The Battle of Cathair Cuan refers to a perhaps extended conflict fought in or between 977 and 978, or simply to a single battle in one or the other year, in Munster in Ireland. Attacking were Brian Bóruma and the Dál gCais, while defending were

Donnubán mac Cathail Donnubán ('donuva:n), Donndubán ('donðuva:n), or Donnabán mac Cathail, anglicised Donovan, son of Cahall (died 980), was a tenth-century ruler of the Irish regional kingdom of Uí Fidgenti, and possibly also of the smaller overkingdom of Uí C ...

and the remainder of the

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 ...

army of

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 ...

. The latter were probably the followers of the newly elected and final ''King of the Foreigners of Munster'' Harald Ivarsson, son of the recently slain

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 Fo ...

, although it is possible Donnubán was in overall command. Brian and the Dál gCais were victorious, with the result that the Limerick lordship and its territories were decisively lost to the

Gaels The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic langu ...

until the

Norman invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land from the Irish, over which the kings of England then claimed sovereignty, all allegedly san ...

. Much had already been lost to the Dál gCais by 977, probably including the great

dún A dun is an ancient or medieval fort. In Ireland and Britain it is mainly a kind of hillfort and also a kind of Atlantic roundhouse. Etymology The term comes from Irish ''dún'' or Scottish Gaelic ''dùn'' (meaning "fort"), and is cognate ...

of Limerick itself, but the lordship included other territories, some a number of miles inland, and the Norse-Irish themselves appear to have briefly remained viable in these. Aralt was probably slain in the conflict but Donnubán seems to have survived. Later accounts state he also was killed.

Annallistic accounts

According to the

Annals of Inisfallen Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between ann ...

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

: According to the early 12th century ''

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, beginnin ...

'': The 18th century compilation known as the

Dublin Annals of Inisfallen The ''Dublin Annals of Inisfallen'' refer to a mid 18th century (c. 1765) compilation of medieval Irish annals reworked and augmented with material from later traditions in the form of interpolations, made by John O'Brien, Bishop of Cloyne and ...

report another tradition of uncertain provenance. Here Aralt has been replaced by a certain Olaf, possibly his brother, who was actually killed a little before along with his father Ivar and third brother Dubcenn, on

Inis Cathaig Inis Cathaigh or Scattery Island is an island in the Shannon Estuary, Ireland, off the coast of Kilrush, County Clare. The island is home to a lighthouse, a ruined monastery associated with Saint Senan, an Irish round tower and the remains of ...

in 977. One final source, now lost but used by John Collins of Myross in the late 18th or early 19th century, reports: Croom Castle was in fact a principal fortress of the

O'Donovan family The O'Donovans are an Irish family. Their patronymic surname derives from Irish ''Ó Donnabháin'', meaning the grandsons or descendants of Donnubán, referring to the 10th century ruler of the Uí Fidgenti, Donnubán mac Cathail. During the 1 ...

in the 12th century but it is unknown how early they came into possession of the stretch of the

River Maigue A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wa ...

on which it is located. Possibly Collins was making an assumption but this is unverifiable. A form of the name ''Cathair Cuan'' survived at least as late as the year 1200, where it appears in a Norman survey of the region as ''Cathircuain'',''Calendar of Documents, Relating to Ireland, 1171–1251'', p. 21 which unfortunately cannot be associated with any known modern site.

Notes

References

;Primary sources * ''

'', ed. & tr. John O'Donovan (2nd ed., 1856), ''Annála Rioghachta Éireann. Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters... with a Translation and Copious Notes''. 7 vols. Dublin: Royal Irish Academ
CELT versions
Full scans at

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, ...

Vol. IVol. IIVol. IIIVol. IVVol. VVol. VIIndices
* ''

'', ed. & tr. Seán Mac Airt (1944), ''The Annals of Inisfallen (MS. Rawlinson B. 503)''. Dublin: DIAS. Electroni
edition
an
translation
at CELT. * ''Calendar of Documents, Relating to Ireland''
1171–1251
Ed. Henry Savage Sweetman (1875). London. * ''

'', ed. & tr. Todd, James Henthorn (1867).
Cogadh Gaedhel re Gallaibh: The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill
'. London: Longmans. * ''

'', John O'Brien and John Conry (circa 1765). Edition and Latin translation by Charles O'Conor (1825),
Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores, Volume II
'. ;Secondary sources * Downham, Clare, ''Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland: The Dynasty of Ívarr to A.D. 1014''. Edinburgh: Dunedin Academic Press. 2007. * Ní Mhaonaigh, Máire, "''Cogad Gáedel Re Gallaib'' and the Annals: A Comparison", 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 (Old Norse or Ol ...

47'' (1996): 101–26
JSTOR
* Ó Corráin, Donnchadh, "The Vikings in Ireland", in Anne-Christine Larsen (ed.), ''The Vikings in Ireland.'' Roskilde: The Viking Ship Museum. 2001. * Steenstrup, Johannes C. H. R.,
Normannerne, Vols. 3–4
'. Copenhagen: Forlagt af Rudolph Klein, I. Cohens Bogtrykkeri. 1882
alternative scan
{{coord missing, County Limerick Cathair Cuan Cathair Cuan Cathair Cuan Cathair Cuan O'Brien dynasty O'Donovan family History of County Limerick 977 978 10th century in Ireland Cathair Cuan Cathair Cuan Viking Age in Ireland