Battle of Clontarf

Battle of Clontarf
Battle of Clontarf, oil on canvas painting by Hugh Frazer, 1826
Date 23 April 1014 Location Clontarf, Dublin Result Decisive Irish victory Viking power in Ireland broken Death of Brian Boru
Belligerents
Forces of the High King of Ireland	Kingdom of Dublin Leinster Vikings of Orkney and Mann
Commanders and leaders
Brian Boru † Murchad mac Briain †	Sigtrygg Silkbeard Máel Mórda † Sigurd the Stout † Brodir †
Strength
7,000 men	~6,600 men
Casualties and losses
1,600–4,000 dead	~6,000 dead

Decisive Irish victory

The Battle of Clontarf (Irish: Cath Chluain Tarbh) was a battle that took place on 23 April 1014 at Clontarf, near Dublin, on the east coast of Ireland. It pitted the forces of Brian Boru, high king of Ireland, against a Norse-Irish alliance comprising the forces of Sigtrygg Silkbeard, king of Dublin, Máel Mórda mac Murchada, king of Leinster, and a Viking contingent led by Sigurd of Orkney and Brodir of Mann. It lasted from sunrise to sunset, and ended in a rout of the Viking and Leinster forces. It is estimated that between 7,000 and 10,000 men were killed. Although Brian's forces were victorious, Brian himself was killed, as were his son Murchad and his grandson Toirdelbach. Leinster king Máel Mórda and Viking leaders Sigurd and Brodir were also slain. After the battle, the Vikings of Dublin were reduced to a secondary power. Brian's family was temporarily eclipsed, and there was no undisputed high king of Ireland until the late 12th century.

The battle was an important event in Irish history and is recorded in both Irish and Norse chronicles. In Ireland, the battle came to be seen as an event that freed the Irish from foreign domination, and Brian was hailed as a national hero. This view was especially popular during English and British rule in Ireland. Although the battle is today viewed in a more critical light, it still has a hold on popular imagination.

The Vikings (or Norsemen) began carrying out raids on Gaelic Ireland in the late eighth century, and over the following few decades they founded a number of settlements along the coast. Vikings first established themselves in Dublin in 838, when they built a fortified area, or longphort, there. During the tenth century Viking Dublin developed into the Kingdom of Dublin—a thriving town and a large area of the surrounding countryside, whose rulers controlled extensive territories in the Irish Sea and, at one time, York. Over time, many Vikings were assimilated into Gaelic society and became the Norse-Gaels. Dublin was closely involved in the affairs of the Kingdom of the Isles, which included the Isle of Man and the Hebrides, and when the Dublin king Amlaíb Cuarán was defeated by Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill at the Battle of Tara in 980, he was supported by the men of the Isles. Amlaíb's son, Sigtrygg Silkbeard, who was king of Dublin from 990, allied himself with his uncle Máel Mórda mac Murchada, king of Leinster. They met Máel Sechnaill and Brian Boru at the Battle of Glenmama in 999, where they were defeated.

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