| Bruree Brú Rí
|
|
|---|---|
| — Town — | |
|
Bruree
|
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | County Limerick |
| Government | |
| • Dáil Éireann | Limerick West |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Urban | 321 |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
| Area code(s) | 061 |
| Irish Grid Reference | |
Bruree (Irish: Brú Rí, meaning "the king's abode") is a village in south-eastern County Limerick, Ireland, on the River Maigue. It takes its name from the nearby ancient royal fortress, the alternative name of which from the earliest times into the High Middle Ages was Dún Eochair Maigue or the Fortress on the Brink of the Maigue.
A settlement on the River Maigue, Bruree was once a seat and alternative capital of the ancient Kings of Munster. At some point later it came into the possession of the Uí Fidgenti and was their capital until the late 12th century. Before them it may have belonged to the Dáirine or Érainn, being named by Geoffrey Keating as a fortress built by Cú Roí mac Dáire. An early king and semi-mythological ancestor of the Eóganachta and Uí Fidgenti, Ailill Aulom, is then found at the fortress in the Cath Maige Mucrama cycle. The historical Eóganacht king Óengus mac Nad Froích is also found here in one legend.
Former President of Ireland Éamon de Valera's mother Catherine Coll was from Bruree and he was taken by her family to be raised here. De Valera attended school in the village.[1]