Amlaíb Cenncairech was a Norse ruler and presumably King of Limerick notable for his military activities in Ireland in the 930s, especially in the province of

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

and apparently even in

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

and

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

. This period, the 920s and 930s, is commonly regarded as the very height of Norse power in Ireland, and was when

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

essentially equalled

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

in power. His epithet ''Cennc(h)airech'' is commonly translated into the unflattering "Scabby-Head" but this may be inaccurate. The adjective ''cairech'' actually means, according to the ''

Dictionary of the Irish Language ''Dictionary of the Irish Language: Based Mainly on Old and Middle Irish Materials'' (also called "the DIL"), published by the Royal Irish Academy, is the definitive dictionary of the origins of the Irish language, specifically the Old Irish, M ...

'', "criminal; guilty; sinful", and thus ''Cennc(h)airech'' may be translated "Sinful Head".

Career

Amlaíb is mentioned by name only in the ''

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Deluge, dated as 2,24 ...

'' and ''

Annals of Clonmacnoise The ''Annals of Clonmacnoise'' ( ga, Annála Chluain Mhic Nóis) are an early 17th-century Early Modern English translation of a lost Irish chronicle, which covered events in Ireland from prehistory to 1408. The work is sometimes known as ''Mag ...

''. Historians believe the dating in both cases is off. In general, the sources for western Ireland's history are not great. The ''

Chronicon Scotorum ''Chronicon Scotorum'', also known as ''Chronicum Scotorum'', is a medieval Irish chronicle. Overview According to Nollaig Ó Muraíle, it is "a collection of annals belonging to the ' Clonmacnoise group', covering the period from prehistoric tim ...

'' records several of the same and related events but does not mention Amlaíb by name.

Annals of the Four Masters

The Annals of the Four Masters are generally off by two years.

Capture or recruitment?

The traditional interpretation of these notices, the second immediately following the first in the manuscripts, is that what

Amlaíb mac Gofraid Olaf Guthfrithson or Anlaf Guthfrithson ( non, Óláfr Guðrøðsson ; oe, Ánláf; sga, Amlaíb mac Gofraid; died 941) was a Hiberno-Scandinavian (Irish-Viking) leader who ruled Dublin and Viking Northumbria in the 10th century. He was th ...

was actually doing was compelling or recruiting Amlaíb Cenncairech for his upcoming battle with Athelstan of England. This was the

Battle of Brunanburh The Battle of Brunanburh was fought in 937 between Æthelstan, King of England, and an alliance of Olaf Guthfrithson, King of Dublin, Constantine II, King of Scotland, and Owain, King of Strathclyde. The battle is often cited as the point ...

. More recent historians tend to interpret this as the culmination of an extended conflict between the Norse of Dublin and Limerick, dating from the arrival of

Tomrair mac Ailchi Tomrair mac Ailchi, or Thormod/Thorir Helgason, was the Viking jarl and prince who reestablished the preexisting small Norse base or settlement at Limerick as a powerful kingdom in 922 overnight when he is recorded arriving there with a huge fle ...

in 922. They assume that the two Amlaíbs actually engaged in a battle and that ''mac Gofraid'' won a "decisive victory" over Cenncairech, effectively ending Limerick as a major player in Ireland for the next two or three decades.

Annals of Clonmacnoise

It is uncertain but likely that Cenncairech soon succeeded Colla ua Bairid, who died in 932, as King of the Limerick Norse, and thus it is likely he was involved in the events of 933. Again the expedition to England follows, but here no mention is made of any conflict with Dublin.

Chronicon Scotorum

Again here no mention is made of any conflict with Dublin.

Irish saga

A certain Amlaíb of Limerick features as a character in the 12th century saga and propaganda tract ''

Caithréim Chellacháin Chaisil ''Caithréim Chellacháin Chaisil'' ("The Victorious Career of Cellachán of Cashel")Donnchadh Ó Corráin writes that this title "was first given it by Eugene O'Curry in his transcript of the text. It has no title in the earliest copy, that in th ...

'', who is killed by

Cellachán Caisil Cellachán mac Buadacháin (died 954), called Cellachán Caisil, was King of Munster. Biography The son of Buadachán mac Lachtnai, he belonged to the Cashel branch of the Eóganachta kindred, the Eóganacht Chaisil. The last of his cognatic ance ...

himself.

Alexander Bugge Alexander Bugge (30 December 1870, Christiania – 24 December 1929, Copenhagen) was a Norwegian historian.

takes no position regarding his historicity, but offers Amlaíb Cenncairech as his primary example of an historical Amlaíb associated with Limerick.

Donnchadh Ó Corráin Donnchadh Ó Corráin (28 February 1942 – 25 October 2017) was an Irish historian and Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at University College Cork. He earned his BA in history and Irish from that institution, graduating in 1964. He was a ...

allows that "The Amlaíb of the text may be a vague memory of Amlaíb Cennchairech but it must be remembered that Amlaíb is one of the commonest Viking names in Ireland." Bugge does believe that this Amlaíb of Limerick can be identified as the father of the Amlaíb mac Amlaíb mentioned in the ''

Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib ''Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib'' ("The War of the Irish with the Foreigners") is a medieval Irish text that tells of the depredations of the Vikings and Uí Ímair dynasty in Ireland and the Irish king Brian Boru's great war against them, beginning ...

'' as an ally of

Ivar of Limerick Ivar of Limerick ( ga, Ímar Luimnich, rí Gall; Ímar ua Ímair; Ímar Ua hÍmair, Ard Rí Gall Muman ocus Gáedel; Íomhar Mór; non, Ívarr ; died 977), was the last Norse king of the city-state of Limerick, and penultimate ''King of the For ...

. According to this saga and propaganda tract (dated near contemporary with the ''Caithréim Chellacháin Chaisil''), Amlaíb mac Amlaíb was banished along with Ivar following the Norse loss at the

Battle of Sulcoit The Battle of Sulcoit was fought in the year 968 between the Gaelic Ireland, Irish of the Dál gCais, led by Brian Boru, and the Vikings of Limerick, led by Ivar of Limerick. It was a victory for the Dál gCais and marked the end of Norse expan ...

against the

Dál gCais The Dalcassians ( ga, Dál gCais ) are a Gaelic Irish clan, generally accepted by contemporary scholarship as being a branch of the Déisi Muman, that became very powerful in Ireland during the 10th century. Their genealogies claimed descent fr ...

led by

Mathgamain mac Cennétig Mathgamain mac Cennétig (also known as Mahon) was King of Munster from around 970 to his death in 976. He was the elder brother of Brian Bóruma. Mathgamain was the son of Cennétig mac Lorcáin of the Dál gCais. His father died in 951 and ...

in 967. The two are said to have "attempted the conquest of Britain" together, apparently without success, as Amlaíb "was killed by the king of Britain" and Ivar soon after reestablished himself in Limerick.Todd, pp. 84–5

Notes

References

* Bugge, Alexander (ed. & tr.),
Caithreim Cellachain Caisil
'. Christiania: J. Chr. Gundersens Bogtrykkeri. 1905. * Downham, Clare, ''Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland: The Dynasty of Ívarr to A.D. 1014''. Edinburgh: Dunedin. 2007. * Haliday, Charles,
The Scandinavian Kingdom of Dublin
'. Dublin: Alex Thom & Co. 1882. * Lee, Timothy, "The Northmen of Limerick", in
Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland, Fourth Series, Vol. 9, No. 80
' (Jul. – Oct., 1889): 227–231
JSTOR
* Mac Niocaill, Gearóid (ed. & tr.), ''

''. Unpublished manuscript
edition
an

* MacGeoghegan, Connell (trans.), Denis Murphy (ed.),
The Annals of Clonmacnoise
'. Translated 1627. Printed in Dublin by The University Press in 1896. * Ó Corráin, Donnchadh
"Caithréim Chellacháin Chaisil: History or Propaganda?"
in ''

Ériu In Irish mythology, Ériu (; modern ga, Éire ), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was the eponymous matron goddess of Ireland. The English name for Ireland comes from the name Ériu and the Germanic languages, Germani ...

25'' (1974): 1–69. * O'Donovan, John (ed. & tr.), '' Annala Rioghachta Eireann. Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters''. 7 vols. Dublin:

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

. 1848-51. 2nd edition, 1856
Volume II
* Shetelig, Haakon,
Viking Antiquities in Great Britain and Ireland, Volume I
'. Oslo: H. Aschehoug & Co. 1940. * Steenstrup, Johannes C. H. R.,
Normannerne, Vols. 3–4
'. Copenhagen: Forlagt af Rudolph Klein, I. Cohens Bogtrykkeri. 1882
alternative scan
* Thornton, David E., "Clann Eruilb: Irish or Scandinavian?", in ''Irish Historical Studies Vol. 30, No. 118'' (Nov., 1996): 161–166
JSTOR
* Todd, James Henthorn (ed. & tr.),
Cogadh Gaedhel re Gallaibh: The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill
'. London: Longmans. 1867. {{DEFAULTSORT:Amlaib Cenncairech Kings of Limerick Norse monarchs 10th-century Irish monarchs 10th-century Vikings