Ímar mac Bárid ( non, Ívarr , died 904); also known as Ivar II, was a Norse-Gaelic King of Dublin. He was a grandson of Ivar Gudrödrødsson and a member of the powerful Uí Ímair.

Biography

Ímar ua Ímair became King of Dublin sometime prior to 902, but probably not before 896 when his uncle (or father)

Sitriuc mac Ímair Sihtric mac Ímair ( non, Sigtryggr Ívarrsson ; died 896) was a ninth-century King of Dublin. He was a son of Ímar and a member of the Uí Ímair. Biography Sitriuc succeeded his brother Sichfrith as King of Dublin in 888.Downham p. 25 For mo ...

died. Downham pp. 28–29 In the decades preceding his reign,

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 ...

was wracked by internal strife and dynastic feuds, greatly weakening the kingdom. The neighbouring native Irish kings sought to take advantage of this to increase their own influence. An additional motivating factor may have been revenge for

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 ...

raids on Irish religious sites – in 890-91 alone the Norsemen plundered Irish monasteries at Ardbraccan, Clonard,

Donaghpatrick Donaghpatrick () is a village and townland in County Meath, Ireland. It lies approximately 5 km northwest of Navan off the R147 regional road between Navan and Kells on the northern bank of the River Blackwater. The Irish language name of ...

, Dulane, Glendalough and

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...

. Brink and Price p. 431 In 902 the kingdoms of

Brega Brega , also known as ''Mersa Brega'' or ''Marsa al-Brega'' ( ar, مرسى البريقة , i.e. "Brega Seaport"), is a complex of several smaller towns, industry installations and education establishments situated in Libya on the Gulf of Sidra ...

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 ...

formed an alliance and drove the Vikings from Dublin. The exiled Dubliners, led by Ímar ua Ímair, retreated to territory in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

over which they exerted some control. The following year they were engaged in warfare with Constantine, King of the Picts, raiding Dunkeld. A victory was won by Constantine the following year at a place identified by the '' Chronicle of the Kings of Alba'' as '' Strath Erenn''. Ímar ua Ímair is mentioned in 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, ...

'' in the same year for the first and only time. This sole entry details his death at the hands of the

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from ea ...

Fortriu Fortriu ( la, Verturiones; sga, *Foirtrinn; ang, Wærteras; xpi, *Uerteru) was a Pictish kingdom that existed between the 4th and 10th centuries. It was traditionally believed to be located in and around Strathearn in central Scotland, but ...

– this is identified as the same battle as that mentioned in the ''Chronicle''. The Vikings did not return to Dublin until 917, when Sihtric, another grandson of Ímar, landed forces in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, and inflicted a decisive defeat on the armies of Leinster.

Family

There is some question as to whether the identifier "''ua Ímair''" refers to a literal grandson of Ímar, and it has been suggested it simply refers to a descendant, or even an individual of unknown descent. However, the fact "''ua Ímair''" is not seen in the Irish annals after 948 suggests it was solely used for literal grandsons. Downham p. 5 Ímar had at least three sons, Bárid (d. 881), Sichfrith (d. 888), and Sitriuc (d. 896), all three of whom were kings of Dublin. Which of these sons, if any, was Ímar ua Ímair's father is not known. Other grandsons of Ímar have been identified as

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 chur ...

, Sihtric Cáech, Amlaíb, and

Gofraid is an Irish masculine given name, arising in the Old Irish and Middle Irish/Middle Gaelic languages, as , and later partially Anglicised as Goffraid. ' corresponds to the Old Norse ', cognate with Gottfried or ', and Galfrid or '. ''Gofraid''/ ...

, most of whom were kings in their own right.

Notes

References

Citations Bibliography * * * * * *

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 o ...

. 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:Imar ua Imair 904 deaths 10th-century Irish monarchs Monarchs of Dublin Year of birth unknown Vikings killed in battle Monarchs killed in action Viking rulers Uí Ímair