This leader assumed the sovereignty of the foreigners, in Ireland ; and, he seems to have occupied, for some time, the whole of Leath-Cuinn, or tlie
northern
half of Ireland.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v4
787,'°° and again, in 793, when a great naval armament attacked the Island of Lindisfarne,"'' where they killed several of the monks, and made others captives, demolishing their holy places, and carrying off all the treasures of their church.
'°^ Next year, the Western Isles of Scotland, and the northern
shoresofEngland,wereinvaded. '°3 Thenwerethechurchandmonasteryat lona plundered by those Gentiles, who laid waste the Islands about it ; and
soon, supported by coming adventurers, their fleets were directed towards the shores of Ireland. The invaders landed on the Island of Reachrann,'°'t sup-
posed to be the present Lambay,'°5 where they broke and plundered the shrines, and set fire to the place. Besides the general term of Gentiles and
also to look after the sails ; indeed, to man
such a ship a large crew was required. No wonder, therefore, that a fleet of these galleys should strike terror along any coast off which they hovered. "—Ibid. , pp. 145,
146.
»s J . Harris Stone's
Tyrone, at th^ time of the Attacot insurrec- tion. See Haverty's "History of Ireland, Ancient and Modem," chap, v. , p. 32, note.
" It is said, that the conquests of Charle- magne over the Saxons, and their dispersion into Scandinavia, led them to originate or take
'' The Mirror of
Viking Ship. " Konge>peil,"
composer Kings, compiled,
or about
part France.
in the invasions of Britain and of
ing is the opening stanza
See Simeon of in Durham,
Historia
"
:
Danced the stream, laught the skies, sang the trees merrily,
Regum. "
Whitely
the berry lay ;
"
of the "
the year 12CO.
'' The third century of the Christian era
has l)een named, for the descent of King Sigir and his sons, to aid Eoghan More, who had fled to Spain, when he had been de- prived of his Munster Kingdom, by Conn of the Hundred Baltics. This theme has
vianKingdomofDublin,"Booki. , chap,i. , pp. 5 to 10.
'""Then, three ships came from Hseretha-
laixle, interpreted Norway, and they landed on the coa. it of Dorsetshire.
"" Before this time, dreadful prodigies,
he mountain beamed,
Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hiber-
i
South o'er the sparkling sea ran the breeze cheerily.
Wafting from Norway Clann Sigir the Bold I"
gentibus. "
—" The Saga of King Sigir and his sons,"
p. 306.
9' It is said, there were Norwegians in
"
Masters," vol. i. , pp. 396, 397, and n. (i).
in
Norway,
See Charles " . Scandina- Haliday's
horrible lightning. s, and dragons in the air, furnished the ground-work for a spirited affrighted the nauon of tlie Angles. See
an Irish
son, M. R. I. A. , writing under the signature
of Krionnah, in "The Harp," a Monthly Magazine, edited by M. J. M 'Cann, and pub-
lished in Dublin, a. d. — The follow- 8vo.
ballad, by
Jioet,
Dr.
1869.
George Siger-
brightly
" The to Anglo-Saxon Chronicle," according
the several original Autlioritics, Edited with a Tran. sl. ition, by Benjamin Thorpe, vol, i. ,
London, 1861,
p. loi, and vol. ii. , p. 48. '°'
"
'°3 At A. D. 794, the Annals of Ulster re-
"
'°* According to the Annals of Clonmac- noise, a. d. 792, but the true year is 795. This was an ancient name for the present Island of Kathlin, olT the norlh-coast of Antrim County.
°5 This was likewise called Reachrann.
cord,
Vaslatio omnium isolarum Britannise
—
nicarum . Scriptores," tomusiv.
See Dr. 6'Donovan's
Annals of the Four
304 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23. Pagans,theIrishdistinguishedbetweentwoinvadingnations; theNorwe-
'°*—the more formidable horde— known as or
gians
" fair-headed
being Fingaills, "white,"
"' The teiTn JopmgLdi-A, translated "
"azure, is sometimes applied to them ; it is probable, because of their armour presenting the colour a greenish blue.
"* Hirotlia or Irruaith is the Irish name
for Norw. iy.
'°^ This word is thought to signify Lake-
land, including the /fiJ/v/f, or arms of the sea; and, in Ireland, too, we liave corresponding
"'' See Miss M. F. Cusack's "
applications
of the term Loch, such as Loch
Popular
Foyle, Loch Swilly, &c.
See Coj;A-oh 5<se-oheL Ue 5<),Lt. Aibh.
also called Loclilannach,'°^ or " of Loch- people
strangers,"""?
lann,"'°9 wliile the Danes were known as Dubhgaill, black," or dark-haired strangers," also called Danars. But, in the accounts of their depredations on Ireland, our historians are not always careful, to distinguish between those nations. "" The wealth and resources, presented to their ambition, soon caused the Scandinavian Vikings and emigrants, to turn their attention, towards effecting conquests, in the Emerald Isle ; as it bordered very closely upon their colonies, in England and Scotland, and especially when its ferti- lity contrasted so favourably, with such poor countries as Greenland and those Islands, lying in the North Atlantic Ocean. '"
So early as the close of the eighth century, the invasion of Great Britain
and Ireland, by the Northmen, is chronicled ; but, it was only in tiie century succeeding, that their inroads received repetition and dangerous consistence. To give some idea of their frequency and power, we have only to take a rapid glance, over the Annals and Chronicles of those Islands. In 805, no less than sixty-eight of the lona monks were massacred, by the Northmen. '" After some partial descents on the coasts, towards the close, and about the begin- ning, of the ninth century, the Scandinavians landed in force, on the shores of England. Soon they established there a supremacy over the Saxons, whose ealdormans and thanes were at war among themselves. In the reign of
Egbert,"3 and especially towards its close, their fleets appeared annually around the coasts of England. Everywhere they spread terror, for in addition to plunder, they frequently massacred the people, who dared to resist them. Especially, the Normans and Danes continued to persecute and put to death the clergy, monks and nuns, whose houses were pillaged ; while they held, in scorn and hatred, the religion of the Christians. In 807,"+ the foreigners
landed on Inis Muireadhaigh, now Inishmurry ;"5 the religious establishment there was burned, and they penetrated inland, so far as Roscommon. "* In
812 and 813, the Norwegians invaded Connaught and Munster; where they met with reverses in Umhaill, and in Eoghanacht-Loch-Lein,"7 while they slaughtered many people living in Connemara. "^ In the years 819 "9 and 820,
those
foreigners
'^° made descents for
plunder,
on the eastern and southern
'"'They are called Lochlanns, especially in the older Manuscripts.
"^ From a. d. 802, his ascendency over
other kings of the Saxon Heptarchy began to prevail, and he died in 836. See Sir Harris
Nicholas' "Chronology of History," p. 355.
"* The Annals of the Four Masters have
it, at a. d. 802, recte, 807.
"5 On the west coast of Sligo.
"' See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 412, 413, and n. (. \). Jbid.
History of Ireland," chap, xii. , p. 189. "° "' "
Edited by Rev. James Henthorn Todd, In- troduction, pp. xxx. , xxxi.
See Cliarles Haliday's Scandinavian History of Dublin," Book i. , chap, i. , p. 15.
"' This year, they devastated Howth. See
D'AIton's " of the of John History County
Dublin," p. 131.
"°
According to Dermod O'Connor's Keating, they were White Lochlann, or Nor- wegians. "See General History of Ireland," Second Book, p. 413.
" See J. J. A. Worscie's " Account of the
Danes and in Scotland Norwegians England,
and Ireland. " The Norwegians in Ireland, sect, i. , p. 299.
"* According to the Ulster Annals. See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus iv. , p. 195.
""
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 305
shores of Ireland. Soon they began to devastate the sacred monuments of our island. In 822 and 823, they burned and plundered Bangor, Down, and Moville, in Ulster. The years succeeding are noticed, as being marked with
devastations ; but, in 830, Armagh, which had heretofore escaped plundering by strangers, was sacked thrice, within one month. "'" Before the middle of this cejitury, various places were attacked, in the interior ; while the churches and monasteries were everywhere wrecked and plundersd, by those gentiles. The fierce strangers generally managed to carry away the sacred relics, and manytreasuresofthesanctuary,beforeescapingtotheirvessels. Therecords of Armagh, for many years after that fatality of a first raid, are but an echo of the national history. While this city was regarded, as having an ecclesias- tical supremacy over all other parts of Ireland, contests, regarding the archi- episcopal succession, had created frequent schisms. The kings and chiefs still continued their feuds, even when formidable and powerful combinations had been effected by the foreigners. These found Ultonia distracted by faction, anditsstrengthdivided. Civildiscordhadbeenheightenedbyreligiouscon- tention. During the incumbency of Archbishop Artri, Armagh had suffered greatly to a. d. 832, the date assigned for his death. Diarmaid Ua Tighearnaigh comes next in order. Farannan succeeded, or rather displaced him, in 834. '^^ These two rivals, Farannan and O'Tierney, appear to have disputed archi- episcopal jurisdiction, each exercising the functions of the See, and this hap- pened, during a period of great public calamity and confusion.
The Danes soon re-appeared, and continued their ravages, in different parts of Ireland. Their aggressions now became unintermitting ; often they are -successfully opposed, but frequently they are conquerors. They behaved
withgreatcrueltytothevanquished. Atlength,theseroseupinarms,and beat the invaders back to their ships, whenever time and preparation had been allowed for resistance. Fresh hordes were constantly arriving, and in different quarters. Under their various designations of Fiugallians, Dubh- gallians, Lochlannans, the Northmen threatened to overwhelm Ulster. In the time of the Northmen descents on Ireland, a Danish writer e—stmiates the
of our at between six and se—
ven millions this seems
population Island, ;'^3 tous,however,averyexaggeratedcomputation whilethewoods,bogsand mountains, in the interior, gave the Celts an undoubted advantage over their Gothic invaders. Early in the ninth century, several Northmen crews had infestedthesouthernshoresofIreland; and,itisespeciallymentioned,that
they had taken possession of Cork,"* and of Luimnech, or the Lower Shan- non, whence the neighbouring country was plundered by them, namely, Cor-
cobhaiscinn, Tradraighe, and those lands occupied by the Ui Conaill Gabhra, or descendants of Conall Gabhra. However, in the year 834,^5 the chieftain
and who was named Donnchadh—
Fidhghente assistedbyCennfaeladh,gavebattletothegentiles,atSeannad, orShanid,inthebaronyofLowerCostello,andcountyofLimerick. Here,the foreigners were defeated, yet, they seem to have kept their hold on the place, \yheretheyhadastrongfortification. Theywereinfullforce,atLuimneach, in 843, when they took Forannan, Primate of Armagh, at Cluain-Comharda,"* with his relics and people, to their ships.
"' "
See James Stuart's Historical Me- land, sect, i. , p. 299.
of this latter— tribe,
also head of the Ui-
meirs of the City of Armagh," chap, i. , pp.
'« About 820. See Miss M. F. Cusack's
" ofthe and of History City County Cork,"
99.
loo-
'"See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , "Arch- chap, iv. , p. 55.
bishops of Armagh," p. 45.
'" See J. J. A. Worsae's " Account of the
Danes and Norwegians in England, Scot- landandIreland. " TheJSorw^iansiulie-
'-5 According to the " Chronicum Scoto- rum," edited by William M. Hennessy, M. R. I. A. , p. 141.
"^Thisplacehasnotbeenidentified U
3o6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
One of the most powerful naval expeditions was that conducted by Tur-
geis, or Turgesius, who had forced his way through Connaught and Leinster, andwhonowledhisvictoriousEasterlingsuponArmagh. Asheadvanced, Turgeis waged an unrelenting war against Cliristianity, levelling the churches
to the ground, and treating the clergy with wanton barbarity.
This leader assumed the sovereignty of the foreigners, in Ireland ; and, he seems to have occupied, for some time, the whole of Leath-Cuinn, or tlie northern half of Ireland. Three great fleets of foreigners appeared almost simultaneously, andtheirmovementswereprobablyunderhisguidance. "' Intheyear836, a fleet of sixty Norseman ships sailed into the mouth of the Boyne, while a convoyequallynumerousenteredtheLiffey. Bothforceswerecombined,and they spoiled all Magh Liphthe, or the plain of the Liffey, and Magh Breagh, thattractofcountrylyingbetweenDublinandDrogheda. AtInbhear-na- mbarc,"^ they obtained a great and decisive victory, over all the southern Ui- Neills, or the people of Meath. The invaders then took possession of Dublin, for the first time, and here they established a strong garrison. It was proba- bly about the same period, the country northwards had been settled by the P'inngalls ; so that, even at this day, its people are known as Fingallians, and the district is still called Fingal. In 838, the foreigners had a fleet on Lough Neagh, which enabled them to spoil the churches and territories around its shores. Thus, very considerable Scandinavian settlements, in the ninth cen- tury, had been formed throughout Ireland. According to the concurring evi- dence of the Irish and Northman Chronicles, for more than three centuries, the Scandinavians must have exercised very great influence, in the chief ports of Ireland. For a period of thirteen years, or from a. d. 831, or 832, to 845, Turgeis aimed at the establishment of a permanent colony of his countrymen in Ireland, and for the extermination or subjugation of the native kings and chiefs. Hetookcaretoselectplaces,fortheerectionofstrongholds,withthe object of protecting the Northmen. These are said to have built Cahirs or Caers, and Cashels or Castles ; and, likewise to have spread themselves over all Erinn, which was subjugated, for a time. The chief seat of Turgeis' government appears to have been, at Armagh ; while constant reinforcements oftheLochlannacharrivedfromNorway. Theirfierceleaderdesired,like- wise, to root out Christianity from our Island, and to introduce the national heathenism of his own country. The churches and monasteries of Ireland shared in the common calamity; they were stripped of their sacred vessels and ornaments ; afterwards, they were set on fire, by the wicked invaders, without remorse or distinction. '^9 Sometimes, the Irish were obliged to fly, and to seek the remotest mountain districts, when worsted in their isolated struggles with the invaders. During this, supremacy of the Northmen, the clergy throughout the most part of Ireland were compelled to lurk for years, among themountains,woodsandbogs,asalsoindesertsandincaverns. Heavytri- butary exactions were imposed on the people, who were often enslaved, when they could not afford to pay the taxes laid upon them. A series of extraor- dinary oppressions was commenced and long continued, by the Norwegians ; while, their exactions are still remembered, even among the most ignorant people, still tenacious of the past, although their traditions chiefly hold the
"' See CogAt)}! SAetjliel He 54l. l,Aibli, edited by Rev. James Henthoru Todd. In-
troduction, p. xlii.
for the mouth of the River Rath-Inbhir, near Bray. See "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 454 to 457, and n.
""
It has the meaning, the inver or river-
(b). Ibid.
'^ See Rev. Dr.
mouth of the b. irks or — Dr. O'Dono- ships.
ders this van consi—
"Gene-
not
identified as having been the ancient name
of 415. Duffy's
JeofTreyKeating's Ireland," Second Book,
place
yet clearly
ral
History
p.
Edition.
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 307
Danesasresponsible,formostofthosetyrannicalandsavageacts. TheIrish
accounts, however, regarding the Normans and Danes, with their exactions, are rather vague, in many cases, and they seem to have been drawn from
bardic compositions, based merely on popular nimours. These are spiced,
too frequently, with strong national prejudice and'dislike ; therefore, we may
be prepared for much exaggeration. In the year 837, the gentiles gained a
great victory over the Connaughtmen, in which Maelduin, heir apparent to the throne of Connaught, was slain. The following year, a change of abbots
at Armagh is noticed, Diarmaid Ua Tighearnaigh succeeding to Forannan of Rath-mic-Maluis ;'3° while in 839, the foreigners burned Armagh, with its cathedral and oratories. '3' The ecclesiastical possessions seem to have been usurped,byTurgesius. DesiringtoeffecttheconquestofMeathandofCon- naught, he proceeded towards Lough Ree, to take command ofa fleet there stationed. The Norse had launched their ships, even on the Irish lakes. With those vessels they coerced people, dwelling around their shores j'^^ while, up and down the Shannon, Turgesius sailed, plundering all the religious institu- tions, which were on or near its banks. At length, Maelseachlainn '33 took him prisoner, and the King of Meath is said to have effected this object, by a stratagem. The tyrant eagerly desired and had demanded his daughter, while thekingappearedtocomplywiththisdemand. Theplaceappointedforthat interview with her was an island in Loch Uair, now known as Lough Owel ; and, here, it was arranged, that she should be accompanied by fifteen beauti- ful young maidens, as prizes for fifteen of the most favoured Northmen chiefs. When the foreigners, suspecting no plot, had landed there, it was found, that -fifteen avenging young Irishmen, disguised in female apparel, had daggers concealed beneath their dresses, with which they poignarded those assembled chiefs of the Scandinavians, with their king. '34 He was afterwards drowned in Lough Owel, near Mullingar, in 843, the date furnished for this transaction. That tale, however, referring to the immediate cause of his death, has been generally rejected as a romance, by most Irish historians. '35
The exposed position of lona caused the community,—who observed the ruleofSt. Columba,toresolveonerectingtwonewhouses oneatDunkeld, on the mainland of Scotland, and the other at Kells, in Ireland. Kenneth Mac'Alpin, of Scottish descent,'3'5 invaded the Picts in 839, and subjected them to his rule over Scotland, while his enterprise is thought to have been aided by the Scandinavian invaders. '37 His reign lasted, until A. D. 860. He left two sons, Constantin and Aed, besides three daughters, one married to Run, King
of the Britons of Strathclyde, another married to Amlaibh,'38 or Olaf the White, Norwegian King of Dublin,'39 and the third, called Maelmaire,"''"
'^ He seems, afterwards, to have gone into exile.
"• See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 460, 461.
'*" See J. J. A. Worsae s " Account of the Danes ami Norwegians in England, Scotland and Ireland. " The Norwegians in Ireland, sect, ii. , p. 308.
'53 He is called Omachlachelim, by Giral- "
dus Cambrensis. See Topographia Hiber- nica," cap. xl. , p. 185. "Opera," vol. v. , Edited by James F. Dimock, M. A.
'J* See ibid.
"
'35 See Martin Haverty's Ireland," ch. Tp. xiii. , p. 125, and note.
History of '^HeprobablyruledoverthepeopleinGal-
on the south-west coast of Scotland. Itis thought, the name bad beeQderived from
loway,
the Gall-Gaidhel, a compound of two Irish "'
words. Gall, Stranger, and Gaidhel, the national name for the Gaelic race. This term spread to the people of the western Isles of Scotland of Irish descent, and who
weregenerallysubjectedtoNorthmandomina- tion.
"
See William F. Skene's Celtic Scot-
a History of Ancient Alban," vol. i. , Book i. , chap, vi. , pp. 303 to
"' His first wife seems to have been Audur
the wealthy, daughter to Ketill Flatnose or
Caittil Finn, a petty king of Norway, but settled in the Hebrides.
'» This appear, from the " Three Frag- ments" of Irish Annals. See pp. 172, 173.
'*" The name be " the may Anglicised,
servant of Mary. "
'3' land :
3o8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
married '' to Aedh Finnliath, monarch of Ireland, who died a. d. 879. It can hardly be doubted, that liis daughters were married to Christian husbands, as their father is known to have been a special patron of religious persons.
After the death of the tyrant Turgesius, the tide of successes for the
Northmen changed. In 844, when he had been thirteen years the lawfully
recognised sovereign of Ireland, Niall Caille, son of Aedh Oirdnidhe, hastened to the relief of Armagh. There the Nonhmen received his onset, and a bloody encounter resulted in a victory for the Irish. It was dearly purchased, how- ever, by-the death of their leader, who perished in an attempt, to save one of his troop from being drowned. During the years succeeding, the foreigners sustained many defeats, in various parts of Ireland. Reinforcements were required to maintain their ascendency, in the invaded Island, but on account of their great distance from Scandinavia, it was a physical impossibility for the Northmen to obtain assistance, in the hour of need, from their own country. '^^ In the year 849, a new race of invaders, the Dubhghoill, or Black Foreigners, arrived at Ath-cliath, to make war on the Fionghoill. "'" The former took possession of the fortress, and made a great slaughter of the Nor-
wegians. This success was repeated, at Linn-Duaciiaill, in the north of Ire- land. In 850, a fleet of 160 Finnghoill ships arrived in Carlingford Lough, to give battle to the Dubhghoill. "'•* For three days and three nights, they fought against each other, but the Danes obtained a victory, and the Norwe- gians either escaped in their ships, or left these in possession of the con-
querors. "<5 While Dermod O'Tighernagh ruled over the primatial See, upon the Sunday after the Easter of 852, the gentiles stormed and sacked Armagh. This calamity broke the heart ot the good Archbishop. He died, with the
"
reputation of being the wisest of the doctors of Europe. "'''* In other
struggles, the Irish were victorious. Amlaeibh,"''? also called Amlaf, or Olaf, the White,'''^ the son of the Lochlan King, came to Ireland, a. d. 851. All the foreigners in Ireland submitted to him,'*" and they exacted rent from the Gaedhil, or Irish. "5° With the natives, however, alliances were frequently entered into, and with Amlaeibh was associated Imhar, or Ivor, ancestor to the Danish Kings of Dublin, and Ceartball, Chief of Ossory, in an invasion
*' The Ulster Annals, at A. D. 917, men-
tion her, as Mailmaire inghen Cinaeda mac
Alpin mor.
''' See J. J. A. Worsae's " Account of the
Danes and Norwegians in England, Scot- land and Ireland. " The Norwegians in Ire-
land, sect, i. , pp. 229, 300.
*3 From some History of the Danish In-
vasions, which now nppears to be lost, Dublialtach Mac Firbisiyh gives a detailed account of this quarrel, between the Scan- dinavians themselves, in the "Three Frag- ments " of Irish Annals, edited with a trans-
lationandnotes, by JohnO'Donovan,LL. D. , pp. 114 to 125.
'" Some curious particulars are related, about the Danes, after a first defeat, placing themselves under the protection of St. Patrick,
and of his God, and then being victorious.
afteragreatslaughteroftheNorwegians. A horrible idea of tlie victors' ferocity is given, when we are informed, that their cauldrons were placed ou heaps of Lochlann bodies, and one end of the spits, on which their meat was htmg, had been stuck into some of
the corpses, while cooking their meals. This was witnessed, by the ambassadors of King Maelseachlainn.
'« See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the FourMasters,"vol. i. , pp. 484,485.
"* See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , "Arch-
bishops of Armagh," p. 45.
"'"In the "Three Fragments" of Irish
Annals, he is called -dmLioib Conung, and the editor, Dr. O'Donovan, has the quciy "is Connng an Hibernicized form of the Teu-
t'onic Koenig or Koenuito, King? "
"••' He was a Norwegian,
"9 See an account of him, in Charles
"
Scandinavi. in History of Dub- lin," chap, i. , ii. , pp. 18 to 33.
'5° At the year 854, an extraordinary fact, not noticed in the Annals of Ulster or of the
Four Masters, is related, that many of the IrishforsooktheirChristianbaptism,joined the Lochlanns, plundered Armagh, and ear- ried away all its riches ; but some of them did penance, and came to make satisfaction, See Hid. , pp. 126, 127.
Haliday's
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 309
of Meath, a. d. 857. Peace was proclaimed, after King Maelseachlainn had
convoked a great assembly of Irish notables, at Rathhugh, in the county of Westmeath. The monarch of Ireland was obliged to contend with Aedh
Finnliath, son to Niall Caille, who leagued with the foreigners. Thus, our Annals present a dismal succession of struggles, between the islanders and their obstinate enemies. The former were always disunited, and often for that reason suffering disaster. In the year 860 died Maelseachlainn, after a reign of sixteen years,'5> and he was succeeded by Aedh Finnliath, in the sovereignty of Ireland. Meantime, the Saxons in England were harassed greatly by the Northmen. During the reigns of the English King Egbert's succesors, Ethelwulf, Ethelbald, Ethelbert and Ethelbred, with varying for- tunes, invasion succeeded invasion,"but everywhere, tlie pirates spread ruin and conflagration. Various signal victories were obtained over the Saxons, until Alfred the Great was called to the throne in 871. His prudence, abilities and courage reversed their successes to the end of his reign, and his death tookplace,onthe26thofOctober,a. d. 899to901. '5' HissonEdward,who succeeded, obtained more real power over them, and his conquests were more durable.
During Maelseachlainn's reign, while the Scandinavians were repressed in the north of Ireland, those of Dublin invaded Leinster and Munster, which they ravaged, while they searched the very earth-caves for hidden booty. Limerick, Cork and Kerry were desolated by those plunderers. In 860, two noble chiefs of the Lochlanns, came with their forces to Luimnech, and thencewenttoPort-Lairge. TheleaderswerecalledHona,whowasaDruid,'S3 and Tormir Torra ; but, the people of Eoghanacht,'5* and of Aracliach,'55 opposedthem. Thosechiefswereslain,withagreatnumberoftheirforces, and only a few escaped from the people of Munster. 's* In 867, Armagh was again burned, and one thousand of its citizens were slaughtered. '57 About this period, the Danes had landed in England, and had reduced the King- dom of Northumbria, under their sway. '^* Nay more, the Norwegians are said even to have invaded the Mauritani, or Moors, about a. d. 869 ; and, after fighting a bloody engagement with the king of that country, the Loch- lanns gained a signal victory, and carried off a great number of captives to Erinn, where these were known as blue or dark men, owing to tiie peculiar colour of their faces. 'ss It must be allowed, that the White Gentiles fought with the Black Gentiles, about this tinie, and these latter were driven to Alba or Scotland.
shoresofEngland,wereinvaded. '°3 Thenwerethechurchandmonasteryat lona plundered by those Gentiles, who laid waste the Islands about it ; and
soon, supported by coming adventurers, their fleets were directed towards the shores of Ireland. The invaders landed on the Island of Reachrann,'°'t sup-
posed to be the present Lambay,'°5 where they broke and plundered the shrines, and set fire to the place. Besides the general term of Gentiles and
also to look after the sails ; indeed, to man
such a ship a large crew was required. No wonder, therefore, that a fleet of these galleys should strike terror along any coast off which they hovered. "—Ibid. , pp. 145,
146.
»s J . Harris Stone's
Tyrone, at th^ time of the Attacot insurrec- tion. See Haverty's "History of Ireland, Ancient and Modem," chap, v. , p. 32, note.
" It is said, that the conquests of Charle- magne over the Saxons, and their dispersion into Scandinavia, led them to originate or take
'' The Mirror of
Viking Ship. " Konge>peil,"
composer Kings, compiled,
or about
part France.
in the invasions of Britain and of
ing is the opening stanza
See Simeon of in Durham,
Historia
"
:
Danced the stream, laught the skies, sang the trees merrily,
Regum. "
Whitely
the berry lay ;
"
of the "
the year 12CO.
'' The third century of the Christian era
has l)een named, for the descent of King Sigir and his sons, to aid Eoghan More, who had fled to Spain, when he had been de- prived of his Munster Kingdom, by Conn of the Hundred Baltics. This theme has
vianKingdomofDublin,"Booki. , chap,i. , pp. 5 to 10.
'""Then, three ships came from Hseretha-
laixle, interpreted Norway, and they landed on the coa. it of Dorsetshire.
"" Before this time, dreadful prodigies,
he mountain beamed,
Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hiber-
i
South o'er the sparkling sea ran the breeze cheerily.
Wafting from Norway Clann Sigir the Bold I"
gentibus. "
—" The Saga of King Sigir and his sons,"
p. 306.
9' It is said, there were Norwegians in
"
Masters," vol. i. , pp. 396, 397, and n. (i).
in
Norway,
See Charles " . Scandina- Haliday's
horrible lightning. s, and dragons in the air, furnished the ground-work for a spirited affrighted the nauon of tlie Angles. See
an Irish
son, M. R. I. A. , writing under the signature
of Krionnah, in "The Harp," a Monthly Magazine, edited by M. J. M 'Cann, and pub-
lished in Dublin, a. d. — The follow- 8vo.
ballad, by
Jioet,
Dr.
1869.
George Siger-
brightly
" The to Anglo-Saxon Chronicle," according
the several original Autlioritics, Edited with a Tran. sl. ition, by Benjamin Thorpe, vol, i. ,
London, 1861,
p. loi, and vol. ii. , p. 48. '°'
"
'°3 At A. D. 794, the Annals of Ulster re-
"
'°* According to the Annals of Clonmac- noise, a. d. 792, but the true year is 795. This was an ancient name for the present Island of Kathlin, olT the norlh-coast of Antrim County.
°5 This was likewise called Reachrann.
cord,
Vaslatio omnium isolarum Britannise
—
nicarum . Scriptores," tomusiv.
See Dr. 6'Donovan's
Annals of the Four
304 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23. Pagans,theIrishdistinguishedbetweentwoinvadingnations; theNorwe-
'°*—the more formidable horde— known as or
gians
" fair-headed
being Fingaills, "white,"
"' The teiTn JopmgLdi-A, translated "
"azure, is sometimes applied to them ; it is probable, because of their armour presenting the colour a greenish blue.
"* Hirotlia or Irruaith is the Irish name
for Norw. iy.
'°^ This word is thought to signify Lake-
land, including the /fiJ/v/f, or arms of the sea; and, in Ireland, too, we liave corresponding
"'' See Miss M. F. Cusack's "
applications
of the term Loch, such as Loch
Popular
Foyle, Loch Swilly, &c.
See Coj;A-oh 5<se-oheL Ue 5<),Lt. Aibh.
also called Loclilannach,'°^ or " of Loch- people
strangers,"""?
lann,"'°9 wliile the Danes were known as Dubhgaill, black," or dark-haired strangers," also called Danars. But, in the accounts of their depredations on Ireland, our historians are not always careful, to distinguish between those nations. "" The wealth and resources, presented to their ambition, soon caused the Scandinavian Vikings and emigrants, to turn their attention, towards effecting conquests, in the Emerald Isle ; as it bordered very closely upon their colonies, in England and Scotland, and especially when its ferti- lity contrasted so favourably, with such poor countries as Greenland and those Islands, lying in the North Atlantic Ocean. '"
So early as the close of the eighth century, the invasion of Great Britain
and Ireland, by the Northmen, is chronicled ; but, it was only in tiie century succeeding, that their inroads received repetition and dangerous consistence. To give some idea of their frequency and power, we have only to take a rapid glance, over the Annals and Chronicles of those Islands. In 805, no less than sixty-eight of the lona monks were massacred, by the Northmen. '" After some partial descents on the coasts, towards the close, and about the begin- ning, of the ninth century, the Scandinavians landed in force, on the shores of England. Soon they established there a supremacy over the Saxons, whose ealdormans and thanes were at war among themselves. In the reign of
Egbert,"3 and especially towards its close, their fleets appeared annually around the coasts of England. Everywhere they spread terror, for in addition to plunder, they frequently massacred the people, who dared to resist them. Especially, the Normans and Danes continued to persecute and put to death the clergy, monks and nuns, whose houses were pillaged ; while they held, in scorn and hatred, the religion of the Christians. In 807,"+ the foreigners
landed on Inis Muireadhaigh, now Inishmurry ;"5 the religious establishment there was burned, and they penetrated inland, so far as Roscommon. "* In
812 and 813, the Norwegians invaded Connaught and Munster; where they met with reverses in Umhaill, and in Eoghanacht-Loch-Lein,"7 while they slaughtered many people living in Connemara. "^ In the years 819 "9 and 820,
those
foreigners
'^° made descents for
plunder,
on the eastern and southern
'"'They are called Lochlanns, especially in the older Manuscripts.
"^ From a. d. 802, his ascendency over
other kings of the Saxon Heptarchy began to prevail, and he died in 836. See Sir Harris
Nicholas' "Chronology of History," p. 355.
"* The Annals of the Four Masters have
it, at a. d. 802, recte, 807.
"5 On the west coast of Sligo.
"' See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 412, 413, and n. (. \). Jbid.
History of Ireland," chap, xii. , p. 189. "° "' "
Edited by Rev. James Henthorn Todd, In- troduction, pp. xxx. , xxxi.
See Cliarles Haliday's Scandinavian History of Dublin," Book i. , chap, i. , p. 15.
"' This year, they devastated Howth. See
D'AIton's " of the of John History County
Dublin," p. 131.
"°
According to Dermod O'Connor's Keating, they were White Lochlann, or Nor- wegians. "See General History of Ireland," Second Book, p. 413.
" See J. J. A. Worscie's " Account of the
Danes and in Scotland Norwegians England,
and Ireland. " The Norwegians in Ireland, sect, i. , p. 299.
"* According to the Ulster Annals. See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus iv. , p. 195.
""
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 305
shores of Ireland. Soon they began to devastate the sacred monuments of our island. In 822 and 823, they burned and plundered Bangor, Down, and Moville, in Ulster. The years succeeding are noticed, as being marked with
devastations ; but, in 830, Armagh, which had heretofore escaped plundering by strangers, was sacked thrice, within one month. "'" Before the middle of this cejitury, various places were attacked, in the interior ; while the churches and monasteries were everywhere wrecked and plundersd, by those gentiles. The fierce strangers generally managed to carry away the sacred relics, and manytreasuresofthesanctuary,beforeescapingtotheirvessels. Therecords of Armagh, for many years after that fatality of a first raid, are but an echo of the national history. While this city was regarded, as having an ecclesias- tical supremacy over all other parts of Ireland, contests, regarding the archi- episcopal succession, had created frequent schisms. The kings and chiefs still continued their feuds, even when formidable and powerful combinations had been effected by the foreigners. These found Ultonia distracted by faction, anditsstrengthdivided. Civildiscordhadbeenheightenedbyreligiouscon- tention. During the incumbency of Archbishop Artri, Armagh had suffered greatly to a. d. 832, the date assigned for his death. Diarmaid Ua Tighearnaigh comes next in order. Farannan succeeded, or rather displaced him, in 834. '^^ These two rivals, Farannan and O'Tierney, appear to have disputed archi- episcopal jurisdiction, each exercising the functions of the See, and this hap- pened, during a period of great public calamity and confusion.
The Danes soon re-appeared, and continued their ravages, in different parts of Ireland. Their aggressions now became unintermitting ; often they are -successfully opposed, but frequently they are conquerors. They behaved
withgreatcrueltytothevanquished. Atlength,theseroseupinarms,and beat the invaders back to their ships, whenever time and preparation had been allowed for resistance. Fresh hordes were constantly arriving, and in different quarters. Under their various designations of Fiugallians, Dubh- gallians, Lochlannans, the Northmen threatened to overwhelm Ulster. In the time of the Northmen descents on Ireland, a Danish writer e—stmiates the
of our at between six and se—
ven millions this seems
population Island, ;'^3 tous,however,averyexaggeratedcomputation whilethewoods,bogsand mountains, in the interior, gave the Celts an undoubted advantage over their Gothic invaders. Early in the ninth century, several Northmen crews had infestedthesouthernshoresofIreland; and,itisespeciallymentioned,that
they had taken possession of Cork,"* and of Luimnech, or the Lower Shan- non, whence the neighbouring country was plundered by them, namely, Cor-
cobhaiscinn, Tradraighe, and those lands occupied by the Ui Conaill Gabhra, or descendants of Conall Gabhra. However, in the year 834,^5 the chieftain
and who was named Donnchadh—
Fidhghente assistedbyCennfaeladh,gavebattletothegentiles,atSeannad, orShanid,inthebaronyofLowerCostello,andcountyofLimerick. Here,the foreigners were defeated, yet, they seem to have kept their hold on the place, \yheretheyhadastrongfortification. Theywereinfullforce,atLuimneach, in 843, when they took Forannan, Primate of Armagh, at Cluain-Comharda,"* with his relics and people, to their ships.
"' "
See James Stuart's Historical Me- land, sect, i. , p. 299.
of this latter— tribe,
also head of the Ui-
meirs of the City of Armagh," chap, i. , pp.
'« About 820. See Miss M. F. Cusack's
" ofthe and of History City County Cork,"
99.
loo-
'"See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , "Arch- chap, iv. , p. 55.
bishops of Armagh," p. 45.
'" See J. J. A. Worsae's " Account of the
Danes and Norwegians in England, Scot- landandIreland. " TheJSorw^iansiulie-
'-5 According to the " Chronicum Scoto- rum," edited by William M. Hennessy, M. R. I. A. , p. 141.
"^Thisplacehasnotbeenidentified U
3o6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
One of the most powerful naval expeditions was that conducted by Tur-
geis, or Turgesius, who had forced his way through Connaught and Leinster, andwhonowledhisvictoriousEasterlingsuponArmagh. Asheadvanced, Turgeis waged an unrelenting war against Cliristianity, levelling the churches
to the ground, and treating the clergy with wanton barbarity.
This leader assumed the sovereignty of the foreigners, in Ireland ; and, he seems to have occupied, for some time, the whole of Leath-Cuinn, or tlie northern half of Ireland. Three great fleets of foreigners appeared almost simultaneously, andtheirmovementswereprobablyunderhisguidance. "' Intheyear836, a fleet of sixty Norseman ships sailed into the mouth of the Boyne, while a convoyequallynumerousenteredtheLiffey. Bothforceswerecombined,and they spoiled all Magh Liphthe, or the plain of the Liffey, and Magh Breagh, thattractofcountrylyingbetweenDublinandDrogheda. AtInbhear-na- mbarc,"^ they obtained a great and decisive victory, over all the southern Ui- Neills, or the people of Meath. The invaders then took possession of Dublin, for the first time, and here they established a strong garrison. It was proba- bly about the same period, the country northwards had been settled by the P'inngalls ; so that, even at this day, its people are known as Fingallians, and the district is still called Fingal. In 838, the foreigners had a fleet on Lough Neagh, which enabled them to spoil the churches and territories around its shores. Thus, very considerable Scandinavian settlements, in the ninth cen- tury, had been formed throughout Ireland. According to the concurring evi- dence of the Irish and Northman Chronicles, for more than three centuries, the Scandinavians must have exercised very great influence, in the chief ports of Ireland. For a period of thirteen years, or from a. d. 831, or 832, to 845, Turgeis aimed at the establishment of a permanent colony of his countrymen in Ireland, and for the extermination or subjugation of the native kings and chiefs. Hetookcaretoselectplaces,fortheerectionofstrongholds,withthe object of protecting the Northmen. These are said to have built Cahirs or Caers, and Cashels or Castles ; and, likewise to have spread themselves over all Erinn, which was subjugated, for a time. The chief seat of Turgeis' government appears to have been, at Armagh ; while constant reinforcements oftheLochlannacharrivedfromNorway. Theirfierceleaderdesired,like- wise, to root out Christianity from our Island, and to introduce the national heathenism of his own country. The churches and monasteries of Ireland shared in the common calamity; they were stripped of their sacred vessels and ornaments ; afterwards, they were set on fire, by the wicked invaders, without remorse or distinction. '^9 Sometimes, the Irish were obliged to fly, and to seek the remotest mountain districts, when worsted in their isolated struggles with the invaders. During this, supremacy of the Northmen, the clergy throughout the most part of Ireland were compelled to lurk for years, among themountains,woodsandbogs,asalsoindesertsandincaverns. Heavytri- butary exactions were imposed on the people, who were often enslaved, when they could not afford to pay the taxes laid upon them. A series of extraor- dinary oppressions was commenced and long continued, by the Norwegians ; while, their exactions are still remembered, even among the most ignorant people, still tenacious of the past, although their traditions chiefly hold the
"' See CogAt)}! SAetjliel He 54l. l,Aibli, edited by Rev. James Henthoru Todd. In-
troduction, p. xlii.
for the mouth of the River Rath-Inbhir, near Bray. See "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 454 to 457, and n.
""
It has the meaning, the inver or river-
(b). Ibid.
'^ See Rev. Dr.
mouth of the b. irks or — Dr. O'Dono- ships.
ders this van consi—
"Gene-
not
identified as having been the ancient name
of 415. Duffy's
JeofTreyKeating's Ireland," Second Book,
place
yet clearly
ral
History
p.
Edition.
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 307
Danesasresponsible,formostofthosetyrannicalandsavageacts. TheIrish
accounts, however, regarding the Normans and Danes, with their exactions, are rather vague, in many cases, and they seem to have been drawn from
bardic compositions, based merely on popular nimours. These are spiced,
too frequently, with strong national prejudice and'dislike ; therefore, we may
be prepared for much exaggeration. In the year 837, the gentiles gained a
great victory over the Connaughtmen, in which Maelduin, heir apparent to the throne of Connaught, was slain. The following year, a change of abbots
at Armagh is noticed, Diarmaid Ua Tighearnaigh succeeding to Forannan of Rath-mic-Maluis ;'3° while in 839, the foreigners burned Armagh, with its cathedral and oratories. '3' The ecclesiastical possessions seem to have been usurped,byTurgesius. DesiringtoeffecttheconquestofMeathandofCon- naught, he proceeded towards Lough Ree, to take command ofa fleet there stationed. The Norse had launched their ships, even on the Irish lakes. With those vessels they coerced people, dwelling around their shores j'^^ while, up and down the Shannon, Turgesius sailed, plundering all the religious institu- tions, which were on or near its banks. At length, Maelseachlainn '33 took him prisoner, and the King of Meath is said to have effected this object, by a stratagem. The tyrant eagerly desired and had demanded his daughter, while thekingappearedtocomplywiththisdemand. Theplaceappointedforthat interview with her was an island in Loch Uair, now known as Lough Owel ; and, here, it was arranged, that she should be accompanied by fifteen beauti- ful young maidens, as prizes for fifteen of the most favoured Northmen chiefs. When the foreigners, suspecting no plot, had landed there, it was found, that -fifteen avenging young Irishmen, disguised in female apparel, had daggers concealed beneath their dresses, with which they poignarded those assembled chiefs of the Scandinavians, with their king. '34 He was afterwards drowned in Lough Owel, near Mullingar, in 843, the date furnished for this transaction. That tale, however, referring to the immediate cause of his death, has been generally rejected as a romance, by most Irish historians. '35
The exposed position of lona caused the community,—who observed the ruleofSt. Columba,toresolveonerectingtwonewhouses oneatDunkeld, on the mainland of Scotland, and the other at Kells, in Ireland. Kenneth Mac'Alpin, of Scottish descent,'3'5 invaded the Picts in 839, and subjected them to his rule over Scotland, while his enterprise is thought to have been aided by the Scandinavian invaders. '37 His reign lasted, until A. D. 860. He left two sons, Constantin and Aed, besides three daughters, one married to Run, King
of the Britons of Strathclyde, another married to Amlaibh,'38 or Olaf the White, Norwegian King of Dublin,'39 and the third, called Maelmaire,"''"
'^ He seems, afterwards, to have gone into exile.
"• See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 460, 461.
'*" See J. J. A. Worsae s " Account of the Danes ami Norwegians in England, Scotland and Ireland. " The Norwegians in Ireland, sect, ii. , p. 308.
'53 He is called Omachlachelim, by Giral- "
dus Cambrensis. See Topographia Hiber- nica," cap. xl. , p. 185. "Opera," vol. v. , Edited by James F. Dimock, M. A.
'J* See ibid.
"
'35 See Martin Haverty's Ireland," ch. Tp. xiii. , p. 125, and note.
History of '^HeprobablyruledoverthepeopleinGal-
on the south-west coast of Scotland. Itis thought, the name bad beeQderived from
loway,
the Gall-Gaidhel, a compound of two Irish "'
words. Gall, Stranger, and Gaidhel, the national name for the Gaelic race. This term spread to the people of the western Isles of Scotland of Irish descent, and who
weregenerallysubjectedtoNorthmandomina- tion.
"
See William F. Skene's Celtic Scot-
a History of Ancient Alban," vol. i. , Book i. , chap, vi. , pp. 303 to
"' His first wife seems to have been Audur
the wealthy, daughter to Ketill Flatnose or
Caittil Finn, a petty king of Norway, but settled in the Hebrides.
'» This appear, from the " Three Frag- ments" of Irish Annals. See pp. 172, 173.
'*" The name be " the may Anglicised,
servant of Mary. "
'3' land :
3o8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
married '' to Aedh Finnliath, monarch of Ireland, who died a. d. 879. It can hardly be doubted, that liis daughters were married to Christian husbands, as their father is known to have been a special patron of religious persons.
After the death of the tyrant Turgesius, the tide of successes for the
Northmen changed. In 844, when he had been thirteen years the lawfully
recognised sovereign of Ireland, Niall Caille, son of Aedh Oirdnidhe, hastened to the relief of Armagh. There the Nonhmen received his onset, and a bloody encounter resulted in a victory for the Irish. It was dearly purchased, how- ever, by-the death of their leader, who perished in an attempt, to save one of his troop from being drowned. During the years succeeding, the foreigners sustained many defeats, in various parts of Ireland. Reinforcements were required to maintain their ascendency, in the invaded Island, but on account of their great distance from Scandinavia, it was a physical impossibility for the Northmen to obtain assistance, in the hour of need, from their own country. '^^ In the year 849, a new race of invaders, the Dubhghoill, or Black Foreigners, arrived at Ath-cliath, to make war on the Fionghoill. "'" The former took possession of the fortress, and made a great slaughter of the Nor-
wegians. This success was repeated, at Linn-Duaciiaill, in the north of Ire- land. In 850, a fleet of 160 Finnghoill ships arrived in Carlingford Lough, to give battle to the Dubhghoill. "'•* For three days and three nights, they fought against each other, but the Danes obtained a victory, and the Norwe- gians either escaped in their ships, or left these in possession of the con-
querors. "<5 While Dermod O'Tighernagh ruled over the primatial See, upon the Sunday after the Easter of 852, the gentiles stormed and sacked Armagh. This calamity broke the heart ot the good Archbishop. He died, with the
"
reputation of being the wisest of the doctors of Europe. "'''* In other
struggles, the Irish were victorious. Amlaeibh,"''? also called Amlaf, or Olaf, the White,'''^ the son of the Lochlan King, came to Ireland, a. d. 851. All the foreigners in Ireland submitted to him,'*" and they exacted rent from the Gaedhil, or Irish. "5° With the natives, however, alliances were frequently entered into, and with Amlaeibh was associated Imhar, or Ivor, ancestor to the Danish Kings of Dublin, and Ceartball, Chief of Ossory, in an invasion
*' The Ulster Annals, at A. D. 917, men-
tion her, as Mailmaire inghen Cinaeda mac
Alpin mor.
''' See J. J. A. Worsae's " Account of the
Danes and Norwegians in England, Scot- land and Ireland. " The Norwegians in Ire-
land, sect, i. , pp. 229, 300.
*3 From some History of the Danish In-
vasions, which now nppears to be lost, Dublialtach Mac Firbisiyh gives a detailed account of this quarrel, between the Scan- dinavians themselves, in the "Three Frag- ments " of Irish Annals, edited with a trans-
lationandnotes, by JohnO'Donovan,LL. D. , pp. 114 to 125.
'" Some curious particulars are related, about the Danes, after a first defeat, placing themselves under the protection of St. Patrick,
and of his God, and then being victorious.
afteragreatslaughteroftheNorwegians. A horrible idea of tlie victors' ferocity is given, when we are informed, that their cauldrons were placed ou heaps of Lochlann bodies, and one end of the spits, on which their meat was htmg, had been stuck into some of
the corpses, while cooking their meals. This was witnessed, by the ambassadors of King Maelseachlainn.
'« See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the FourMasters,"vol. i. , pp. 484,485.
"* See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , "Arch-
bishops of Armagh," p. 45.
"'"In the "Three Fragments" of Irish
Annals, he is called -dmLioib Conung, and the editor, Dr. O'Donovan, has the quciy "is Connng an Hibernicized form of the Teu-
t'onic Koenig or Koenuito, King? "
"••' He was a Norwegian,
"9 See an account of him, in Charles
"
Scandinavi. in History of Dub- lin," chap, i. , ii. , pp. 18 to 33.
'5° At the year 854, an extraordinary fact, not noticed in the Annals of Ulster or of the
Four Masters, is related, that many of the IrishforsooktheirChristianbaptism,joined the Lochlanns, plundered Armagh, and ear- ried away all its riches ; but some of them did penance, and came to make satisfaction, See Hid. , pp. 126, 127.
Haliday's
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 309
of Meath, a. d. 857. Peace was proclaimed, after King Maelseachlainn had
convoked a great assembly of Irish notables, at Rathhugh, in the county of Westmeath. The monarch of Ireland was obliged to contend with Aedh
Finnliath, son to Niall Caille, who leagued with the foreigners. Thus, our Annals present a dismal succession of struggles, between the islanders and their obstinate enemies. The former were always disunited, and often for that reason suffering disaster. In the year 860 died Maelseachlainn, after a reign of sixteen years,'5> and he was succeeded by Aedh Finnliath, in the sovereignty of Ireland. Meantime, the Saxons in England were harassed greatly by the Northmen. During the reigns of the English King Egbert's succesors, Ethelwulf, Ethelbald, Ethelbert and Ethelbred, with varying for- tunes, invasion succeeded invasion,"but everywhere, tlie pirates spread ruin and conflagration. Various signal victories were obtained over the Saxons, until Alfred the Great was called to the throne in 871. His prudence, abilities and courage reversed their successes to the end of his reign, and his death tookplace,onthe26thofOctober,a. d. 899to901. '5' HissonEdward,who succeeded, obtained more real power over them, and his conquests were more durable.
During Maelseachlainn's reign, while the Scandinavians were repressed in the north of Ireland, those of Dublin invaded Leinster and Munster, which they ravaged, while they searched the very earth-caves for hidden booty. Limerick, Cork and Kerry were desolated by those plunderers. In 860, two noble chiefs of the Lochlanns, came with their forces to Luimnech, and thencewenttoPort-Lairge. TheleaderswerecalledHona,whowasaDruid,'S3 and Tormir Torra ; but, the people of Eoghanacht,'5* and of Aracliach,'55 opposedthem. Thosechiefswereslain,withagreatnumberoftheirforces, and only a few escaped from the people of Munster. 's* In 867, Armagh was again burned, and one thousand of its citizens were slaughtered. '57 About this period, the Danes had landed in England, and had reduced the King- dom of Northumbria, under their sway. '^* Nay more, the Norwegians are said even to have invaded the Mauritani, or Moors, about a. d. 869 ; and, after fighting a bloody engagement with the king of that country, the Loch- lanns gained a signal victory, and carried off a great number of captives to Erinn, where these were known as blue or dark men, owing to tiie peculiar colour of their faces. 'ss It must be allowed, that the White Gentiles fought with the Black Gentiles, about this tinie, and these latter were driven to Alba or Scotland.
