The Vikings

The reality is that the battle of Clontarf was occasioned by a revolt of the king of Leinster against the overlordship of Brian Bóruma. It was a battle of Munstermen against Leinstermen with Vikings participating on both sides, the Scandinavians of Limerick and Waterford fighting on behalf of Brian Bóruma and the Scandinavian king of Dublin fighting on behalf of the king of Leinster, to whom he was related by marriage.

Just as there never was a unity of purpose on the part of the Irish against the Vikings, so there never was a unity of purpose among the Scandinavians in Ireland. In the 850s, for example, Dane had fought Norwegian for control of the Scandinavian settlement at Dublin.

In the late ninth century Viking activity and interest in Ireland had slackened temporarily and almost ceased for approximately forty years. In 902 the Scandinavian settlement which had been established at Dublin was actually abandoned. But in the second decade of the tenth century, that is from about 920, a new Scandinavian movement into Ireland began again, at a time when the Vikings were finding that their activities were being curtailed in other parts of Europe. This phase of activity has been designated by some historians as the second Viking age. A similar sequence of events to that of the first Viking age occurred with an initial phase of raiding, followed by attempts at establishing permanent bases. These once again proved enduring only along the coast. A Scandinavian settlement at Dublin was re-established in 917. The Scandinavian settlements at Limerick, Waterford and Wexford also date from the so-called second Viking age.

By the mid-tenth century these Scandinavians had settled permanently and peacefully in Ireland. They had been absorbed and assimilated into Irish society. Although we know little about the process, they had converted to Christianity. The death, for example, of Olaf, king of Dublin, at the monastery of Iona after a 'victory of repentance' is recorded in 980. From the mid-tenth century historians are justified in speaking of the Hiberno-Norse rather than the Vikings of Ireland, such was the level of integration and inter-marriage into Irish society. If we take language as a yardstick of that integration, the old Norse language of the settlers did not survive beyond a selection of loan words which were borrowed into Irish mostly for terms which did not already exist in the Irish language. These loan words, which relate to fishing, shipping and trade, reflect the areas in which the Scandinavian settlers made a positive impact on Irish society.

The Scandinavians were to make their most enduring contribution to Ireland as traders and town dwellers. It is a commonplace to say that the Scandinavians founded the first towns in Ireland; in recent years historians have qualified this view in some respects. Some scholars now argue that certain Irish monasteries had such a large population and were organised both physically and economically in such a way as to constitute a native Irish form of urban settlement. Terms such as 'proto-town' or 'pre-urban nucleus' have become popular, both with professional archaeologists and historians, to describe the larger Irish monasteries. This is a useful insight and incidentally helps to elucidate further why both the Irish and the Scandinavians attacked monastic sites.

Nevertheless, it remains true that even if the larger Irish monasteries may be classed as native Irish towns the Scandinavians founded a different kind of urban settlement in Ireland, one which pursued manufacturing and trade not just for the Irish market but also engaged in overseas trade. The importance of overseas trade is highlighted by the establishment of a mint at Dublin in 997. The coins produced at Dublin were exact copies of the contemporary English silver pennies and were obviously struck primarily for use in trade with England. For the first few decades of the tenth century Dublin had been just one of a number of growing Viking towns. If one of these towns stood out it was perhaps Limerick. However, Dublin's natural harbour, its eastward prospect and its potential for taking a share of long-distance trade along a route which linked the Scandinavian lands with western France and the Mediterranean via the Irish Sea, and for conducting business across the Irish Sea, were to make it in time Ireland's principal town.

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From the Appletree Press title: The People of Ireland (currently out of print).
Also see A Little History of Ireland.