Okay, sorry for the delay. Never got as far as I wanted but I'll post what I have now.
THE FIRST IRISH WAR AND THE AFTERMATH (1084-1091)
The Duke of Munster fully moblized his forces to deal with the Duchy of Connacht as fast as possible. He knew he had to take both Galway (the county he now had the claim on) and Connacht to get what he wanted from the war. The nation did'nt have any allies and Munster called on its ally Lenister for help, as well as doing a Grand Mobalization. The Duke insisted upon leading the troops into battle himself, despite his advanced age.
This bold move almost cost his life. The forces of the four counties waited until they were at max strength, about 2200 men, before crossing the border into Galway. Half of the men were directly from Munster, the other half were the vassals. Opposing them was the enemy army of a little over thousand, led by the Duke of Connacht and consiting of his entire army. The sheer fact that four counties were going to war aganist two counties ment the outcome was never in doubt, and soon the Connacht army was broken and fleeing Connacht, suffering 400 casulties compared to 100 with the Munster army. Curiously, the Connacht army never called up the army of its one vassal, Silgo. But during the battle the Duke of Munster was wounded leading a charge and was forced to hand control of the Allied forces over to his middle son, Donnchad, who was the best General after his father.
The Battle of Galway took place in early November. By the end of the month the siege was progressing and the Duke had reached home safe and sound. The war took a unexpected twist in December when the forth and last Duchy in Ireland, Ulster, declared war, bringing in it's ally Gwynedd in Wales. Dunnchad decided to leave his army where it was and wait to see if Ulster advanced, leaving Lenister to deal with Gwynedd.
As it turned out, both nations tried to attack. The main Ulster army arived in Galway in late January. In the Battle of Murdoch Hill that followed, their army was pushed back with moderate losses. A small Gwynedd force arived to replace some losses suffered by Ulster and they tried to attack again one month later. In this battle Donnchad went on the offensive this time as opposed to the defensive, striking quickly to isolate and defeat the Ulster force before turning and defeating the Gwynedd force. But he insisted upon commanding the small defense force that held back the Welsh Knights during the opening part of the battle, and he was severaly wounded. The second Munster commander once again had be taken from the field. Although the Battle of Canden River was another victory for the Munster army, it came at a heavy price. The oldest son and next in line to be the Duke of Munster, Muirdertach, now took command of the forces.
The siege continued during the time occupied with these two battles, and with their hopes of relief smashed, the defenders of Galway surrendered in March. Muirdertach now imeaditaily took his arm north to cross into Connacht. Meanwhile, Gwynedd had indeed tried to land its main army to attack Lenister, but they were soundly defeated at the Battle of Dublin also in March and fled in shame.
In April of 1085 the Munster army arived in Connacht, where they faced the smaller but still battle ready Connacht army. The Battle of Connacht was decisive, as it broke the Connacht army and killed almost everyone, the last few surivors fleeing east into Silgo. A siege started right away.
May saw the siege made even tighter. The new battering rams proved to be quite effective in attacking the Duke's residence, a Hill Fort like in Galway. The defenses were not as good as in Galway, however, and rapid progress was being made in breaking the defenders morale. Also during this month the tech of Divine Rights was acquired, the researchers now shifting to Profane Art.
The siege ended in June with another county falling into the hands of Munster. Seeking to force a end to the war all at once, rather then make seperate peaces, the Duke of Munster ordered his son to take the army east, through Silgo and into the county of Tir Eughain, a vassal of Ulster, and where their forces had fled after their previous defeats, leaving Connacht to its fate. The army started moving right away.
July saw the army cross Silgo. The few soliders left to Connachts name had also fled east to join the Ulster forces in Tir Eughaim. Munster also gained a new tech this month, Land Productivy.
The final battle of the war was fought in August. In the Battle of Tir Eughaim, the Munster forces again proved victorious, defeating the Ulster army again as they tried to stop the invaders from crossing in. As the Munster forces cotinued to advance and started getting ready to lay a siege, a peace offer was sent. Ulster would reconize the Duke of Munster to ALL of his claims, including Galway, and send a small ammount of gold. And it ment their Welsh ally would be out of the war also. The Duke accepted right away.
It took only a few days to work out a peace with the Duchy of Connacht to end the war all together. The Duke of Connacht was forced to give up his claim to the County of Galway and reconize that it belonged to the Duke of Munster, and for good measure all of Munsters other claims were reconized also. A small ammount of gold was obtained from this as well. Munster sent most of this gold to their ally Lenister to thank them for their help.
So peace once again settled on Ireland. It was a rather short war, only lasting from October of 1084 to August of 1085. Torridelbach's second son, and the son who was wounded so badly in war, Donnchad, was made the Count of Galway to thank him for his services. Seoan O'Flynn was tapped by the Duke to be his new Marshal (10). It's unknown how many enemy soliders were killed in the war, but based on battle report losses the enemy forces were estimated to have lost almost a thousand men total. Munster suffered heavily as well in the fighting, losing about six hundred. It will take time to replace the losses.
It's not until 1087 that the Duke recovers from his wound, although his body will never be the same afterwards. He is compelled to stop doing many things he used to enjoy doing, such as horseback riding and walking every day. The old man, however, still has a sharp mind and is determined to continue ruiling as long as possible. Donnchad, sad to say, never does fully recover from his war wound.
Time passes quickly. The next major event to happen does'nt occur until March of 1089, and it's a direct result of the First Irish War. The alliance between Ulster and Connacht had disolved at the end of the war. Seeking to take advantage of the weakened Connacht, Ulster attacked, using its claim on the Connacht vasssal Silgo as the reason. The war only lasts till May, sees small fighting, and eventuly ends with Connacht renoucing his claim on Silgo but keeping it as a vassal.
In October of the same year Sculpters passed to Munsters lands, and researchers now shifted to Spirtual Art.
In Feb of 1090, due to increasing religious influence, the tech of Ascetism was lost.
In May one of the middle aged female couriers serving Munster, Ailleann, who has not held a position for many years, requested permission to be released from her Lords service and seek employment elsewhere. The Duke agrees, as he has a large court, and she moves to Lenister and eventuly to the Isle of Mann (also a vassal of Lenister) where she is still a courier but probaly happier.
That very same month, the technology of Salt Refinery was gained.
By the closing months of 1090, the Duke of Munster had gained enough presitge from his victories and marriages that he can make a new claim successfully. The Munster regiment is not back up to full strength, however, and he can not attack Connacht again without paying a high price. So he decides to wait.
In April of 1091 a new military advance has passed into Munster, Defensive Tactics. The home regiment is also deemed to be at full strength by this point.
May sees the second wife of Torridelbach, Imag, dying of old age. Despite the fact it was more of a political marriage, the old Duke did love his wife and she had been very supportive and helpfull to her husband. The combo of this and the fact the Duke knows he can make another claim now to pass to his sons saps the will of the Duke of Munster to live for much longer. He no longer has a valid reason.
So in June, he issues his last two major orders. The first is to start construction of a Sawmill in the home provience of Desmumu, at 200 gold. The second is to lay claim to the title of the Count of Connacht. The Duke makes sure his will is in order, sends a peace offering to the new Polish Pope (who has also given up on the First Crusade), and calls his sons to be with him.
On July 15, 1091, Torridelbach, the Duke of Munster and Count of Desmumu, celebrates his 82nd birthday with his three sons. Two days later he takes to his sickbed. On the morning of July 18, he whispers his last words to his oldest son, Muirdertach -- to go to war aganist Connacht as soon as possible, and to continue the goal to become the King of Ireland. With that, he passes away.
Despite his excommunicated status, the Duke of Munster is given a proper service and laid to rest in the family crypt, along with the bodies of his father, grandfather, and great grandfather.
The same day that Torridelbach dies, Muirdertach is sworn in as the Fifth Duke of Munster and the Count of Desmumu. Muirdertach gives his former title, the Count of Tuadmumu, to his oldest son, Colcu.
Muirdertach is 50 years old himself, having never expected his father to live as old as he did. Still, the family blood line is strong. He has six kids, four sons and two daughters. Only one child passed away at a early age. Three of his children are adults allready. Colcu, the oldest son, is 23. His wife Sofie is past her child bearing age at 42, but the new Duke is happy with his family. In addition his two younger brothers also have large and strong familes.
Muirdertach combines his own court with that of his late father, and that creates a large court. He changes all of the positions around to better suit the talent. Dunchad, the oldest son of his youngest brother Tadg, is made the new Marshal, having fought very well in the First Irish War (11). Donnchad O'Flynn is the new Master Spy (11). Donal O'Neil is the new Chancelor (12). And Etain O'Cearbhil is the new Steward (13). Dunnchad is the son of a woman who married into the Munster line from Lenister, and the last two positions are held by women. Only the Bishop, Cummascach O'Flynn, stays the same. Muirdertach also leaves his brother Donnchad as the Count of Galway and his youngest brother Tadg is made the 'special ambassador' to make up for losing his title.
Plans to go to war right away to claim not only the County but the Duchy of Connacht have to be delayed, however. Scotland has indicated that it would support Connacht if attacked, although officialy they are only allied to Silgo. And the alliance between Lenister and Munster also ends with the old Duke's death. Muirdertach does not have enough diplomatic skill to remake the alliance, and the loyality of the two vassals not blood related to him is getting low. The new Duke decides to take a 'wait and see' aproach and try to decide what next to do.
