Analysis: the current Irish political landscape bears a striking resemblance to early medieval Ireland when it comes to how power is alternated between parties
In the medieval story of the Wooing of Emer, legendary hero Cú Chulainn tells a tale of three cousins, named Áed Ruad, Díthorba and Cimbáeth. According to Cú Chulainn, these cousins shared the kingship of Ireland in alternation in a time long before his. Instead of fighting over who was the rightful king, they agreed that each of them would take a turn ruling Ireland for seven years, and that at the end of each seven-year reign, the kingship would pass to the next cousin without opposition.
If this arrangement sounds familiar to you, it might be because it bears a striking resemblance to the current Irish political landscape. Since June 2020, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been sharing the office of Taoiseach in a similar alternating pattern.
Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar was Taoiseach at the time of the 2020 general election and the leader of Fianna Fáil, Micheál Martin, then took over. Martin held the office until December 2022 when it was again passed to Varadkar. This pattern will continue for as long as the current coalition government holds power, and has been used as a way to avoid conflict among the members of these two historic rivals.
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From RTÉ News, how Ireland's historic coalition was formed
When this arrangement was agreed upon in June 2020, it was lauded as a historic deal that would bring about the end of Civil War politics that had influenced Ireland since the 1920s. But the fact that this practice of alternating power among competing parties appears to have its roots in early medieval Ireland is of equal historic importance.
Across the island of Ireland and even in some parts of Scotland, it was not unusual for more than one family, or branch of a dynastic group, to have a legitimate claim to a kingship. This is because medieval Ireland did not usually follow the same direct father-to-son lines of succession that we find in other royal families, in both medieval and modern Europe. Instead, kings were chosen based on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to: candidates' moral and physical integrity, their seniority within their family, and their economic standing.
As dynastic groups grew ever larger, and new branches split from the main royal line, it was often the case that two or three branches could claim the right to a kingship. Just like the current arrangement between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, we find that when multiple branches of a family held equal power and equal claim to a kingship would begin to pass among the heads of these branches in an alternating pattern until one of the branches overpowered their rivals, or an outsider seized the kingship.
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From Study of Antiquity and the Middle Ages, Dr David Thornton on the politics of medieval Ireland
This is most clearly the case in the kingship of Tara, often referred to as the High Kingship of Ireland. The kingship was contested by the northern and southern branches of the Uí Néill, ancestors to the surname O'Neill. These rivals appear to have come to some arrangement in the 8th century that would allow the kingship to pass regularly back and forth between the Cenél nEógain, a branch of the Northern Uí Néill, and Clann Cholmáin, a branch of the Southern Uí Néill.
From the death of Áed Allán, a king from the Northern Uí Néill, in 743, to the death of Donnchad Donn of the Southern Uí Néill in 944, the kingship alternated regularly between the two branches. In this period, there were five kings from Clann Cholmáin and five kings from Cenél nEógain, and the pattern only broke down when Ruaidrí ua Canannáin, a king from Cenél Conaill, a different branch of the Northern Uí Néill, seized the kingship after Donnchad Donn’s death.
A similar pattern can be seen in Leinster during the same period, when three branches of the ruling Uí Dúnlainge family shared the kingship of their region in an alternating pattern. In both examples, this alternation appears to have arisen from the fact that two or three branches of the royal dynasty held equal claim to their kingship, and in both regions, the phenomenon seems to have worked to have undermined the power of rival branches claimants: the Uí Néill were actively working to exclude their rivals, Cenél Conaill and Síl nÁedó Sláine; in Leinster, the Uí Dúnlainge were working to overcome the Uí Cheinnselaig.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday with Colm Ó Mongáin, discussion on the remarkable transfer of power between the two tribes of civil war politics
Legends like that of the three cousins form a crucial part of the evidence that we have for this phenomenon in early Ireland. In this particular tale, the system is a success, and continues without interruption for 66 years.
In our current coalition government, the system serves a similar purpose. In overcoming their differences to rotate the office of Taoiseach, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are ensuring stability in their leadership, allowing them to maintain a majority in government. Whether they were aware of the historic precedent or not, the parties entered a similar arrangement with the goal of setting themselves up for long-term security and success, to ensure a stable majority in the face of the opposition. How successful this arrangement will be is a question left to future historians.
Hannah Mac Auliffe is a PhD student at TCD, where she is working on aspects of early medieval Irish kingship and succession.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
