leaders, are said to have fallen ; while, a great slaughter of the Leinstermen,
with tlieir ciiiefs took place, and, extending from the field of battle to Dub-
lin, as also to the vessels of the foreigners.
with tlieir ciiiefs took place, and, extending from the field of battle to Dub-
lin, as also to the vessels of the foreigners.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v4
"
''Calendar of the Carew
Manuscripts, preserved in the Archiepiscopal Library at Lambeth," pp. 26, 27.
"*' See "l)e Hibernia et Antiquitatibus Ejus," &c. , cap xNiv. , p. 114.
^See C05. it)li 5j. et>heL lie SAllAibh, chap, cxiii. , pp. 200, 201.
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 439
anchor, on a full tide, and drawn up close to the sea-shore. At length, how- ever, the Danes gave way on every side, nor was it even possible for them to seek safety in their flight. They could only turn towards the city, or to the sea,'5i \yhere they endeavoured to reach their vessels. These were now their chief means for effecting escape. But, as on this memorable day, a high wind prevailed, especially if it blew from the east or north—as often happens at the spring-lime ol the year—with the tide and billows surging towards the sea-shore, it must have added greatly to those difficulties, experienced by the Danes, in reaching their vessels. Confusion became general throughout the foreigners' army, and their scattered bands rushed territied, in every direc- tion. Numbers of them had been totally dispersed and disbanded, nor were they able to effect a retreat, under favourable conditions. ^'' The Irish sea and its ship-lined strand could not ensure any great protection, for their utterly routed and demoralized army; nor could the mariners on guard afford any considerable assistance, to those wading or swimmmg through the water, vengeiul pursuers flushed with victory pressing on their rear. Several perished miserably, and their bodies were covered by the wild waves along the shore, or were carried out to sea. Then it was, that Brian's daughter, and the wife of Amhlaibh's son, looking from Ath Cliath, said
" It appears to me, that the foreigners have gained their inheritance. " " What meanest
thou, O woman ? " returned Amhlaibh's son. " The foreigners are going into
"
the sea, their natural inheritance," said she ;
I wonder is it heat, that is
upon them ; but, they tarry not to be milked, if it be. " The son of
Amhlaibh, her husband, filled with indignation, then gave her a blow. ^'SJ
Towards the close of that great decisive battle, the troops of Brian made a lodgment, at the head of Dubhgall's Bridge. This movement cut off" retreat for the Leinstermen and Scandinavians, towards a wood, which was on the other side. '9'« Unable to make a further rally,"'' many of the surviving foreigners fled to their vessels, and then took an eternal farewell of the coasts around that country, where they had experienced such disastrous reverses. Less hopeful even were the Leinster forces of escape, as these must fly towards Dublin, and being hardly able to break through the opposing lines of Munstermen. Moreover, the Dalcassians and men of Connaught, with
their surviving chieftains, pressed closely upon the fugitives. Filled with exasperation, owing to the death of Bryan, and to their own great losses on the
field ol battle, no quarter was given. Notwithstandmg the cries of the van- guislied for mercy, these were closely pursued, and slain, in great numbers. Hundreds of dead bodies lay in heaps along the sea-shore, while great num- bers were drowned in the sea. 's* While some of the routed Danes fled to their shipsnearthestrand,andwerepursuedbythevictoriousarmy; othersfound
it more practic. ible or necessary, to seek refuge within the gates of Uublin,"^' where a lar^e Northman force was doubtle! . s kept in reserve, and where the greater number of tlie citizens naturally sympathized with their cause. Towards
* See Martin Haverty's "History of k Ireland, Ancient and Modem," cliap. xiv. ,
p. 148.
'*' " Thor-tein Hall of the Side's son stood
still, while all the oihers fled, and tied his
shoe-string. Then Kertliialfad asked, why he '
Thorsten, I can't gel h. me to-night, since I ''s See Ferd. Warner's "History of Ire- am at home out in Iceland. ' Kerthiallad land, " vol. i. , Book x. . p. 440.
ran not as tlie others. Because,' said situated, between the I'olka and Dublin. '
gave him ptface. "—George Webbe Dasents
°»^ See Cos^-oh 5<ie-oheL Re 5<iLLAib1i, chap, cix. , pp. 190 to 193.
*>' lalloran's " Gene- See Dr. Sylvester O' I
ral History of Ireland," vol. ii. , Book ix. .
"
Story of Burnt Njal," vol. ii , chap, clvi. ,
p. 336. Also, see pp. t)03, 604.
"
Nials-Saga," cap. clviii. ,
»" See Cogawh SjewheL He 5<\lUibVi,
chap, ex. , pp. 192, 193.
*»• We have given in ihe text, what we sup-
po^e to be the nieanin<j—which is obscure— of the old Irish Chronicle. To us, from the description, the wood appear^ to have been
:
440 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
Dubligall's Bridge, about twenty of the foreigners, belonging to Ath-Cliath, retreated before the household troops of Tadhy Ua Cellaigh. All of those fugitives were there killed, and last among them fell Arnaill Scot. ^9'
Several mounds or tumuli are yet to be seen along the sea-shore, and in these it has been supposed, that the bodies of those slain in the battle were buried. '^ Within some beautiful pleasure grounds,3°° westwards from Clontarf,and in the direction of Dublin city, certain artificial mounds are noticeable, andrising over asheetofwater. Oneoftheseandcone-shaped,3°'occupiesaveryprominent
\5^^^V. 1W^
Mound within Mr. CoUey's Demesne.
position, on the very crest of an irregular surface of earth. Here tradition states, that one of the kings, slain in the day's fight, now lies interred. ^"" Along the site of the present Crescent,3°3 near the Tolka, the slaughter ap-
pears to have been very great. In a funereal mound,3°4 near Forrest, in the barony of Coolock, and not far from Clontarf, numbers of human bones were tobeseenlyingpromiscuously,beforethemiddleofthelastcentury. 3°5 Two
3°' Such was the information obtained
on the spot, from one of the family thereresi-
ding.
»» See a
of Clontarf," by Thomas O'Gorman, in the
"Journal of the Royal Hi-torical and centuiy. Human bones and other ancient
chap, viii. , p. 266.
'* See Co5<it)li 5<iet)lieL He 5<iU4ibh,
chap, cvi. , pp. 184. 185.
" On the Site of the Battle
3"3 There is found of
agroup houses,arranged
Paper
Archaeological Association of Ireland," vol. v. , Fourth Series, Part i. , p. 169.
3°° At present, Mr. Colley's Demesne.
5°' It was drawn on the spot, by William
F. Wakeman, December, 1882, and after- wards transferred by him 10 the wood, which was engraved by Mrs. Miilard.
in that shape, and built at the end of the last
remains were there turned up, as a party who built those houses mentioned to Thomas O'Garinan.
5°* It had been opened, by order of a Mr. Blair, on whose lan'ls it slood.
3°5 On a I7ih of April, probably 1744, Walter Harris saw and handled tliese human
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 441
other moundsj^"* and of the same kind, were within half a mile of the former barrow. 3°7 Ithasbeensupposed,thatthebattleprobablyextended,fromthe Tolka River,3°* and overmuch of that ground, now occupied by the north-east part of Dublin,3°9 as human bones, in great numbers, have laeen there dis- covered. 3"° This seems quite probable, especially towards the close of this contest. According to the Annals of the Four Masters,3" Maelseachlainn, with his Meathians,3'^ took a brave and an active part in the after battle against the foreigners and Leinstermen, by routing and pursuing their forces with heavy blows, from Tulcainn, now the River Tolka,3'3 to Atlicliath, the former name for Dublin. Such was the ardour of the boy Turlough,3'4 that he pur- sued the Danes into tlie sea. After the battle was over, his body was found, near the fishing-weir of Clontarf. Both his hands, being fast bound in the hair of a Dane's head,3'5 indicated the death-struggle, which closed his early and promising career of life. 3'* We read also, that Hrafn the Red was chased out into a certain river ;3'7 in imagination he saw there the pains of hell down below him, and he thought the devils wanted to drag him towards them. Then
Hrafn " Peter hath run twice to Rome, and he said, Thy dog, Apostle !
•would run the third time, if thou gavest him leave. 3'* Then, the devils let liim loose, and Hrafn got safely across that river. 3'9
The numbers slain in this day's battle have been variously estimated.
Hardly a nobly-born man escaped, or sought to escape. According to one account, on the Galls' side,3^° the ten hundred in armour, and three thousand
others of the enemy, with about an equal number of the men of Ireland, lay dead upon the field. 3" The greater part of the Island Danes, with their
remains, supposed by him to have been de- posited there A. i). 1014, after the celebrated Battle of Clontarf. He aI,o was told, that some curious gentlemen measured a skeleton there, and that from the dimensions taken, the person, to whom the Ix)nes once be- lo! ]geJ, couM mt have been much less than nine feet in height !
Dublin. It flows from Mullahidart on through the village of Finglas, and passing
under Ballybough and Annesley bridges, south of Clontarf, it falls into the Irish Sea.
^" He was only fifteen years old, at this time, according to the Dublin copy of the Annals of Innisfallen. See Rev. Dr.
*" If opened, as Harris suggests, they O'Conor's " Rerum Hibemicarum Scripto-
might reveal new discoveries. *^SeeHarris'Ware,vol. ii. , "Antiqui-
ties of Ireland," chap, xviii. , pp. 149, 150. 5^ We are told, in W'illiam M. Hennessy's-
res," tomusii. , p. 67. ^'5AccordingtotheAnnalsofClonmac-
"
" the battle raged from Tulcadh to Ath
Cliath. " Seepp. 252,253.
'°» See I. N. Brewer's "Beauties of Ire-
land," vol. i. , p. 191, note.
''° When excavating for a new street, in "
Doise. 3"
—
" No mark of fame,
Yet graced young Turlogh's virgin shield ;
Helivedasyetan—unknownname. This was his first his fatal field. "
version of the
Chronicum Scotorum," that
1763, accordin<j to Wilson's Dublin Majja- Days of Boru," canto xi. , sect, xiii. ,
zine," for May of that year, where Rev. Dr.
Ledwich has some remarks, on this sub-
ject.
'" See Dr. O'Donovan's edition, vol. ii. ,
pp. 774 to 777, and n. (t) ibid.
3" In William M. Hennessy's <jTin4t<i
p. 734.
3'' Either the Lifley or the Tolka.
''• By these words he expressed an inten-
tion of going a third time, on a pilgrimage to Rome, if St. Peter helped him out of that strait.
toch^ C6, or Annah of
-Stated, that the menof Mumha and ofMidhe
and of the south of Connaught were led by
Bryan Boromha against the foreigners of
Ath Clinth and against the Lagcni. ins, to
bring them under his obedience, as he had have it "cedidit ex adversa caterva Gallo-
2. 3- '" See Thomas D'Arcy iMcCee's "
J"' This stream fakes from Meath an lar Hi-tory of Ireland," voL i. , Book ii. ,
eastern direction through the county of chap. vi. , p. loj.
Lough
Ce, it is
Vol. 11. previou'sly brought them. See vol. i. , pp. rum. "— i. , pp. 10,
"
^John D'AIton's Dermid ; or Erin in the
3'' See Webbe Dasent's " of George Story
Burnt Njal," vol. ii. , chap, clvi. , pp. 336,
337-
5"" The -diinald toctiA C6, or Annals of
,,
Lough Ce, edited by William M. Hennessy,
Popu-
442 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
leaders, are said to have fallen ; while, a great slaughter of the Leinstermen,
with tlieir ciiiefs took place, and, extending from the field of battle to Dub-
lin, as also to the vessels of the foreigners. s"' The vanquished confederate
forces numbered among their slain leaders, Maelmordha,3'3 the chief insti-
gator of all this bloodshed,3»4 with Brogarbhan,3^5 son to Conchobhar, tanist
of Hy-Failghe,3''' or Ophaly, and Tuathal,3^7 son to Ugaire, the heir apparent to the crown of Leinster. Besides these, we find enumerated Dunlaing,'"*
son to Tuathal, King of LifS, and Domhnall, son to Ferghall, King of Fortu- aith Laigen, as killed. 3=9 Nearly all the chiefs of Leinster, with three thousand of their bravest troops, 33° are estimated to have perished, during the action, or after it while in retreat. According to another account, two thousand of the Lagenianswereslain,withelevenhundredoftheUi-Ceinnselaigh. 33' Besides their principal officers, the Danish loss is said, by some authorities, to have reached the almost incredible number of fourteen thousand men. On the part of the Galls, besides Brodar,332 or Brotor,333 who killed Bryan, the An- nals of Ulster enumerate the following chiefs as having fallen on this day,
«
viz. , Siuchrad,334 l)ubgall,33s Giiiaciarain,3 or Gildas Ciaran,337 Qttir, or
Uithir the Black,338 Suartgar,339 Donchad 0'Erulf,3i° Grisene,3<' Luinne and Amlaibh or Amlaf, son of Lagman or Ladmann,34» together with six thousand menkilled and wounded. 3*3 Besides the foregoing names of chiefs, the Annals of Innisfallen give those of Carolus,344 and Anrudh, two sons to the King of Lochlann,345 as also Dolat and Conmhaol. 3<* In addition to these are enumerated, Luiminin and Siogradh, Goistilin Gall and Amond,347
Simond,348 Sefraid,349 Bernard,35° Eoin the Baron and Rickard,3S' with Oisill and Raghnall, the two sons of Imhar, the grandsons of Imhar. 35» According
3" See the Dublin copy of the Annals of Innisfallen, in Rev. Ur. O'Conor's " Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus ii. , p. 65.
3'3 See tbid. , p. 66.
3^4 The Annals of Lough Ce style him,
Murchadh, chief king of Laighen.
3'5 See the Dublin copy of the Annals of
"
jAttAibh, chap, cxvii. , pp, 206, 207.
33* Called Sitrioc mc Luadar Jarla Inns h
Ore, in the Annals of Innisfallen, Dublin copy. In the <Xnn<il4 tocViA Ce, he is called Sighrud, son of Lolhar, Jarl of Insi-li-Orc.
335 Called son of Amhlaibh.
33* Called son of Gluniaiainn. royal heir of Innisfallen, in Rev. Dr. O'Conor's Re- the foreigners, in the <XnnAbd LochA Ce, or
rum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus ii. , p. 66.
3'' See . drinALA tochd C6 or Annals of Lough Ce, by William M. Hennessy, vol. i. , pp. 10, II.
3"' Heiscalled,intheDublincopyofthe Annals of Innisfallen, Tuthal h Gaire Riogh- darahna Laiyhen. See " Rerum Hibernica- rum Scriptores," tomus ii. , p. 66.
3'* He received a wound, from tlie effects of which died.
3"9 See Cogd'oh JaeoheL Re JallAibh, chap, cxvii. , pp. 208. 209.
'>''" See the Dublin oipy of the Annals of Innisfallen. in Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum HibernicarumScriptores,"tomusii. , p. 66.
33' See Coga'oh jAeoheL tie SAllaibh, chap, cxvii. , pp. 208, 209.
Annals of Lough Ce, edited by William M. Hennessy, vol. i. , pp. 10, ii.
33' These two, called Dubhgal mac Am-
laiomh, and Giolla Cuaran mac Gluiniaruim,
were regarded as two prospective kings of the I lanes. See Rev. Dr. O'C onor's " Rerum
Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus ii. Annales Inisfalenses, pp. 66, 67.
33" So called, in the <XnnAt4 iocha C^.
339 Called Suairtghair, in the Annals of
Lough Ce.
34° He is called Donnchadh O'h Eruilbh,
in the Coja-oh 5deT)heL lie SilUiibh, chap, cxvii. , pp. 206, 207.
343 See Rev. Dr. Charles O'Conor's 33" That is the captain cf the fleet, who " Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus
slew Brien, add the <\nnatA I,ochA 0^, or
Annals of Lough Ce, edited by William M.
Hennessy, vol. i. , pp. 10, II.
333 Or Broder, son of Osli, and Earl of
Caer Ebroc, and along with him were killed a thousand plundering Danes, both Saxons and Lochlanns. See CogA'oh 5<xe-ohel fte
iv. Annales Ultomenses, p. 305.
344 Another account has it Carlus and
Ciarlus, the two sons of the King of Loch- Ian n.
345 See Rev. Dr. Charles O'Conor's " Re- rum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus ii. , Annales Inisfalenses, p. 66.
34' Also called Grisin, read Grifin.
perhaps
we should
34' Also called Laghman.
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 443
to the Annals of Boyle,353 3,000 foreigners were killed, while with more par- ticularity, the Annals of Innisfallen have 3,012. In some of the Northmen's divisions, not a single warrior was left alive, so implacably did the victors follow up their success. Brodir's men—but probably only those are meant
who participated in the Monarch's murder—were slain to a man.
354
On the side
of the Galls, at least six thousand perished, either by killing or by drowning, as we are told. ? 55 The total loss on the enemy's side, according to one writer, was six hundred and three score hundreds, or six thousand six hundred. 'S* Among these, one thousand warriors, who wore coats of mail, were altogether slain, 35' so that not even one escaped from that field of carnage. Again, fifteen men of the Burners fell in Brian's battle,3s8 and there too fell Halldor, sonofGudmund,thepowerfulandbraveErlingofStraumey. 359 Sitrick,son to Amhlaibh, King of Ath Cliath, was not killed, as happened to all the other foreigners of distinction, because he did not go into the battle, but re-
mained on guard, within the walls of his fortress. 3*° In the Nials-Saga, one of the northern princes is introduced as asking,3*' some time after the battle, what had become of his men ? The answer given to him was couched in these words, that they were all killed.
It is not wonderful, that in this most obstinate engagement, which was waged from sunrise to dusk, the victory was dearly won, owing to the number slain, even on the conqueror's side. The Annals of Iniiislallen,^*" after enumerating among the slain the Monarch Bryan 3*3 and a few of his chiefs, with Maelmorda, King of Leinster, states in general, that many others fell on the Irish side ; while there was a great slaughter of the Leinster Reguli, and of the foreigners, belonging to the western world,3*-» on the other side. 3*5 About this period, and long afterwards, an incorrect geographical notion prevailed, that the Britannic and Irish Islands, as also the Scandinavian countries, had a more westward direction, as shown on several ancient maps. The royal family of Munster were left to mourn the loss of three generations cut down
^"Mornij,h advance 1 o'er heaps of slain
Th. it marked his path upon the
plain ;
In vain Conmaol dared his might,
Or challenged him to single fight ; In vain he raised his sword to hea-
ven
With a en- many mystic sign
of Lough Ci, edited by Willijim M. Hennessy, vol. i. , pp. lo, ii.
's' See Cogaoh Saerjliet Re JatlAibh, chap, cxvii. , pp. 208, 209.
'sr Such is the account given, in the Dub—-
lin copy of the " Annals of Innisfallen. " "
graven. "
—John D'Allon's " Dermid
'5» See "
Nials-. Sajia," cap. civiii,, p. 6os.
35' See " George Webbe Dasent's
Days of Boru," canto xi. , sect, xix. , pp. 379,
380.
J" He was the son of Duilhghin, andboh
of these named were two kings of Port
Lairge.
""Son of Turgeis.
3« ^on of Sunan.
31" Son of Suamin.
55' These were two sons of the Ingen
Ruaidh.
3S» See Cogatjh 5«eT)het Re SAbL^iibh
chap, cxvii. . pp. 206, 207.
353 See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum
Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus ii. , An-
^' I his dialogue seems an allusion to that division, clotlied in the coats of mail.
'" The Bodleian copy.
3«3
i,, the <inn4l<v bochaC^, or Annals of Lough Ce, edited l. y William . \1. Hennessy, he is called ihe supreme king of theGaedhel of Erinn, and of the foreigners of Britain, and the Augustus of the « hole north-west of Europe. See vol. i. , pp. 10. 11.
' * Accordint; to the Coga-oh 54eT)hel Re Sitl-aibh, chap, cxvii. , pp. 206, 207, there were killed in that battle, the greater part of the men of valour of the Gaill and of the Gaedhil, belonging to all the west of Europe.
"5 See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus ii. , p. 54.
nales Huellani, p. 17. " 35* See Genrge Webbe Da. sent's
Story of
Burnt Njal," vol. ii. , chap, clvi. , p. 338.
335 See <\nn<»U(i lx>chA C6, or the Annals
;
or in Erin the
ggg
Ue
5<\ll<iibh,
.
Rev. iJr. O'Conor's
Rerum Hibernicaram
Scriptores," tnmusii. , p. 65.
Story of Burnt Njal," vol. ii. , chap, clvi. , p. 338.
^fc
Co5AT>h JaeDheL chap, cxvii. . pp. 206 to 209.
444 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
in the one day, and upon the same field of battle. s** Besides the aged mon- arch 3*7 himself, Murchad 3** or Morough,3*9 with two of his brothers and his son Tordelbac 370 or Turlogh, fell in this most sanguinary encounter. His nephew ConaingS'' or Conang,37= the son of Donncuann, was slain, likewise, in this battle. Domhnall,373 son to Diarmaid, lord of Corca Bhaiscinn,37< Geibheannach, son to Dubhagan,375 chief of Feara-Maighe,37* Mac Beatha,377 son to Muireadhach,378 Claen the chief of Ciarraighe-Luachra,379 and Sgann- lan3*° or Scannlan, son to Cathal, lord of Eoghanacht-Locha Lein, were killed. Among others are mentioned, Eocha, son to Dunadhach, chief of the Clann-Scannlaine, Niall Ua Cuinn,3^' and Cuduiligh, son to Ceinneidigh,3^2 who were the three aids-de-camp, or companions in arms, 3*3 to the monarch Brian himself. 3^-t These three defenders were slain, with many other nobles. 3'5 Dubhdabhorrenn, son of Domhnall, Loingsech, son of Dunlaing,35* and Mothla,3*7 son to Domhnall, son to Faelan,lordin South Mumhan orMunster,38' Deisi were slain. The powerful Connaught prince, Tadhg Ua Ceallaigh or 0'Kelly,3*9 chief over Hy-Maine,39° as likewise Maelruanaidh na Paidre Ua
Alexander M. Sullivan's "
3^7 Bianus, King of Ireland, with his son Ascuthin, namely King Dulyn, was killed, A. D. 1013, according to the Cambrian Annals. See "Annales Cambriae," edited by the Rev. John Williams ab Ithel, M. A. , p. 22.
3'^ See the Annals of Innisfallen, Bodleian
and Dublin copies, in Rev. Dr. O'Conor's
" Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus
ii. , pp. 54, 63.
''Calendar of the Carew
Manuscripts, preserved in the Archiepiscopal Library at Lambeth," pp. 26, 27.
"*' See "l)e Hibernia et Antiquitatibus Ejus," &c. , cap xNiv. , p. 114.
^See C05. it)li 5j. et>heL lie SAllAibh, chap, cxiii. , pp. 200, 201.
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 439
anchor, on a full tide, and drawn up close to the sea-shore. At length, how- ever, the Danes gave way on every side, nor was it even possible for them to seek safety in their flight. They could only turn towards the city, or to the sea,'5i \yhere they endeavoured to reach their vessels. These were now their chief means for effecting escape. But, as on this memorable day, a high wind prevailed, especially if it blew from the east or north—as often happens at the spring-lime ol the year—with the tide and billows surging towards the sea-shore, it must have added greatly to those difficulties, experienced by the Danes, in reaching their vessels. Confusion became general throughout the foreigners' army, and their scattered bands rushed territied, in every direc- tion. Numbers of them had been totally dispersed and disbanded, nor were they able to effect a retreat, under favourable conditions. ^'' The Irish sea and its ship-lined strand could not ensure any great protection, for their utterly routed and demoralized army; nor could the mariners on guard afford any considerable assistance, to those wading or swimmmg through the water, vengeiul pursuers flushed with victory pressing on their rear. Several perished miserably, and their bodies were covered by the wild waves along the shore, or were carried out to sea. Then it was, that Brian's daughter, and the wife of Amhlaibh's son, looking from Ath Cliath, said
" It appears to me, that the foreigners have gained their inheritance. " " What meanest
thou, O woman ? " returned Amhlaibh's son. " The foreigners are going into
"
the sea, their natural inheritance," said she ;
I wonder is it heat, that is
upon them ; but, they tarry not to be milked, if it be. " The son of
Amhlaibh, her husband, filled with indignation, then gave her a blow. ^'SJ
Towards the close of that great decisive battle, the troops of Brian made a lodgment, at the head of Dubhgall's Bridge. This movement cut off" retreat for the Leinstermen and Scandinavians, towards a wood, which was on the other side. '9'« Unable to make a further rally,"'' many of the surviving foreigners fled to their vessels, and then took an eternal farewell of the coasts around that country, where they had experienced such disastrous reverses. Less hopeful even were the Leinster forces of escape, as these must fly towards Dublin, and being hardly able to break through the opposing lines of Munstermen. Moreover, the Dalcassians and men of Connaught, with
their surviving chieftains, pressed closely upon the fugitives. Filled with exasperation, owing to the death of Bryan, and to their own great losses on the
field ol battle, no quarter was given. Notwithstandmg the cries of the van- guislied for mercy, these were closely pursued, and slain, in great numbers. Hundreds of dead bodies lay in heaps along the sea-shore, while great num- bers were drowned in the sea. 's* While some of the routed Danes fled to their shipsnearthestrand,andwerepursuedbythevictoriousarmy; othersfound
it more practic. ible or necessary, to seek refuge within the gates of Uublin,"^' where a lar^e Northman force was doubtle! . s kept in reserve, and where the greater number of tlie citizens naturally sympathized with their cause. Towards
* See Martin Haverty's "History of k Ireland, Ancient and Modem," cliap. xiv. ,
p. 148.
'*' " Thor-tein Hall of the Side's son stood
still, while all the oihers fled, and tied his
shoe-string. Then Kertliialfad asked, why he '
Thorsten, I can't gel h. me to-night, since I ''s See Ferd. Warner's "History of Ire- am at home out in Iceland. ' Kerthiallad land, " vol. i. , Book x. . p. 440.
ran not as tlie others. Because,' said situated, between the I'olka and Dublin. '
gave him ptface. "—George Webbe Dasents
°»^ See Cos^-oh 5<ie-oheL Re 5<iLLAib1i, chap, cix. , pp. 190 to 193.
*>' lalloran's " Gene- See Dr. Sylvester O' I
ral History of Ireland," vol. ii. , Book ix. .
"
Story of Burnt Njal," vol. ii , chap, clvi. ,
p. 336. Also, see pp. t)03, 604.
"
Nials-Saga," cap. clviii. ,
»" See Cogawh SjewheL He 5<\lUibVi,
chap, ex. , pp. 192, 193.
*»• We have given in ihe text, what we sup-
po^e to be the nieanin<j—which is obscure— of the old Irish Chronicle. To us, from the description, the wood appear^ to have been
:
440 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
Dubligall's Bridge, about twenty of the foreigners, belonging to Ath-Cliath, retreated before the household troops of Tadhy Ua Cellaigh. All of those fugitives were there killed, and last among them fell Arnaill Scot. ^9'
Several mounds or tumuli are yet to be seen along the sea-shore, and in these it has been supposed, that the bodies of those slain in the battle were buried. '^ Within some beautiful pleasure grounds,3°° westwards from Clontarf,and in the direction of Dublin city, certain artificial mounds are noticeable, andrising over asheetofwater. Oneoftheseandcone-shaped,3°'occupiesaveryprominent
\5^^^V. 1W^
Mound within Mr. CoUey's Demesne.
position, on the very crest of an irregular surface of earth. Here tradition states, that one of the kings, slain in the day's fight, now lies interred. ^"" Along the site of the present Crescent,3°3 near the Tolka, the slaughter ap-
pears to have been very great. In a funereal mound,3°4 near Forrest, in the barony of Coolock, and not far from Clontarf, numbers of human bones were tobeseenlyingpromiscuously,beforethemiddleofthelastcentury. 3°5 Two
3°' Such was the information obtained
on the spot, from one of the family thereresi-
ding.
»» See a
of Clontarf," by Thomas O'Gorman, in the
"Journal of the Royal Hi-torical and centuiy. Human bones and other ancient
chap, viii. , p. 266.
'* See Co5<it)li 5<iet)lieL He 5<iU4ibh,
chap, cvi. , pp. 184. 185.
" On the Site of the Battle
3"3 There is found of
agroup houses,arranged
Paper
Archaeological Association of Ireland," vol. v. , Fourth Series, Part i. , p. 169.
3°° At present, Mr. Colley's Demesne.
5°' It was drawn on the spot, by William
F. Wakeman, December, 1882, and after- wards transferred by him 10 the wood, which was engraved by Mrs. Miilard.
in that shape, and built at the end of the last
remains were there turned up, as a party who built those houses mentioned to Thomas O'Garinan.
5°* It had been opened, by order of a Mr. Blair, on whose lan'ls it slood.
3°5 On a I7ih of April, probably 1744, Walter Harris saw and handled tliese human
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 441
other moundsj^"* and of the same kind, were within half a mile of the former barrow. 3°7 Ithasbeensupposed,thatthebattleprobablyextended,fromthe Tolka River,3°* and overmuch of that ground, now occupied by the north-east part of Dublin,3°9 as human bones, in great numbers, have laeen there dis- covered. 3"° This seems quite probable, especially towards the close of this contest. According to the Annals of the Four Masters,3" Maelseachlainn, with his Meathians,3'^ took a brave and an active part in the after battle against the foreigners and Leinstermen, by routing and pursuing their forces with heavy blows, from Tulcainn, now the River Tolka,3'3 to Atlicliath, the former name for Dublin. Such was the ardour of the boy Turlough,3'4 that he pur- sued the Danes into tlie sea. After the battle was over, his body was found, near the fishing-weir of Clontarf. Both his hands, being fast bound in the hair of a Dane's head,3'5 indicated the death-struggle, which closed his early and promising career of life. 3'* We read also, that Hrafn the Red was chased out into a certain river ;3'7 in imagination he saw there the pains of hell down below him, and he thought the devils wanted to drag him towards them. Then
Hrafn " Peter hath run twice to Rome, and he said, Thy dog, Apostle !
•would run the third time, if thou gavest him leave. 3'* Then, the devils let liim loose, and Hrafn got safely across that river. 3'9
The numbers slain in this day's battle have been variously estimated.
Hardly a nobly-born man escaped, or sought to escape. According to one account, on the Galls' side,3^° the ten hundred in armour, and three thousand
others of the enemy, with about an equal number of the men of Ireland, lay dead upon the field. 3" The greater part of the Island Danes, with their
remains, supposed by him to have been de- posited there A. i). 1014, after the celebrated Battle of Clontarf. He aI,o was told, that some curious gentlemen measured a skeleton there, and that from the dimensions taken, the person, to whom the Ix)nes once be- lo! ]geJ, couM mt have been much less than nine feet in height !
Dublin. It flows from Mullahidart on through the village of Finglas, and passing
under Ballybough and Annesley bridges, south of Clontarf, it falls into the Irish Sea.
^" He was only fifteen years old, at this time, according to the Dublin copy of the Annals of Innisfallen. See Rev. Dr.
*" If opened, as Harris suggests, they O'Conor's " Rerum Hibemicarum Scripto-
might reveal new discoveries. *^SeeHarris'Ware,vol. ii. , "Antiqui-
ties of Ireland," chap, xviii. , pp. 149, 150. 5^ We are told, in W'illiam M. Hennessy's-
res," tomusii. , p. 67. ^'5AccordingtotheAnnalsofClonmac-
"
" the battle raged from Tulcadh to Ath
Cliath. " Seepp. 252,253.
'°» See I. N. Brewer's "Beauties of Ire-
land," vol. i. , p. 191, note.
''° When excavating for a new street, in "
Doise. 3"
—
" No mark of fame,
Yet graced young Turlogh's virgin shield ;
Helivedasyetan—unknownname. This was his first his fatal field. "
version of the
Chronicum Scotorum," that
1763, accordin<j to Wilson's Dublin Majja- Days of Boru," canto xi. , sect, xiii. ,
zine," for May of that year, where Rev. Dr.
Ledwich has some remarks, on this sub-
ject.
'" See Dr. O'Donovan's edition, vol. ii. ,
pp. 774 to 777, and n. (t) ibid.
3" In William M. Hennessy's <jTin4t<i
p. 734.
3'' Either the Lifley or the Tolka.
''• By these words he expressed an inten-
tion of going a third time, on a pilgrimage to Rome, if St. Peter helped him out of that strait.
toch^ C6, or Annah of
-Stated, that the menof Mumha and ofMidhe
and of the south of Connaught were led by
Bryan Boromha against the foreigners of
Ath Clinth and against the Lagcni. ins, to
bring them under his obedience, as he had have it "cedidit ex adversa caterva Gallo-
2. 3- '" See Thomas D'Arcy iMcCee's "
J"' This stream fakes from Meath an lar Hi-tory of Ireland," voL i. , Book ii. ,
eastern direction through the county of chap. vi. , p. loj.
Lough
Ce, it is
Vol. 11. previou'sly brought them. See vol. i. , pp. rum. "— i. , pp. 10,
"
^John D'AIton's Dermid ; or Erin in the
3'' See Webbe Dasent's " of George Story
Burnt Njal," vol. ii. , chap, clvi. , pp. 336,
337-
5"" The -diinald toctiA C6, or Annals of
,,
Lough Ce, edited by William M. Hennessy,
Popu-
442 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
leaders, are said to have fallen ; while, a great slaughter of the Leinstermen,
with tlieir ciiiefs took place, and, extending from the field of battle to Dub-
lin, as also to the vessels of the foreigners. s"' The vanquished confederate
forces numbered among their slain leaders, Maelmordha,3'3 the chief insti-
gator of all this bloodshed,3»4 with Brogarbhan,3^5 son to Conchobhar, tanist
of Hy-Failghe,3''' or Ophaly, and Tuathal,3^7 son to Ugaire, the heir apparent to the crown of Leinster. Besides these, we find enumerated Dunlaing,'"*
son to Tuathal, King of LifS, and Domhnall, son to Ferghall, King of Fortu- aith Laigen, as killed. 3=9 Nearly all the chiefs of Leinster, with three thousand of their bravest troops, 33° are estimated to have perished, during the action, or after it while in retreat. According to another account, two thousand of the Lagenianswereslain,withelevenhundredoftheUi-Ceinnselaigh. 33' Besides their principal officers, the Danish loss is said, by some authorities, to have reached the almost incredible number of fourteen thousand men. On the part of the Galls, besides Brodar,332 or Brotor,333 who killed Bryan, the An- nals of Ulster enumerate the following chiefs as having fallen on this day,
«
viz. , Siuchrad,334 l)ubgall,33s Giiiaciarain,3 or Gildas Ciaran,337 Qttir, or
Uithir the Black,338 Suartgar,339 Donchad 0'Erulf,3i° Grisene,3<' Luinne and Amlaibh or Amlaf, son of Lagman or Ladmann,34» together with six thousand menkilled and wounded. 3*3 Besides the foregoing names of chiefs, the Annals of Innisfallen give those of Carolus,344 and Anrudh, two sons to the King of Lochlann,345 as also Dolat and Conmhaol. 3<* In addition to these are enumerated, Luiminin and Siogradh, Goistilin Gall and Amond,347
Simond,348 Sefraid,349 Bernard,35° Eoin the Baron and Rickard,3S' with Oisill and Raghnall, the two sons of Imhar, the grandsons of Imhar. 35» According
3" See the Dublin copy of the Annals of Innisfallen, in Rev. Ur. O'Conor's " Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus ii. , p. 65.
3'3 See tbid. , p. 66.
3^4 The Annals of Lough Ce style him,
Murchadh, chief king of Laighen.
3'5 See the Dublin copy of the Annals of
"
jAttAibh, chap, cxvii. , pp, 206, 207.
33* Called Sitrioc mc Luadar Jarla Inns h
Ore, in the Annals of Innisfallen, Dublin copy. In the <Xnn<il4 tocViA Ce, he is called Sighrud, son of Lolhar, Jarl of Insi-li-Orc.
335 Called son of Amhlaibh.
33* Called son of Gluniaiainn. royal heir of Innisfallen, in Rev. Dr. O'Conor's Re- the foreigners, in the <XnnAbd LochA Ce, or
rum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus ii. , p. 66.
3'' See . drinALA tochd C6 or Annals of Lough Ce, by William M. Hennessy, vol. i. , pp. 10, II.
3"' Heiscalled,intheDublincopyofthe Annals of Innisfallen, Tuthal h Gaire Riogh- darahna Laiyhen. See " Rerum Hibernica- rum Scriptores," tomus ii. , p. 66.
3'* He received a wound, from tlie effects of which died.
3"9 See Cogd'oh JaeoheL Re JallAibh, chap, cxvii. , pp. 208. 209.
'>''" See the Dublin oipy of the Annals of Innisfallen. in Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum HibernicarumScriptores,"tomusii. , p. 66.
33' See Coga'oh jAeoheL tie SAllaibh, chap, cxvii. , pp. 208, 209.
Annals of Lough Ce, edited by William M. Hennessy, vol. i. , pp. 10, ii.
33' These two, called Dubhgal mac Am-
laiomh, and Giolla Cuaran mac Gluiniaruim,
were regarded as two prospective kings of the I lanes. See Rev. Dr. O'C onor's " Rerum
Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus ii. Annales Inisfalenses, pp. 66, 67.
33" So called, in the <XnnAt4 iocha C^.
339 Called Suairtghair, in the Annals of
Lough Ce.
34° He is called Donnchadh O'h Eruilbh,
in the Coja-oh 5deT)heL lie SilUiibh, chap, cxvii. , pp. 206, 207.
343 See Rev. Dr. Charles O'Conor's 33" That is the captain cf the fleet, who " Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus
slew Brien, add the <\nnatA I,ochA 0^, or
Annals of Lough Ce, edited by William M.
Hennessy, vol. i. , pp. 10, II.
333 Or Broder, son of Osli, and Earl of
Caer Ebroc, and along with him were killed a thousand plundering Danes, both Saxons and Lochlanns. See CogA'oh 5<xe-ohel fte
iv. Annales Ultomenses, p. 305.
344 Another account has it Carlus and
Ciarlus, the two sons of the King of Loch- Ian n.
345 See Rev. Dr. Charles O'Conor's " Re- rum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus ii. , Annales Inisfalenses, p. 66.
34' Also called Grisin, read Grifin.
perhaps
we should
34' Also called Laghman.
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 443
to the Annals of Boyle,353 3,000 foreigners were killed, while with more par- ticularity, the Annals of Innisfallen have 3,012. In some of the Northmen's divisions, not a single warrior was left alive, so implacably did the victors follow up their success. Brodir's men—but probably only those are meant
who participated in the Monarch's murder—were slain to a man.
354
On the side
of the Galls, at least six thousand perished, either by killing or by drowning, as we are told. ? 55 The total loss on the enemy's side, according to one writer, was six hundred and three score hundreds, or six thousand six hundred. 'S* Among these, one thousand warriors, who wore coats of mail, were altogether slain, 35' so that not even one escaped from that field of carnage. Again, fifteen men of the Burners fell in Brian's battle,3s8 and there too fell Halldor, sonofGudmund,thepowerfulandbraveErlingofStraumey. 359 Sitrick,son to Amhlaibh, King of Ath Cliath, was not killed, as happened to all the other foreigners of distinction, because he did not go into the battle, but re-
mained on guard, within the walls of his fortress. 3*° In the Nials-Saga, one of the northern princes is introduced as asking,3*' some time after the battle, what had become of his men ? The answer given to him was couched in these words, that they were all killed.
It is not wonderful, that in this most obstinate engagement, which was waged from sunrise to dusk, the victory was dearly won, owing to the number slain, even on the conqueror's side. The Annals of Iniiislallen,^*" after enumerating among the slain the Monarch Bryan 3*3 and a few of his chiefs, with Maelmorda, King of Leinster, states in general, that many others fell on the Irish side ; while there was a great slaughter of the Leinster Reguli, and of the foreigners, belonging to the western world,3*-» on the other side. 3*5 About this period, and long afterwards, an incorrect geographical notion prevailed, that the Britannic and Irish Islands, as also the Scandinavian countries, had a more westward direction, as shown on several ancient maps. The royal family of Munster were left to mourn the loss of three generations cut down
^"Mornij,h advance 1 o'er heaps of slain
Th. it marked his path upon the
plain ;
In vain Conmaol dared his might,
Or challenged him to single fight ; In vain he raised his sword to hea-
ven
With a en- many mystic sign
of Lough Ci, edited by Willijim M. Hennessy, vol. i. , pp. lo, ii.
's' See Cogaoh Saerjliet Re JatlAibh, chap, cxvii. , pp. 208, 209.
'sr Such is the account given, in the Dub—-
lin copy of the " Annals of Innisfallen. " "
graven. "
—John D'Allon's " Dermid
'5» See "
Nials-. Sajia," cap. civiii,, p. 6os.
35' See " George Webbe Dasent's
Days of Boru," canto xi. , sect, xix. , pp. 379,
380.
J" He was the son of Duilhghin, andboh
of these named were two kings of Port
Lairge.
""Son of Turgeis.
3« ^on of Sunan.
31" Son of Suamin.
55' These were two sons of the Ingen
Ruaidh.
3S» See Cogatjh 5«eT)het Re SAbL^iibh
chap, cxvii. . pp. 206, 207.
353 See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum
Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus ii. , An-
^' I his dialogue seems an allusion to that division, clotlied in the coats of mail.
'" The Bodleian copy.
3«3
i,, the <inn4l<v bochaC^, or Annals of Lough Ce, edited l. y William . \1. Hennessy, he is called ihe supreme king of theGaedhel of Erinn, and of the foreigners of Britain, and the Augustus of the « hole north-west of Europe. See vol. i. , pp. 10. 11.
' * Accordint; to the Coga-oh 54eT)hel Re Sitl-aibh, chap, cxvii. , pp. 206, 207, there were killed in that battle, the greater part of the men of valour of the Gaill and of the Gaedhil, belonging to all the west of Europe.
"5 See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus ii. , p. 54.
nales Huellani, p. 17. " 35* See Genrge Webbe Da. sent's
Story of
Burnt Njal," vol. ii. , chap, clvi. , p. 338.
335 See <\nn<»U(i lx>chA C6, or the Annals
;
or in Erin the
ggg
Ue
5<\ll<iibh,
.
Rev. iJr. O'Conor's
Rerum Hibernicaram
Scriptores," tnmusii. , p. 65.
Story of Burnt Njal," vol. ii. , chap, clvi. , p. 338.
^fc
Co5AT>h JaeDheL chap, cxvii. . pp. 206 to 209.
444 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
in the one day, and upon the same field of battle. s** Besides the aged mon- arch 3*7 himself, Murchad 3** or Morough,3*9 with two of his brothers and his son Tordelbac 370 or Turlogh, fell in this most sanguinary encounter. His nephew ConaingS'' or Conang,37= the son of Donncuann, was slain, likewise, in this battle. Domhnall,373 son to Diarmaid, lord of Corca Bhaiscinn,37< Geibheannach, son to Dubhagan,375 chief of Feara-Maighe,37* Mac Beatha,377 son to Muireadhach,378 Claen the chief of Ciarraighe-Luachra,379 and Sgann- lan3*° or Scannlan, son to Cathal, lord of Eoghanacht-Locha Lein, were killed. Among others are mentioned, Eocha, son to Dunadhach, chief of the Clann-Scannlaine, Niall Ua Cuinn,3^' and Cuduiligh, son to Ceinneidigh,3^2 who were the three aids-de-camp, or companions in arms, 3*3 to the monarch Brian himself. 3^-t These three defenders were slain, with many other nobles. 3'5 Dubhdabhorrenn, son of Domhnall, Loingsech, son of Dunlaing,35* and Mothla,3*7 son to Domhnall, son to Faelan,lordin South Mumhan orMunster,38' Deisi were slain. The powerful Connaught prince, Tadhg Ua Ceallaigh or 0'Kelly,3*9 chief over Hy-Maine,39° as likewise Maelruanaidh na Paidre Ua
Alexander M. Sullivan's "
3^7 Bianus, King of Ireland, with his son Ascuthin, namely King Dulyn, was killed, A. D. 1013, according to the Cambrian Annals. See "Annales Cambriae," edited by the Rev. John Williams ab Ithel, M. A. , p. 22.
3'^ See the Annals of Innisfallen, Bodleian
and Dublin copies, in Rev. Dr. O'Conor's
" Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus
ii. , pp. 54, 63.
