Irish Vikings

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The Vikings in Ireland

All this data is evidence of the turbulent relationship of the Vikings and the Irish in the eighth through eleventh centuries.  This interplay between two cultures led to some of the most violent conflict of the middle ages, but also to bilateral evolution and a shared legacy. 

Very Brief History of Viking Ireland

For much of its history, Ireland was divided into several kingdoms.  The kings of these regions were sometimes It was not only the remote location, wild geography, and bravery of the people that made Ireland extremely difficult to conquer and to control.  The lack of reliance on central power ensured that any would-be conqueror would get nothing but a quagmire.  However, the Vikings were a different kind of conqueror; and the disunity of Ireland made the island their perfect playground.

The First Raiding Period

 

 

He did not only pillage and massacre.  He turned Saint Patrick’s own center at Armagh into a temple to Thor, and set up his wife (who was a volva

          

   And so in the middle of the ninth century, this first period of Viking raids in Ireland ended. It was not only the turn in their fortunes that broke the Vikings’ momentum, but that they had something else to interest them – Ivar the Boneless was calling for them to unite and invade the kingdoms of England.  The “Great Heathen Army” was assembling.

Changes in the Late Ninth and Tenth Centuries

An Irish Viking Empire

In the middle of the tenth century, Olaf Cuaran Sictricson (a.k.a. Amlaíb Cuarán) was a Norse descendant who became king of Dublin.  Olaf was part of the Uí Ímair

The End of the Viking Age in Ireland

The Battle of Clontarf in Ireland and the Battle of Stamford Bridge in England (52 years later) is where historians end the Viking Age.  The Norse continued on in Ireland, though distinctions between the two ethnicities faded as their mutual interests continued to grow.  Soon there was no point in worrying about who was Norse and who was Irish.

Normans and Galloglass

Irish chieftains were all looking for an edge over their enemies, and they found this edge in mercenaries from Scotland and the Orkney Isles.  These were the same lands where many of the Vikings had retreated to, and so now the descendents of these Vikings returned to Ireland.  These mercenaries were called Gallóglaigh

Conclusion

Today, Ireland is one of the best places in Europe to see Viking ruins (often assimilated into later, working structures), museum exhibits of artifacts, and even Viking graffiti.  Well before the Irish DNA Atlas project began to quantify Norse heritage, the Irish people began to understand and appreciate the role the Vikings played in their own culture and character.  With centuries of both violent and peaceful interaction between the Norse and the Irish through the Vikings, the Normans, and the Galloglass, it is no surprise that so much Norse DNA is in the Irish gene pool.  There is an even more indelible mark on the Irish spirit.   Both cultures always had a great deal in common – bravery and a love of battle; independence and a yearning for freedom; a talent and appreciation for poetry, art, and music; and a natural spirituality.  These similarities made them the fiercest of enemies, but eventually made them one people.

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References

1. The Irish DNA Atlas: Revealing Fine-Scale Population Structure and History within Ireland Edmund Gilbert, Seamus O’Reilly, Michael Merrigan, Darren McGettigan, Anne M. Molloy, Lawrence C. Brody, Walter Bodmer, Katarzyna Hutnik, Sean Ennis, Daniel J. Lawson, James F. Wilson & Gianpiero L. Cavalleri, Scientific Reports7, Article number: 17199 (2017).  Published December 8, 2017.  Accessed December 20, 2017.  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-17124-4
2. Mulligan, M. The Viking in the Room. Ancestry DNA. Published June 23, 2015. Accessed December 23, 2017. https://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2015/06/23/ancestrydna-the-viking-in-the-room/
3. Why People in Iceland Look Just Like Us. The Irish Times. October 2, 2000. Accessed December 23, 2017. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/why-people-in-iceland-look-just-like-us-1.1104676
4. Public Library of Science. "Largest-to-date Genetic Snapshot of Iceland 1,000 Years Ago Completed." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 18 January 2009. Accessed December 20, 2017. sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090116073205.htm
5. The Vikings & Ireland. Celt Corpus of Electronic Texts. 1997-2017 https://celt.ucc.ie/General%20Vikings%20in%20Ireland.pdf

1. Brownworth, L. The Sea Wolves: A History of the Vikings. Crux Publishing, Ltd. United Kingdom. 2014
2. Johnston, W. Travel Through the Ireland Story: The Vikings. N.D. Accessed December 23, 2017. http://www.wesleyjohnston.com/users/ireland/past/pre_norman_history/vikings.html
3. Conollen, O. (OCleary, M. editor). Annals of Ireland by the Four Masters as translated into English. Irish Roots Café Press. Ireland. 2003
4. Brown, N. M. Ivory Vikings: The Mystery of the Most Famous Chessmen in the World and the Woman Who Made Them. New York, St Martin’s Press. 2015
5. Olaf Curan. Library Ireland. 2017. Accessed December 23, 2017. http://www.libraryireland.com/biography/OlafCuaran.php
6. Young, G. & Young-Tamel, J.W. The Isle of Mann Under the Norse. 2013. Accessed December 23, 2017. http://www.academia.edu/4386441/Isle_of_Man_under_the_Norse
7. Prelude to the Battle of Clontarf, 1014. Battle of Clontarf. N.D. Accessed December 23, 2017. http://www.battleofclontarf.net/the-battle-of-clontarf-23rd-april-1014/prelude-to-the-battle-of-clontarf-1014/3435
8. The Battle of Clontarf, 23 April, 1014. The Battle of Clontarf. N.D. Accessed December 23, 2017. http://www.battleofclontarf.net/vacations-ireland/the-battle-of-clontarf-23rd-april-1014/3433
9. Cannan, F. Galloglass 1250-1600, Gaelic Mercenary Warrior. Warrior, 143. Osprey Books. 2010.

 

 

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