Gofraid mac Sitriuc (died 951), in Old Norse Guðrøðr Sigtryggsson , was King of Dublin. He was the son of

Sihtric ua Ímair Sihtric or Sitric is an anglo-Saxon personal name. It is cognate with the Old Norse Sigtrygg. People called Sihtric or Sitric, include: *Sitric Cáech Sitric Cáech or Sihtric Cáech or Sigtrygg Gále, ( non, Sigtryggr , ang, Sihtric, died ...

and a great-grandson 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 Iri ...

, founder of the Uí Ímair kindred which dominated much of the Norse-Gael and Scandinavianised parts of Britain and Ireland in the 10th century. Gofraid became ruler of Dublin on the death of his cousin Blácaire mac Gofrith in a battle against

Congalach mac Máel Mithig Conghalach Cnoghbha (older spelling: Congalach Cnogba or Congalach mac Máel Mithig) was High King of Ireland, according to the lists in the Annals of the Four Masters, from around 944 to 956. Congalach is one of the twelve "kings of Ireland" list ...

, the

High King of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ga, Ardrí na hÉireann ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and later sometimes assigned ana ...

, in 948. The men of Dublin suffered heavy losses in this battle, over a thousand being killed or captured. An even bloodier defeat followed in 950 when Gofraid allied with Congalach against the would-be High King Ruaidrí ua Canannáin. Gofraid attacked Ruaidrí at an unidentified place called ''Móin Brocaín'', somewhere between the River Boyne and the River Liffey, on 30 November 950. Although Ruaidrí and one of his sons were killed in the battle, Gofraid was heavily defeated and fled. The ''

Annals of Ulster The ''Annals of Ulster'' ( ga, Annála Uladh) are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, ...

'' say that some two thousand of the Dublin force were killed, while other, less reliable

Irish annals A number of Irish annals, of which the earliest was the Chronicle of Ireland, were compiled up to and shortly after the end of the 17th century. Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days. Over t ...

claim as many as six thousand. It may be that Congalach betrayed Gofraid, as some sources present him as the victor. Gofraid's fortunes improved in 951. Raids from Dublin targeted the Abbey of Kells and other churches in the Irish midlands. The ''Annals of Ulster'' say that from Kells alone "three thousand men or more were taken captive and a great spoil of cattle and horses and gold and silver was taken away". The prisoners would be ransomed or sold into slavery, the cattle would feed Dublin as the city depended on importing mature beasts, and the rest would strengthen the city's defences. Neither walls nor money nor soldiers were of any protection when, as the annals report, plague appeared in Dublin later in 951. This is described as leprosy and dysentery. According to 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 ...

'' Gofraid was among the dead, and his death is reported as divine vengeance for the sacking of Kells.Downham, pp. 47 & 254; Hudson, p. 37; ''Annals of Ulster'', s.a. 951; ''Chronicon Scotorum'', s.a. 951; ''Annals of the Four Masters'', s.a. 949. Gofraid's brother

Amlaíb Cuarán Amlaíb mac Sitric (d. 980; non, Óláfr Sigtryggsson ), commonly called Amlaíb Cuarán (O.N.: ), was a 10th-century Norse-Gael who was King of Northumbria and Dublin. His byname, ''cuarán'', is usually translated as "sandal". His name appe ...

succeeded him as king in Dublin in 952.

Notes

References

* The ''Annals of Ulster'', ''Annals of the Four Masters'' and the ''Chronicon Scotorum'' are available with translations a
CELT: The Corpus of Electronic Texts
( University College Cork) * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gofraid mac Sitriuc Monarchs of Dublin 951 deaths Uí Ímair Year of birth unknown 10th-century Irish monarchs