O' Neill High King of Ireland: And the last Great Druid

Before there was King Arthur, there was Niall. There are striking similarities between Niall and the Arthurian tradition. Both belong to a Britain and Ireland shaped by the decline of Roman power; both are associated with warrior societies governed by codes of honour; both stand within a world of ancient learning and Druids; and both are remembered in traditions of resistance to the fading Roman order. Niall's Fianna and the later Arthurian warriors share a remarkable culture of loyalty, courage and service, while Niall's campaigns carried Irish power across the Irish Sea at a time when Roman authority in Britain was collapsing. Yet there is a crucial difference. The historical evidence for a King Arthur remains elusive, while Niall belongs to Ireland's early historical tradition and is remembered in genealogies, annals and early poetry. Modern genetic research has also identified the remarkable expansion of the R1b-M222 paternal lineage associated with the Uí Néill, whose rise broadly corresponds with the period traditionally associated with Niall. This novel tells Niall's story through the eyes of Torna, the druid and poet whose voice carries us into the world of fourth- and fifth-century Ireland. His story brings together the surviving traditions surrounding Niall with the historical world in which he lived, reconstructing a time when Ireland, Britain, Gaul and the western Celtic lands were far more closely connected than later histories have often suggested. The book also challenges some deeply rooted assumptions about the past: that Ireland stood apart from Britain before Christianity, that the Druids simply disappeared with the coming of the new faith, and that early Irish Christianity was entirely separate from the intellectual and spiritual traditions that preceded it. At the centre of this forgotten world stands Niall of the Nine Hostages, a king whose dynasty would shape Irish history for centuries. His story belongs not to medieval romance, but to the turbulent centuries when Rome was retreating, ancient traditions were changing and the peoples of the western islands were beginning to shape their own future. The Arthurian legend became famous. Niall's legend was almost lost in history. This is the story of the king behind the name, and of the world in which he lived.