This savage practice of incapacitating political rivals was common and believed to render them unable to assume their throne, as only those of “sound body” were considered able to rule. Lorcan was to pay dearly for his siding with the “foreigners” and as a punishment he was blinded by Aed Finlaith. Lorcan, allied himself with Olaf and the Dublin Vikings, and Ivar and the Vikings of Limerick and invaded Brega, where they shamelessly plundered the megalithic tombs in the Boyne Valley.
#Viking conquest danish longphort mac#
His kingdom of Meath was divided and fought over between Lorcan Mac Cathail and Conochar mac Donnchada. In 862, Mael Seachnaill died and was succeeded as High King of Ireland by Aed Finlaith, who proceeded to marry Mael Sechnaill’s widow, Land, the sister of Cearbhall. In 887 the Limerick Vikings were slaughtered by Connachtmen and in 892 the Vikings of Waterford, Wexford and St. The longphort settlement at Youghal was destroyed in 866.
Vikings at Waterford attacked the King of Osraige (Ossory) but were slaughtered in 860. The annals begin to refer to 'Norse-Gaels' and 'Norse-Irish', a new ethnic group in the fabric of Gaelic society, but unrest remained. These kingdoms ruled themselves and the Viking presence strengthened as they settled and integrated. Another brother Sitric took control of Waterford so that by this time, there were other Viking settlements along the Irish coast. In 853 Olaf the White arrived in Dublin and with his brother Ivar, assumed sovereignity of the Viking settlements in Dublin and Limerick. More Unrest as the Vikings Settlements Increased Also Tígernach, King of Lagore (south Brega), defeated Norsemen in Dysart (thought to be on the coast of North County Dublin) where 1200 more were slain. The following year, the Vikings suffered further setbacks with more defeats by Mael Sechnaill I, High King of Ireland, at Farrow near Mullingar. In 848, the Eóganachta of Cashel also beat the Gallaib, or “foreigners” at Dunmaoltuile, near Cashel, where 500 were killed. Here the annals tell us “Tomhrair Earl, tanist of the King of Lochlann, and twelve hundred along with him were slain”. In 846, the Kings of Munster and Leinster also united, defeated and killed the heir to the kingdom of Laithlind, Tomhrair Earl, at the Battle of Sciath Neachtain near Castledermot in Co. Cearbhalls’ feats were so famous that he is mentioned in popular Norse legends! Indeed he fought the Norse many times and even allied with the Danes to conquer them. Kilkenny), where twelve hundred of them were slain” describes one of the many Viking defeats at the hands of Cearbhall. In the same year “A slaughter made of the foreigners of Ath Cliath (now Dublin), at Carn Brammit, by Cearbhall, the warlike King of Ossory (now largely Co. This victory for Mael Sechnaill was important in his quest for the seat of High King. Reserved for Kings, heroes and gods it involved hanging, drowning and wounding. In 845, the first Viking leader of the Norse Kingdom of Dublin, Turgesius, was captured by Mael Sechnaill, the King of Meath, and drowned in Lough Owel! Drowning was not uncommon at this time and may have been part of the idea of the threefold death which was popular with Indo-European vanquishers at this time. By the 10th century more battles would ensue in the lead-up to the definitive Battle of Clontarf 1014 which signalled the end of the Viking threat to Ireland. Shifting alliances and bloody battles made the 9th century an exciting one to read about (if less so at the time) and the annals tell us much about the many Viking defeats.Ĭertain leaders, like Brian Boru and Mael Sechnaill II, began to emerge as key players who, in their quest for power and High Kingship, forced the Vikings to either assimilate or leave and put an end to the Viking Age in Ireland. This was due to the structure of Kingship in Ireland at the time which meant that if one kingdom was conquered another could rise in force against them.
Much has been said about the Viking raids to the island of Ireland in the 9th century but it is worth remembering that, unlike in Britain, where the Viking invasion was considered definitive and total, they never succeeded in ruling Ireland completely.