The Battle of Islandbridge, also called the Battle of Áth Cliath, took place on 14 September 919, between a coalition of native

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, led by

Niall Glúndub Niall Glúndub mac Áeda (Modern Irish: ''Niall Glúndubh mac Aodha'', "Niall Black-Knee, son of Áed"; died 14 September 919) was a 10th-century Irish king of the Cenél nEógain and High King of Ireland. Many Irish kin groups were members of th ...

, overking of the

Northern Uí Néill The Northern Uí Néill is any of several dynasties in north-western medieval Ireland that claimed descent from a common ancestor, Niall of the Nine Hostages. Other dynasties in central and eastern Ireland who also claimed descent from Niall we ...

and High King of Ireland, and the Dublin-based

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and ...

of the

Uí Ímair The Uí Ímair (; meaning ‘''scions of Ivar’''), also known as the Ivar Dynasty or Ivarids was a royal Norse-Gael dynasty which ruled much of the Irish Sea region, the Kingdom of Dublin, the western coast of Scotland, including the Hebrides ...

, led by Sitric Cáech. It was one in a series of battles initiated by the native Irish to attempt to drive the Vikings of the Uí Ímair from Ireland. The battle was a decisive victory for Sitric Cáech and the Uí Ímair, with Niall Glúndub and five other Irish kings dying in the battle.

Background

The ruling

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, the

, had been expelled from the city in 902 by a joint force led by Máel Finnia mac Flannacán, overking of Brega and

Cerball mac Muirecáin Cerball mac Muirecáin (died 909) was king of Leinster. He was the son of Muirecán mac Diarmata and a member of the Uí Fáeláin, the descendants of Fáelán mac Murchado (died 738), of one of three septs of the Uí Dúnlainge of modern County ...

, overking of

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 ...

. However, this expulsion was temporary and Viking raids continued on Irish settlements. In 914 a large Viking fleet sailed to the previously Viking-controlled city of

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

, and the following year more Vikings settled in

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 ...

, though Dublin itself remained outside Uí Ímair control.

Downham Downham is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It borders the London Borough of Bromley, and is located north of Bromley and south of Catford. Downham was named in honour of Lord Downham, who was ...

, p. 31 In 917 two prominent members of the Uí Ímair,

Ragnall Ragnall is a village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, England. At the time of the 2001 census it had a population of 102, increasing to 146 at the 2011 census. It is located on the A57 road one mile west of the River Trent. The parish churc ...

and Sitric Cáech, grandsons of

Ímar Ímar ( non, Ívarr ; died c. 873), who may be synonymous with Ivar the Boneless, was a Viking leader in Ireland and Scotland in the mid-late ninth century who founded the Uí Ímair dynasty, and whose descendants would go on to dominate the Ir ...

, sailed separate fleets to Ireland, Ragnall landing at Waterford and Sitric Cáech landing at Cenn Fuait in

, pp. 31, 273–274 Several native Irish kings gathered forces to try to drive off the Vikings once more, including

, over-king of the Northern

Uí Néill The Uí Néill (Irish pronunciation: ; meaning "descendants of Niall") are Irish dynasties who claim descent from Niall Noígíallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages), a historical King of Tara who died c. 405. They are generally divided into t ...

and High King of Ireland, and Augaire mac Ailella, over-king of Leinster. The Vikings fought and won a victory against Niall Glúndub and the men of the Uí Néill at the Battle of Mag Femen in Brega, and then won another victory against Augaire mac Ailella and the men of Leinster at Cenn Fuait. Sitric led his men on a triumphant return to

, re-establishing Viking rule and installing himself as king, while Ragnall returned to England.

Battle

In 919 a number of Irish kings banded together to try to expel the Vikings from Dublin once more. The known kings who took part in this coalition were Niall Glúndub of the

, Áed mac Eochocáin of

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 Kin ...

, Máel Mithig mac Flannacain of Brega, Mael Craibe mac Duibsinig of Airgíalla, Conchobar mac Flainn of

Mide Meath (; Old Irish: ''Mide'' ; spelt ''Mí'' in Modern Irish) was a kingdom in Ireland from the 1st to the 12th century AD. Its name means "middle," denoting its location in the middle of the island. At its greatest extent, it included all ...

, and Cellach mac Fogartaig of South Brega. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 919;

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 ...

, s.a. 919;

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 Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Flood myt ...

, s.a. 919;

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 ...

, s.a. 919 The historian Clare Downham has suggested that Niall Glundub and the other kings were emboldened by the departure of Ragnall from Ireland to try again to force out the Uí Ímair.

, p. 32 The forces of Sitric and Niall met near Islandbridge in modern day

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

on the fourteenth of September. The ''Annals of the Four Masters'' describe Niall's words before the battle: The battle was an overwhelming victory for the Vikings; Niall and five of his ally kings died in the battle alongside many other Irish nobles. The six slain kings were Niall Glúndub of the Northern Uí Néill, Áed mac Eochocáin of

, Máel Mithig mac Flannacain of Brega, Mael Craibe mac Duibsinig of Airgíalla, Conchobar mac Flainn of

, and Cellach mac Fogartaig of South Brega. Other notable casualties include one of Niall Glúndub's kinsmen, a member of the ruling dynasty of the

Southern Uí Néill The Southern Uí Néill ( ga, Uí Néill an Deiscirt, IPA: �iːˈnʲeːl̪ʲˈanˠˈdʲɛʃcəɾˠtʲ were that branch of the Uí Néill dynasty that invaded and settled in the Kingdom of Mide and its associated kingdoms. In the initial decades t ...

, and Eiremón mac Cennétig, Chief of the Cenél Maine.

, p. 32;

, s.a. 919 The failure of this coalition to drive out the Vikings ensured the hold of the Uí Ímair on Dublin remained strong. Nevertheless, war between the Vikings and the native Irish continued, and the following year there was a battle between the Vikings of Dublin and

Donnchad Donn Donnchad Donn mac Flainn (''Duncan of the Brown Hair, son of Flann'') (died 944) was High King of Ireland and King of Mide. He belonged to Clann Cholmáin, a branch of the southern Uí Néill. Origins Donnchad was the son of High King Flann Sin ...

, the brother of the slain king Conchobar mac Flainn and the new High King of Ireland.

Notes

References

Citations

Primary sources

* * * * * * Accessed via

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

. * Accessed via

Secondary sources

* * * * *

External links

CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts
at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one ...

. The Corpus of Electronic Texts includes the ''Annals of Ulster'' and ''the Four Masters'', the ''Chronicon Scotorum'' and the ''Book of Leinster'' as well as Genealogies, and various Saints' Lives. Most are translated into English, or translations are in progress. {{DEFAULTSORT:Islandbridge 910s conflicts Battles involving the Vikings Battles involving the Uí Néill History of County Dublin Viking Age in Ireland