Boyle from his analysis is therefore curious, considering it contains contemporaneous thirteenth-century material relating to Connacht. The final quarter of the book is a thematic section dealing with the kingship (also known as the high kingship) of Ireland, and how the Irish kings reacted to, and interacted with, the English invasion that led to the subjugation of most of the island by the end of the period covered. To those well versed in the historiography of eleventh- and twelfth-century Ireland, there are few surprises in the narrative section.

However, the framework developed by Ó Hoireabhárd is a significant break with orthodoxy, reorienting how historians have traditionally portrayed the Irish political landscape at the time of the invasion. Rather than using the modern provinces, or the dozen or so “overkingdoms” as guides, Ó Hoireabhárd conceptualizes three competing spheres of influence under the Uí Néill, Uí Chonchobair and Uí Briain, with different patterns of development and equally differing reactions to the conquering English.

Ó Hoireabhárd's main contention, that we have much to gain from restoring the agency of the Irish kings in our historical narratives, is convincing. The conceptualizations of “Leth Moga” (Ireland's southern half) and “The North” allows him to glean fresh insights from the annalistic corpus. In particular, Ó Hoireabhárd's reevaluation of relations between the Meic Carthaigh and Uí Briain as the premier dynasties of Munster, and his reassessment of Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair's reaction as king of Ireland to the invasion are high points of his analysis.

This methodological focus relates to what is Ó Hoireabhárd's most contentious argument, regarding the status of Leinster in relation to the other hegemonic kingdoms. Although Ó Hoireabhárd's assertion that Leinster's importance to the Irish political scene may have been exaggerated to provide a narrative bridge may carry some weight, our lack of surviving annals from Leinster means we should tread carefully. Many of the narratives surrounding Ó Hoireabhárd's three hegemons are based on annalistic compilations patronized by their leading dynasties, with the Annals of Inisfallen and Mac Carthaigh's Book in Munster, the Annals of Ulster in “The North” and the Annals of Tigernach, Connacht, and Loch Cé serving Connacht. Without corresponding compilations from Leinster (although Ó Hoireabhárd admirably includes material from the Book of Leinster), it would be difficult, at best, to evaluate the careers of Diarmait mac Mael na mBó (d.1072) and Diarmait Mac Murchada (d.1171) from the same, annals-oriented standpoint. Ó Hoireabhárd's own postcolonial inclinations might provide an answer, if we are to borrow further from the Gramscian concept of “hegemony.” Even if excluded from the club of hegemonic powers, Leinster, Desmond in the southwest, and to a lesser extent Bréifne in the north midlands, could instead be understood as “counter-hegemonic” kingdoms. This could illuminate how the kings of Leinster, whose support was key for hegemons such as Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn, could constitute a disruptive force in the political landscape without their influence being overblown.

All in all, The Medieval Irish Kings and the English Invasion represents a step forward for the discipline. The very broadness of its subject matter means that the thematic rather than narrative chapters may be of greater interest to those already familiar with high-medieval Ireland. That said, the conceptualizations of power in Ó Hoireabhárd's “corrective” approach do shine new light on the interests and aims that underpinned the actions of the Irish kings. Ó Hoireabhárd's ambition to assert the agency of the Irish kings during a pivotal period of Irish history is worth engaging with. Ours in turn should be to integrate this perspective and push for the truly holistic framework that medieval Ireland's rich historical legacy deserves.