![]() The camps allowed the Norsemen to take shelter on land for longer and also venture further inland were they’d hunt for food and valuables. ![]() When the latest big Norse fleet arrived they built encampments known as longphorts, a winter camp. Its arrival pathed the way for a more permanent presence of Vikings in Ireland. The men of Brega routed the foreigners at Deoninne in Mugdorna of Brega, and six score of the Norsemen fell. Those two forces plundered the plain of Life and the plain of Brega, including churches, forts and dwellings. The Annals of Ulster describes the arrival of a large Norse fleet in 837 ADĪ naval force of the Norsemen sixty ships strong was on the Bóinn, and another one of sixty ships on the river Life. Just over 40 years since the Vikings first invaded Ireland, their larger fleets began to arrive in Irish waters. A year later, another slaughter of heathens occurred, this time in western Ireland in a small territory called Umall, in today’s County Mayo. The Annals do mention the slaughter of heathens on 811 AD by the Uliad, a Kingdom located in northeastern Ireland. The absence of any unified front in Ireland made it easier for the Vikings to invade with each Kingdom having to protect their own territory. There was a constant power struggle between the kings and chieftains so battles were a common occurrence between the Irish Kingdoms. The political mark-up of Ireland was complex and often violent.Īlong with the High King there were several other kings, and chieftains, none of which worked as a centralized government. The island was split into several Kingdoms that were fragmented into smaller sub-kingdoms and territories. Ireland had no centralized government when the Vikings arrived. By 825AD they were performing several raids all within the same year. They first attacked Corcach Mór (Cork), located on the south-west coast and a year later took a ‘great number of women’ prisoners after plundering Étar. There were only a few attacks in the first 25 years of the Norsemen finding Ireland but by 820 AD they began an escalation of attacks. The Annals of Ulster mention some of the earlier attacks by the Vikings.ħ98AD: The burning of Inis Pátraic by the heathens, and they took the cattle-tribute of the territories, and broke the shrine of Do-Chonna, and also made great incursions both in Ireland and in Alba.Ĩ02AD: Í Coluim Chille was burned by the heathens.Ĩ06AD: The community of Í, to the number of sixty-eight, was killed by the heathens.Ĩ07AD: The heathens burned Inis Muiredaig and invade Ros Comáin. Or did the warriors accidentally stumble upon their first monastery, as they scouted to expand the Norse Kingdoms? Another theory is that word got to the Scandinavians, who were elsewhere in Europe, that Ireland’s monasteries had great wealth. They stole and damaged relics, took hostages, and killed the clergymen. One such theory suggests the Vikings, who were pagan, preyed on the monastic movement. There are various theories on why the Vikings attacked monasteries in Ireland. Not only did the monasteries face the threat of attack from the Vikings, but they also faced a bigger threat from the Irish. The settlements were often community and political hubs that secured silver & gold relics. The monasteries, more than just places of worship, gained a reputation throughout Europe as places of excellence. They used the waterways to their advantage and plundered the monasteries in hit and run attacks. They targeted many of the Irish monasteries located near the coast and on riverbanks. ![]() The Vikings stayed close along the Irish coast. Wherever its location, it marked the beginning of a more aggressive invasion. Rathlin Island, located on the northeast coast it’s only a short distance from Scotland or Lambay island, located a few miles from the Dublin coast. There are two possible locations for Rechru. The burning of Rechru by the heathens, and Scí was overwhelmed and laid waste. The Vikings, who were referred to as heathens, first appear in the Annals of Ulster 795AD compiled by the monastic movement in Ireland. Another theory is Finngall refers to old foreigners and that it’s not related to a physical description. The translation, which is often debated, could have been related to either their ethnicity, their skin or hair color, or even the color of weapons and battle clothing. The first group of Vikings to invade Ireland was most likely Norwegian, known as the Finngaill, the fair foreigners. The history of the Vikings in Ireland spans over 200 years and although it can be considered short-lived, they did make important contributions to the Irish way of life. They plundered the monastery of its valuables, such as relics, and laid it to waste. A small group of Norse warriors attacked a monastery on the east coast. He Vikings first invaded Ireland in 795 AD.
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