Colla mac Báirid or Colla ua Báirid ( non, Kolli (possibly),

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. 250 died 932) was a

Viking 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 se ...

leader who ruled

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 ...

in the early 10th century. He first appears in contemporary annals in 924 when he is recorded as leading a raiding fleet to

Lough Ree Lough Ree () is a lake in the midlands of Ireland, the second of the three major lakes on the River Shannon. Lough Ree is the second largest lake on the Shannon after Lough Derg. The other two major lakes are Lough Allen to the north, and Loug ...

. He appears in the annals for the second and final time in 932 when his death his recorded. In both of these instances he is titled king of Limerick. Colla's parentage is uncertain; according to one theory he was the son or grandson of

Bárid mac Ímair Bárid mac Ímar (also referred to as Baraid or Bardur Ivarsson); non, Bárðr or ; d. 881) was a ninth-century King of Dublin. He was a son of Ivar (Ímar) Ragnarsson and a member of the Uí Ímair. Biography The earliest mention of Bárid ...

, a

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 ...

king of Dublin Vikings invaded the territory around Dublin in the 9th century, establishing the Norse Kingdom of Dublin, the earliest and longest-lasting Norse kingdom in Ireland. Its territory corresponded to most of present-day County Dublin. The Norse refe ...

, and according to another he was the son of Bárid mac Oitir.

Background

A Viking camp at

is first mentioned in contemporary accounts in 845, although it is not clear whether or not it was a permanent settlement. If the site which would later develop into the city of Limerick was indeed founded by Vikings in 845 it is possible that its inhabitants were the "fair foreigners" who were led by Otir in 917 and 918 and are recorded as being subject to the "dark foreigners" of Dublin.

, p. 14 In 922, a Limerick-based jarl named

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 ...

is recorded as leading raids on churches and islands up the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland. The Shan ...

and elsewhere in Ireland, perhaps in a bid to assert Limerick's independence following the death the previous year of

Ragnall ua Ímair Ragnall mac Bárid ua Ímair ( non, Rǫgnvaldr , died 921) or Rægnald was a Viking leader who ruled Northumbria and the Isle of Man in the early 10th century. He was a grandson of Ímar and a member of the Uí Ímair. Ragnall was most probably ...

, whom contemporary accounts label as "king of Dark and Fair Foreigners".

Gofraid ua Ímair Gofraid ua Ímair or Guthfrith of Ivar ( non, Guðrøðr , la, Guthfridus, fl. from AD 918 until death in 934) was a Hiberno-Scandinavian (people of Gaelic and Scandinavian birth and Culture) and Viking leader who ruled Dublin and briefly Vik ...

, king of the Dublin Vikings in 924 is recorded as attacking Limerick but he lost many men to the forces of Tomrair mac Ailchi.

Biography

Colla mac Báirid is first mentioned in Irish annals in 924 by the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' and 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 ...

''. In these accounts, Colla, titled as lord or king of Limerick, is described as leading a fleet to

, whereupon Echtigern mac Flannchad, king of Bregmaine, was killed by Colla and his men. He is mentioned in contemporary annals for the second and final time in 932 when the ''Chronicon Scotorum'' describes his death.

, s.a. 932 In this particular record he is recorded as Colla ua Báirid, meaning Colla grandson of Bárid, rather than Colla mac Báirid, meaning Colla son of Bárid, which is how he is described by the annals in 924. It is not known whether this is a mistake or not, but these two accounts are believed to refer to the same person. There are two theories regarding the identity of Colla mac Báirid. In the first, he is a son or grandson of

, king of Dublin, thus making Limerick an outpost of the

, p. 36 The second theory is that Colla was a son of the Bárid mac Oitir who fought Ragnall ua Ímair in a naval engagement off the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

in 914, who in turn may have been the son of the Otir who fought alongside Ragnall ua Ímair at the

Battle of Corbridge The Battle of Corbridge took place on the banks of the River Tyne near the village of Corbridge in Northumberland in the year 918. The battle was referenced in the ''Annals of Ulster'' and the ''Chronicle of the Kings of Alba''. The battle was ...

in 918. According to

the latter explanation is considered more likely due to the chronology and the political situation in Ireland at the time.

Notes

References

Citations

Primary sources

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Secondary sources

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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 of ...

. 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:Colla mac Bairid 10th-century Irish monarchs Kings of Limerick Norse monarchs 932 deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain 10th-century Vikings