King Caindelban mac Faelban of Munster, 1141

King Faelban mac Brian fought a war against his uncle King Enguerrand mac Murchad, winning the Earldom of Ennis in the process. Regrettably, in that war his brother Earl Sean mac Brian of Oriel, his cousin Earl Ailpin mac Donnchad of Ailster and his cousin Bruatur mag Enguerrand gCais-Inis were killed - all of them were fighting on the other side.  After winning the war, King Faelban granted the Earldom of Ennis to his brother in law Aed mac Domnall, so that his sister Cathan nic Brian would not stay unlanded. 

Faelban then died soon after that in 1136, while he was defending against Prince Gruffydd III ap Maredudd, who was claiming Gwynedd.  

Faelan's first child Candelbain mac Faelban inherited the Kingdoms of Munster and Leinster, along with the Earldoms of Thomond, Ossory and Leinster. His vassals controlled the Earldoms of Ennis, Ormond, Desmond,and Ui Mhaine. The second child Conmal mac Faelan inherited the Kingdoms of Gwynedd and Meath, which included only the Earldom of Dubhlinn, and Fiachnae mac Faelan received the Kingdoms of Powys and Connacht, which only included the Earldom of Mayo, while a vassal of his controlled Athlone. Candelbain's great-uncle Encherrad mac Murchad was still in control of the Kingdom of Ulster, its de jure territories and the Earldom of Briefne . 

Conmal found himself in a continuation war with Prince Gruffydd III ap Maredudd, but with much fewer means than his father. To add insult to injury, his greater brother Candelbain mac Faelban, rather than help him, used the opportunity to take the Earldom of Dubhlinn from him - as Candelbain considered Wales territories just buffer states. Prince Gruffydd III conquered Gwynedd, but the Earldom of Dyfed stayed in he hand of Candelbain's vassal and his father's cousin Lord Elidyr ab Iorwerth.

Fiachnae mac Faelan lost control of Powys immediately after inheriting,, in 1136, as he was deposed by a faction who gave the title of King of Powys to Princess Elen ferch Idwal, daughter of Lord Idwal ap Gruffyydd. After that debacle, Fiachnae was still in control Connacht and indirectly Athlone. That changed quickly, as Candelbain by 1141 recovered those territories as well, bringing back a similar situation in Ireland as when his father was in charge. Apart of the Earldom of Dyfed, however, all of Wales had been lost by the Dal-gCais dinasty.

Candelbain then proceeded to reorganize the control of his domain, trying to balance profit with the happyness of his vassals. He was now King of Munster, Leinster, Meath and Connacht, and Earl of Thomond, Ossory, Leinster and Ormond. Countess Flann nig Olav had ceded voluntarily Ormond to him in exchange for a tax rebate. Candelbain's vassals were:

• Countess Flann nig Olav of Ui Mhaine, who also controlled Desmond
• Lord Elidyr ab Iorwerth of Dyfed
• His brother Earl Comnal mac Faelan of Dubhlinn
• His aunt Cathan nic Brian's husband Earl Aed mac Domnall of Ennis
• His sister Cobflaith nic Faelan's husband Earl Udalschalk of Athlone
• His brother Earl Fiachnae mac Faelan of Mayo

Great-uncle Encherrad mac Murchad of Ulster, for his part, was King of Ulster, Earl of Ulster and of Briefne. He was now 60 but going strong, betrothed to his nephew late Earl Ailpin mac Donnchad's daughter Mael-Muire nig Ailpin gCais-Fathain. His two main vassals were Earl Domnall mag Ailpin of Ailech and Earl Cuanu mac Sean of Oriel, who had succeeded their fathers who both had died in war.

Petty King Candelbain had children, unlike his two brothers, so succession was safe. It would be interesting to see how far they would go. His brother Sean had founded the house Laighin before dying, and luckily he had managed to have some children before that.

 

On the other side, it was worth noticing that Candelbain's father's cousins Cobflaith nic Donnchad  and Failenn nic Ceithernach had moved on to become queens of Poland and France respectively, regrettably both in patrilineal marriages.