Page 17 - IRISH HISTOEY - CHAPT 1_Neat

A Bare Bones History of Ireland Chap 1

confidence and appetite for loot grew they began traveling up the rivers moving inland.
They continued to engage in waves of plunder and pillage over the next several centuries.
However, not all of their associations with Ireland were bad. Some Vikings recognised
the opportunities for establishing trading settlements along the Irish coast – opening
markets for Irish produce to England and back to Scandinavia. Many settled down and
intermarried with the Irish – becoming more Irish than the Irish themselves.

The Vikings also contributed significantly to the fields of navigation, fishing and
shipping and also introduced coinage to the country. They also established many
important trading settlements in Ireland including those, which would become Dublin,
Limerick, Cork, Wicklow, Waterford and Wexford.

Brian Boru

Brian Boru was born in 941 near Killaloe and was destined to change the course of Irish
history. Born a prince into a Chieftain clan he recognised the benefits and opportunities
of unifying the warring factions that were the
order of the day in Ireland at that time. His
progress was rapid:

• He seized the throne of the southern Irish
state of Dal Cais from its Eogharacht rulers
in 963 and proceeded to unify all Munster as
a powerful state.

• He invaded Ossory in 983 thereby winning
control of the southern half of Ireland from
the high king Maelsechlainn II, installing
himself as High King in 1002.

• He then set about winning the submission of
all the lesser rulers in the southern half of
Ireland.
The men of Leinster and the Norsemen of Dublin
united against him in 1013, enlisting support from Brian Boru - 18 Century engraving
th
Viking warriors from Ireland, the Hebrides, the
Orkneys, and Iceland, as well as soldiers of Brian’s native Irish enemies.
The Battle of Clontarf
Brian, at this stage being too old for combat, handed over control of his armies to his
son, Murchad, who fought and won the decisive battle at Clontarf, near Dublin on
Good Friday, 1014.

After the battle, a small group of Norsemen, flying from their defeat, stumbled on
Brian’s tent, overcame his bodyguards, and murdered the elderly king.

Brian’s body was taken to Armagh and buried there in St Patrick’s cathedral.
Brian’s son, Mael, then assumed the high kingship of Ireland and his other son,
Donnchad, later ruled Munster until his death in 1064,
Brian’s descendants, the O’Briens, were to become powerful figures in Ireland for
many centuries.

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