"The Inishtari" are an ancient Irish sect, whose origins reach back as far as
100 B.C. They were formed by the first High King of Ireland,
Conn Cetchathach - Also known as
Conn of the Hundred battles, with their purpose being to preserve the line of High Kings and to destroy any who would endanger that dynasty. The first head of
"The Inishtari", was
Lugh, who was said to be the son of
Balor, King of the Fomorions, an ancient race of Giant's.
Whether this is true or embelished cannot truly be ascertained, however,
Lugh fought and killed for his lord,
Conn, and Conn's son,
Art Mac Cuinn, before finally meeting his death at the hands of
Aillill Aulom, while protecting Conn's grandson,
Lugaid Mac Con.
Lugh had left strict instructions that the person to inherit command of
"The Inishtari" was to be
Macann Og, who was rumored to be descended of the
Tuatha De Danann.
Macann Og had shown his worth during many battle such as "The Battle Of Ventry", where he was to have saved
Fionn Mac Cumhaill, himself.
Under
Macann's leadership
"The Inishtari" disappeared into the shadows, but continued to influence the High King's of Irelands fates for another six generations. Many rumored that,
Macann, himself had inherited the Immortality of his ancestors, the
Tuatha De Danann. Others believed that
Macann's reasons for keeping his identity a secret was because he had actually died years before and different members of
"The Inishtari", had simply taken on his name. However, In a text written in the 4th Century by
Eochaid Mugmedon, father of
Niall Noigiallach, better known as
Niall Of The Nine Hostages,
Eochaid gave his opinions on
Macann Og.
Translated from Ancient Gaelic:
"I have only met the man a handful of times. Although I can't be sure that man is the right term for him. He has been protecting our lineage since long before I was born. My grandfather Muireadh Tirech, told me that Macann looked as young when he, Muireadh, himself was a boy, as he does now in my old age. That spans almost one hundred years. I stand by him, regardless of what powers surround him, as he has always been a good friend to me and has always looked after my family, although not always in a public capacity."
Macann Og's "Immortality" came to a bloody end in 378 A.D when
Niall Noigiallach took the high throne of Ireland, and had
"The Inishtari" disbanded. Any member that refused to step down was put to the sword by
Niall himself. Unbeknownst to
Niall,
Manannann Mac Lir, a pirate who controlled the seas around Ireland, had created his own division of
"The Inishtari", but upon hearing of
Macann Og's fate decided to continue protecting the legacy of the high kings, behind their backs. As to why
Manannann Mac Lir, would feel compelled to protect someone who would have him slain, should they ever find out his intentions, he had this to say...
Translated From Ancient Gaelic:
"The Inishtari is a sacred sect. We are chosen to lead Eire into the future, as deemed fit by the people who command the country from the high throne in Tara. What that person decides is not for us to question. I will fight for the future of this country in the dark, unknown to my liege. A blade in the dark. An arrow in the night. I will only yield when my sword falls from my cold dead fingers!"It was at this point in Irish history that
"The Inishtari" seemingly vanished from all records, both public and otherwise. It would be nearly 600 years before
"The Inishtari" would be heard from in Irish texts again.
It was in the year
1002 that
"The Inishtari" came forth from the shadows, to tackle the problem of a major attack on the mighty lineage of
Conn Cetchathach. The king of munster, a man named
Brian Boru, was rallying to attack
Mael Sechnaill mac Domnaill, who, at that time, was the residing high king of Ireland, and last descendant of the Ui Neill's, the legendary line of kings ,which could be traced all the way back to
Conn of the Hundred battles. In a drawn out conflict, unspoken of in the annals of history,
Brian Boru's forces faced a full fledged Inishtari force, the likes of which had never been seen before, in County Meath.
The battle raged on for several weeks and seemed, for all intents and purposes, to be in the enemy's favour
, when a group of
Brian's secondary forces caught the bulk of
"The Inishtari's" camp off guard, one evening, and proceeded to slaughter every man, woman and child in the camp. When Brian found out about this genocide, he flew into a rage claiming...
"Let any man fight his quarter. But women and Innocents are far too often the victims in war. May any man who butchered a lady or child be gone from my army, for should I find out who amongst you was involved, they will face my wrath!"It seemed that the ancient sect,
"The Inishtari", loyal defenders of the high king of Ireland, was no more.
Mael Sechnaill had no choice but to surrender his crown to
Brian Boru or face destruction. Unfortunately for Irelands new monarch, he had little time to celebrate his victory, as quickly factions all around Ireland, began vying for the title of High King, themselves. He engaged in a decades long battle with the Vikings who were settled in dublin, which finally came to a head at
"The Battle of Clontarf" in 1014. As any historian will tell you, this battle is where the "Emperor king of Ireland" finally met his end, at the hand's of the Viking lord,
Brodir.
What they will not tell you, however, is that it was not, in fact,
Brodir that killed
Brian, it was
Wolf the Quarrelsome,
Brians brother. Unknown to the king,
Wolf, had been under the control of
"The Inishtari" since the battle of 1002 in meath. It was during this battle that
Wolf, while captured by the enemy was brought before their leader. They called her
The Morrigan, she was another Inishtari leader, supposedly descended from the legendary
Tuatha De Danann. When
Brian's forces laiy seige to her camp,
Wolf, encapsulated by
The Morrigan's beauty helped her to escape into a nearby forest as the rogue troops slaughtered
"The Inishtari" in the camp.
Wolf would not lay eyes upon her again for ten years.
In
1012 Wolf, while on a routine patrol with a group of soldiers in the area of
Killdalua,
Wolf encountered what seemed to be a group of vagrant bandits. When he asked to speak with the person in charge, he found himself face to face with
Morrigan, the ex-leader of
"The Inishtari" once more. The two struck up an affair and through the two years in the lead up to
"The Battle of Clontarf",
Morrigan conditioned
Wolf to the ideas and beliefs of
"The Inishtari", eventually culminating in her suggesting he kill his brother,
Brian, high king of Ireland, in order to restore peace to the Kingdom.
During
"The Battle of Clontarf",
Wolf spied
Brodir, the enemy commader, creeping into his brother's tent, with the obvious intent of murdering the high king in his sleep.
Wolf charged into the tent and slaughtered the viking lord, waking his brother in the process. Wolf knelt in close to Brian and from what we have found documented in secret manuscripts, written by
Wolf The Quarrelsome himself, he said:
"I'm sorry, dear brother, but the true kings of Eire must live once more. Know, that I do this for your love!""He then took up
Brodir's axe and used it to rend his brother's head from his shoulder's. When
Brian's guards ran into the tent,
Wolf claimed that he found the warlord standing over
Brian's corpse and in his rage, tore the Viking to shreds.
Brian Boru, "The Emperor King Of Ireland" was no more, but he had started a chain reaction, which would see
"The Inishtari" return to the shadows for nearly nine hundred years.
After
Brian's death in
1014,
Mael Sechnaill mac Domnaill, reclaimed his crown as the High King of Ireland. Alas,
Brian Boru's example was followed consistently for over a hundred years and with the contestation for the Crown so strong, all efforts were turned away from the invasion's of the Vikings and Saxon's. It wasn't long before Ireland had become a melting pot and the High Throne of Tara was naught but a fond memory, as the whole country became segregated. For hundred's of years before the british occupation of Ireland, a series of civil war's and petty faction feud's raged up and down the country.
Brian Boru had caused the downfall of the
Ui Neill, and as such their secret protectors,
"The Inishtari". After
"The Battle at Clontarf", both
Wolf the Quarrelsome and
Morrigan, seemed to disappear from all historical texts.
For nearly a millenium
"The Inishtari" have laid dormant, however in recent times, whispers in country pubs from
Cork to
Belfast, have lingered on words not heard for over eight hundred years. Names like
"Morrigan",
"The Tuatha De Dannan" and
"Brian Boru", are being uttered a little too frequently and many believe, that
"The Inishtari" may just be ready to resurface, once more.
"War of The Inishtari"A Blog Based Story By Paddy J. Murphy
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