Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that can help answer the question.
Query: When did the Vikings arrive in Ireland?
The first recorded Viking raid in Irish history occurred in AD 795 when Vikings, possibly from Norway[10] looted the island of Lambay.[note 4] This was followed by a raid on the coast of Brega in 798, and raids on the coast of Connacht in 807.[11] These early Viking raids were generally small in scale and quick.
In 797 AD, the Vikings (or "Danes") carried out one of their earliest raids in Ireland when they plundered the monastery on Church Island. As the origin of the name is Norse and many localities have Norse-based names, it is safe to assume the Vikings did settle and occupy the area. Sitric, who was a son of a Dane called Murchard, re-founded the monastery on Church Island in 1120. He dedicated it to St. Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland. By this time, the Danes who had settled in Ireland had become Christians.
All of the Irish kingdoms had their own kings but were nominally subject to the High King. The High King was drawn from the ranks of the provincial kings and ruled also the royal kingdom of Meath, with a ceremonial capital at the Hill of Tara. The concept didn't become a political reality until the Viking Age and even then was not a consistent one. Ireland did have a culturally unifying rule of law: the early written judicial system, the Brehon Laws, administered by a professional class of jurists known as the "brehons".
"The Chronicle of Ireland" records that in 431, Bishop Palladius arrived in Ireland on a mission from Pope Celestine I to minister to the Irish "already believing in Christ". The same chronicle records that Saint Patrick, Ireland's best known patron saint, arrived the following year. There is continued debate over the missions of Palladius and Patrick, but the consensus is that they both took place and that the older druid tradition collapsed in the face of the new religion. Irish Christian scholars excelled in the study of Latin and Greek learning and Christian theology. In the monastic culture that followed the Christianisation of Ireland, Latin and Greek learning was preserved in Ireland during the Early Middle Ages in contrast to elsewhere in Europe, where the Dark Ages followed the Fall of the Western Roman Empire.
The Norwegian historian Kim Hjardar and archaeologist Vegard Vike claim that Ímar is the same person as the Dane Ivar the Boneless, and that he and the Norwegian chieftain Amlaíb Conung (Olaf the White) arrived in Ireland as leaders of a coalition of Vikings whose goal was to take control over the Viking settlements in Ireland. When the Irish annals describe Ímar and Amlaíb Conung as brothers, Hjardar and Vike claims that this has to be interpreted as a metaphor for "warrior brothers" or "brothers in arms".
The ruling Vikings of Dublin were expelled from the city in 902 by a joint force led by Máel Finnia mac Flannacán, overking of Brega and Cerball mac Muirecáin, overking of Leinster. Those Vikings that survived the capture of the city split into different groups; some went to France, some to England, and some to Wales. Archaeological evidence suggests Dublin remained occupied in the years immediately following this expulsion, perhaps indicating only the ruling elite were forced to leave. However, Viking raids on Irish settlements continued, and in 914, a large Viking fleet travelled to Waterford. The arrival of this fleet marked the re-establishment of Viking rule over parts of Ireland, and was followed by more Vikings settling in Limerick the following year.
The First Viking Age in Ireland began in 795, when Vikings began carrying out hit-and-run raids on Gaelic Irish coastal settlements. Over the following decades the raiding parties became bigger and better organized; inland settlements were targeted as well as coastal ones; and the raiders built naval encampments known as longphorts to allow them to remain in Ireland throughout the winter. In the mid 9th century, Viking leader Turgeis or "Thorgest" founded a stronghold at Dublin, plundered Leinster and Meath, and raided other parts of Ireland. He was killed by the High King, Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid, which was followed by several Irish victories against the Vikings and the seizure of Dublin in 849. Shortly after, a new group of Vikings known as the Dubgaill ("dark foreigners") came to Ireland and clashed with the earlier Viking settlers, now called the Finngaill ("fair foreigners"). The wavering fortunes of these three groups and their shifting alliances, together with the shortcomings of contemporary records and the inaccuracy of later accounts, make this period one of the most complicated and least understood in the fledgling city's history. In 853 a Viking warlord called Amlaíb (, possibly Olaf the White) arrived and made himself king of Dublin. He ruled along with his brothers Ímar ("Ívarr", possibly Ivar the Boneless) and Auisle ("Ásl"). For the next fifteen years or so, they used Dublin as their base for a series of campaigns against Irish kingdoms. During these conflicts they briefly allied themselves with several Irish kings. The Dublin Vikings also carried out a number of raids in Britain at this time. The deaths of Ivar (c.873) and Olaf (c.874) were followed by internecine conflict among the Vikings. Although intermittent warfare between the Vikings and the Irish continued, these inner conflicts weakened the Viking colonies and made it easier for the Irish to unite against them. In 902, Cerball mac Muirecáin, king of Leinster, and Máel Findia mac Flannacáin, king of Brega, launched a two-pronged attack on Dublin and drove the Vikings from the city. However, in 914 the Vikings now known as the Uí Ímair (House of Ivar) would return to Ireland, marking the beginning of the Second Viking Age.
Viking Flagship (1987–2000) was an Irish racehorse who began his racing career in October 1989 as a 2-year-old. He was first trained by his breeder, Eithne C Holdsworth, in Co. Kilkenny and then by Martin Pipe. He had 18 starts in Ireland with these two trainers, all in Ireland, but did not win any of them.
At one point the tenth-century "Armes Prydein" makes reference to a great military alliance of peoples that included "Gwyðyl Iwerðon, Mon, a Phrydyn" ("Gaels of Ireland, Anglesey, and Pictland"). If this remark represents Gaelic speakers, it could refer to Irish colonists on Anglesey who had arrived as a direct result of Ingimundr's abortive immigration from Ireland, or at least as a consequence of his settlement on the island. The expulsion of the Vikings from Dublin in 902 appears to have resulted in Viking immigration in the Wirral and on Anglesey, but also on Mann, and along the coasts of Cumbria and northern Wales. Although this expansion cannot be solely attributed to the refugees from Dublin, it was their expulsion that appears to have precipitated this new wave of Viking colonisation in the Irish Sea region. The "Fragmentary Annals of Ireland" asserts that some of Ingimundr's forces in England were Irishmen. In fact, there may well be truth behind this claim as the place name "Irby", meaning "farm of the Irish", is found on the Wirral.
The earliest recorded Viking raids in Ireland occurred in 795. Over time, these raids increased in intensity, and they overwintered in Ireland for the first time in 840–841. Later in 841 a longphort was constructed at Áth Cliath (Irish for "hurdled ford"), a site which would later develop into the city of Dublin. Longphorts were also established at other sites around Ireland, some of which developed into larger Viking settlements over time. The Viking population in Ireland was boosted in 851 with the arrival of a large group known as "dark foreigners" – a contentious term usually considered to mean the newly arrived Vikings, as opposed to the "fair foreigners", i.e. the Viking population which was resident in arrival prior to this influx. A kingdom in Viking Scotland was established by the mid ninth-century, and it exerted control over some of the Vikings in Ireland. By 853 a separate kingdom of Dublin had been set up which claimed control over all the Vikings in Ireland.
The earliest recorded Viking raids in Ireland occurred in 795. Over time, these raids increased in intensity, and they overwintered in Ireland for the first time in 840–841. Later in 841 a longphort was constructed at Áth Cliath (Irish for "hurdled ford"), a site which would later develop into the city of Dublin. Longphorts were also established at other sites around Ireland, some of which developed into larger Viking settlements over time. The Viking population in Ireland was boosted in 851 with the arrival of a large group known as "dark foreigners" – a contentious term usually considered to mean the newly arrived Vikings, as opposed to the "fair foreigners", i.e. the Viking population which was resident in arrival prior to this influx. A kingdom in Viking Scotland was established by the mid ninth-century, and it exerted control over some of the Vikings in Ireland. By 853 a separate kingdom of Dublin had been set up which claimed control over all the Vikings in Ireland.
In 838, a small Viking fleet entered the River Liffey in eastern Ireland, probably led by the chieftain Saxolb ("Soxulfr") who was killed later that year. The Vikings set up a base, which the Irish called longphorts. This longphort would eventually become Dublin. After this interaction, the Irish experienced Viking forces for about 40 years. The Vikings also established longphorts in Cork, Limerick, Waterford, and Wexford. The Vikings were driven out of Ireland for a short period in 902, but returned to Waterford in 914 to found what would become Ireland's first city. The other longphorts were soon re-occupied and developed into cities and towns.
The ruling Vikings of Dublin were expelled from the city in 902 by a joint force led by Máel Finnia mac Flannacán, overking of Brega and Cerball mac Muirecáin, overking of Leinster. Those Vikings that survived the capture of the city split into different groups; some went to France, some to England, and some to Wales. Archaeological evidence suggests Dublin remained occupied in the years immediately following this expulsion, perhaps indicating only the ruling elite were forced to leave. However, Viking raids on Irish settlements continued, and in 914, a large Viking fleet travelled to Waterford. The arrival of this fleet marked the re-establishment of Viking rule over parts of Ireland, and was followed by more Vikings settling in Limerick the following year.
The earliest recorded Viking raids in Ireland occurred in 795. Over time, these raids increased in intensity, and they overwintered in Ireland for the first time in 840–841. In 841 a longphort was constructed at (Irish for "hurdled ford"), a site which would later develop into the city of Dublin. Longphorts were also established at other sites around Ireland, some of which developed into larger Viking settlements over time. The Viking population in Ireland was boosted in 851 with the arrival of a large group known as "dark foreigners" – a contentious term used to refer to the newly arrived Vikings, as opposed to the "fair foreigners", i.e. the Viking population which was resident in arrival prior to this influx. A kingdom in Viking Scotland was established by the mid ninth-century, and it exerted control over some of the Vikings in Ireland. By 853 a separate kingdom of Dublin had been set up which claimed control over all the Vikings in Ireland.
It seems that Halfdan's rule of Dublin was not secure, and he was deposed while away in York. Halfdan returned to Ireland in 877 to try to recapture the city, but he was met with an army of "Fair Heathens" – a contentious term usually considered to mean the Viking population who had been in Ireland the longest, as opposed to the newly arrived "Dark Heathens", of whom Halfdan was one. The forces met at the Battle of Strangford Lough and Halfdan was slain. Those of Halfdan's men who survived the battle returned to Northumbria via Scotland, fighting a battle along the way in which Constantine I, King of the Picts was killed. It seems the Vikings of Northumbria were content to remain kingless until 883, when Guthfrith was made king.
Viking settlements also played an important role in Viking trade. In Viking settlements such as Ireland the first peaceful interactions between the Native Irish and the Vikings were economic in nature. Silver hordes in Ireland containing coins from other corners of the Viking World also show how such settlements were very quickly incorporated into a new Global economy. Here the initial strategic military significance of such settlements morphed into economic and political significance. Place names also show the broader economic significance and impact of the Vikings. The Copeland Islands off the coast of Ireland bear the name of “Merchant Islands” in Old Norse. In Normandy linguistic patterns also suggest the centrality of trade in the Viking settlement as the only lasting Norse influence in the region is in language is both trade centric and trade specific. In the Viking Greenland settlements it is also suspected that the walrus ivory trade may have been the primary means of economic sustenance for the populations there based on isotopic analysis of walrus ivory from around the Viking Diaspora.
If he did indeed leave Ireland, Amlaíb had returned by 857 at the latest when he and Ímar fought against Máel Sechnaill, overking of the Southern Uí Néill, and a group of Vikings sometimes known as the Norse-Irish. Máel Sechnaill was the most powerful king in Ireland at the time and his lands lay close to the Viking settlement of Dublin. The fighting began in the previous year: "Great warfare between the heathens and Mael Sechnaill, supported by Norse-Irish" is reported by the Annals of Ulster.
The annal-entries of 848–853 can be interpreted in a variety of ways. On one hand, the accounts may be evidence that the Vikings from ' were the earliest Vikings in Ireland, and that these people reasserted themselves in Ireland after a temporary takeover by the '. If correct, Tomrair's demise in 848 may well have been seized upon by the ' early in the 850s, which in turn precipitated a retaliatory response from the King of ' in the form of an 853 invasion to restore hegemony in Ireland. On the other hand, the annal-entries could instead indicate that the ' and the Vikings from ' are identical, and that this group of incomers overcame Vikings previously established in Ireland. In either case, it is possible that the terms ' and ' refer to the order of arrival. As such, the terminology attributed to one group of Vikings—the '—may have been a way of distinguishing an incoming group of Vikings from an earlier-established group—the '.
There are two explanations of how the Scharf family came to Ireland. The most common is that they are indigenous to Ireland and were part of the "Ó Murchadha" branch of the McMorrough Clan. After the breakdown of the McMorrough clan, they adopted the "Ó Murchadha" family name, which is in the Irish language. "Ó Murchadha" was usually translated into the surname Murphy but a select few families chose the O'Scarflain translation. The second theory of how the O'Scarflain family came to Ireland is that they are the ancestors of invading Vikings that eventually settled in Ireland, known as Norse Gaels. The Viking invasions of Ireland ended with many Viking staying in Ireland and becoming gaelicized. It is believed that one of the Invading Danish Viking carried the relatively common Nordic name of "Skarf". This would have eventually been anglicized into Scharf.
The first recorded Viking raid in Irish history occurred in 795 AD when Vikings from Norway looted the island. Early Viking raids were generally fast-paced and small in scale. These early raids interrupted the golden age of Christian Irish culture and marked the beginning of two centuries of intermittent warfare, with waves of Viking raiders plundering monasteries and towns throughout Ireland. Most of those early raiders came from western Norway.
The Danes had arrived in Ireland in 849 and took control of Dublin in 851. The dispersed Norse went off to plunder different areas of Ireland and a rivalry began between these two Viking groups with Irish kings using this rivalry in their own conflicts. The "Fragmentary Annals" record two defeats of the Norse Vikings by Munster groups in the year 852, though the dating is uncertain. The Arada Cliach of Cliu (east county Limerick) defeated the Norse and the Ciarraige won a victory over the Norse at Belach Conglais, near Cork.
The last major Irish battle involving Vikings was the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, in which a large force from the pan-Viking world and their Irish allies opposed Brian Boru, then the High King of Ireland and his forces, a small contingent of which were Viking defectors. The battle was fought in what is the now Dublin suburb of Clontarf on Good Friday of that year. Boru, the Irish High King had allowed the Viking King of Dublin; Sigtrygg Silkbeard, one year to prepare for his coming assault. Silkbeard responded by offering the bed of his mother to several Viking lords from Scandinavia, Ireland and Britain. The savage mêlée between the heavily mailed Norse and the unarmoured, yet undaunted Gaels ended in a rout of the Vikings and their Irish allies. Careful accounts were taken by both sides during the battle, and thus many famous warriors sought each other out for personal combat and glory. High King Brian, who was nearly eighty, did not personally engage in the battle but retired to his tent where he spent the day in quiet prayer. The Viking Brodir of Man chanced upon Brian's tent as he fled the field. He and a few followers seized the opportunity, and surprised the High King, killing the aged Brian before being captured. Brian's foster son Wolf the Quarrelsome later tracked down and dispatched Brodir by disembowelment. Wolf watching as Brodir marched and wound his own innards around the trunk of a large tree. The battle was fairly matched for most of the day and each side had great respect for the prowess of the other; however, in the end, the Irish forced the Norse to return to the sea. Many of the fleeing Vikings were drowned in the surf due to their heavy mail coats as they struggled for the safety of their longships; others were pursued and slain further inland. After the battle, Viking power was broken in Ireland forever, though many settled Norse remained in the cities and prospered greatly with the Irish through trade. With Brian dead, Ireland returned to the fractured kingdom it had once been, but was now cleared of further Viking predation.
The Vikings did not return to Dublin until 917, when Sihtric, another grandson of Ímar, landed forces in Ireland and inflicted a decisive defeat on the armies of Leinster.
The influx of Viking raiders and traders in the 9th and 10th centuries resulted in the founding of many of Ireland's most important towns, including Cork, Dublin, Limerick, and Waterford (earlier Gaelic settlements on these sites did not approach the urban nature of the subsequent Norse trading ports). The Vikings left little impact on Ireland other than towns and certain words added to the Irish language, but many Irish taken as slaves inter-married with the Scandinavians, hence forming a close link with the Icelandic people. In the Icelandic "Laxdœla saga", for example, "even slaves are highborn, descended from the kings of Ireland." The first name of Njáll Þorgeirsson, the chief protagonist of "Njáls saga", is a variation of the Irish name Neil. According to "Eirik the Red's Saga", the first European couple to have a child born in North America was descended from the Viking Queen of Dublin, Aud the Deep-minded, and a Gaelic slave brought to Iceland.
The arrival of the Anglo-Normans brought also the Welsh, Flemish, Anglo-Saxons, and Bretons. Most of these were assimilated into Irish culture and polity by the 15th century, with the exception of some of the walled towns and the Pale areas. The Late Middle Ages also saw the settlement of Scottish gallowglass families of mixed Gaelic-Norse -Pict descent, mainly in the north; due to similarities of language and culture they too were assimilated.
The Vikings pillaged monasteries on Ireland's west coast in 795, and then spread out to cover the rest of the coastline. The north and east of the island were most affected. During the first 40 years, the raids were conducted by small, mobile Viking groups. From 830 on, the groups consisted of large fleets of Viking ships. From 840, the Vikings began establishing permanent bases at the coasts. Dublin was the most significant settlement in the long term. The Irish became accustomed to the Viking presence and culture and in many cases became allies, with intermarriage common throughout Ireland. A major Irish battle involving Vikings was fought at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, in which a large force of Vikings and their Irish allies were defeated by the gathered Irish forces of Brian Boru, then the High King of Ireland along with a small contingent of Viking defectors. After this date Viking activity was sporadic with various Kings and nobles attempting to extend their power base. In 1099, Magnus Barefoot, the King of Norway, and his Viking army had successfully campaigned alongside their Irish allies against opposing Irish warbands. On his return his force was ambushed and killed on the north coast of Ireland.
According to the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicles", Viking raiders struck England in 793 and raided Lindisfarne, the monastery that held Saint Cuthbert's relics. The raiders killed the monks and captured the valuables. The raid marks the beginning of the "Viking Age of Invasion", made possible by the Viking longship. Great but sporadic violence occurred from the last decade of the eighth century on England's northern and eastern shores; Viking raids continued on a small scale across coastal England. While the initial raiding groups were small, a great amount of planning is believed to have been involved. The Norwegians raided during the winter of 840–841, rather than the usual summer, having waited on an island off Ireland. In 850, Vikings overwintered for the first time in England, on the island of Thanet, Kent. In 854, a raiding party overwintered a second time, at the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames estuary. In 864, they reverted to Thanet for their winter encampment.
The following year, the Great Heathen Army, led by brothers Ivar the Boneless (Halfdan and Ubba), and also by another Viking Guthrum, arrived in East Anglia. They proceeded to cross England into Northumbria and captured York, establishing the Viking community of Jorvik, where some settled as farmers and craftsmen. Most of the English kingdoms, being in turmoil, could not stand against the Vikings. In 867, Northumbria became the northern kingdom of the coalescing Danelaw, after its conquest by the brothers Halfdan Ragnarsson and Ivar the Boneless, who installed an Englishman, Ecgberht, as a puppet king. By 870, the "Great Summer Army" arrived in England, led by a Viking leader called Bagsecg and his five earls. Aided by the Great Heathen Army (which had already overrun much of England from its base in Jorvik), Bagsecg's forces, and Halfdan's forces (through an alliance), the combined Viking forces raided much of England until 871, when they planned an invasion of Wessex. On 8 January 871, Bagsecg was killed at the Battle of Ashdown along with his earls. As a result, many of the Vikings returned to northern England, where Jorvic had become the centre of the Viking kingdom, but Alfred of Wessex managed to keep them out of his country. Alfred and his successors continued to drive back the Viking frontier and take York. A new wave of Norwegian Vikings appeared in England in 947 when Eric Bloodaxe captured York.
In 1003, the Danish King Sweyn Forkbeard started a series of raids against England. This culminated in a full-scale invasion that led to Sweyn being crowned king of England in 1013. Sweyn was also king of Denmark and parts of Norway at this time. The throne of England passed to Edmund Ironside of Wessex after Sweyn's death in 1014. Sweyn's son, Cnut the Great, won the throne of England in 1016 through conquest. When Cnut the Great died in 1035 he was a king of Denmark, England, Norway, and parts of Sweden. Harold Harefoot became king of England after Cnut's death, and Viking rule of England ceased.