{{short description|1980 novel by Morgan Llywelyn}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox book |name = The Lion of Ireland |image = File:LionOfIreland.jpg |caption = First edition |author = Morgan Llywelyn |illustrator = |cover_artist = |country = |language = English |genre = Historical fiction |publisher = Houghton Mifflin (US) |release_date = 1980 |media_type = Print (Hardback) |pages = 522 |isbn = 0-395-28588-7 |oclc = 5496902 |followed_by = }}
'''''Lion of Ireland''''', by the American-Irish author Morgan Llywelyn, is a novel about the life of the Irish hero and High King Brian Boru.
==Plot summary== The story begins with Brian as a child of around 8 or 9 and it ends with him as an 88-year-old man. The book shows his rise to power and his struggle to maintain it. His personal life is an important part of the plot, because Brian's war against Máel Mórda (leader of the Leinstermen) and Sihtric (king of Dublin) was to be inextricably connected with his complicated marital relations, in particular his marriage to Gormlaith, Máel Mórda's sister and Sihtric's mother, who had been in turn the wife of Amlaíb Cuarán, king of Dublin and York, then of Máel Sechnaill. Even though the book is based on a historical figure, most of it is fiction.
==Film adaptation== In 2003, Ireland based RiverFilms proposed a film adaptation of the book as ''Braveheart and El Cid meet The Vikings''.<ref name="movie reference">{{cite news|title=Movie Proposal |url=http://www.obrienclan.com/genealogy/movie/RiverFilms.htm |work=O'Brien Clan Website |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100516003441/http://www.obrienclan.com/genealogy/movie/RiverFilms.htm |archivedate=2010-05-16 }}</ref>
On March 4, 2019, it was announced in [https://deadline.com/2019/03/lion-of-ireland-morgan-llywelyn-novel-being-made-into-tv-series-1202568937/ Deadline] that a new movie adaptation was in the works. The series would be created by Irish author Michael Scott. The article was subsequently picked up the [https://www.thetimes.com/world/ireland-world/article/us-firm-hopes-lion-of-ireland-will-make-roaring-tv-success-of-brian-boru-33wtz6w8j Sunday Times], and [https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/life-of-brian-boru-us-miniseries Irish Central] who listed both [http://bcdfpictures.com/ Scott and BCDF] Pictures as producers.
==References== {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
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Category:1980 fantasy novels Category:Novels by Morgan Llywelyn Category:Novels set in Ireland Category:Houghton Mifflin books