The Burning of Luimneach was the looting and destruction 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 ...

stronghold 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 ...

(''Luimneach'') by the

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 ...

Dál gCais tribe of Munster. The Dál gCais were led by the two warrior brothers,

Brian Boru Brian Boru ( mga, Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig; modern ga, Brian Bóramha; 23 April 1014) was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill and probably ended Viking invasion/domination of Ireland. Br ...

and

Mathgamain mac Cennétig Mathgamain mac Cennétig (also known as Mahon) was King of Munster from around 970 to his death in 976. He was the elder brother of Brian Bóruma. Mathgamain was the son of Cennétig mac Lorcáin of the Dál gCais. His father died in 951 and ...

while the Vikings had no type of official leadership. The king of the Vikings,

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 ...

, and his troops had scattered into the woods of Tipperary a few hours before after a crushing defeat at the

Battle of Sulcoit The Battle of Sulcoit was fought in the year 968 between the Gaelic Ireland, Irish of the Dál gCais, led by Brian Boru, and the Vikings of Limerick, led by Ivar of Limerick. It was a victory for the Dál gCais and marked the end of Norse expan ...

. In the Dál gCais' leader's notes he quoted, "The entire city was reduced to smoke and ash. Any man fit for war was killed and the rest were enslaved".

Background

Only a few hours before the Burning of Luimneach at the Battle of Sulcoit, the Vikings, led by Ivar of Limerick, were routed by the Dál gCais tribe of Munster. The Battle of Sulcoit was noted by Brian Boru and Mathgamain mac Cennétig as a total loss for the Vikings and was called the first great loss the Vikings of Limerick had faced. At Sulcoit many Vikings were killed by the Dál gCais and by mid day fled into the woods in Tipperary. This left the city of Limerick vulnerable attack by the Dál gCais.

Burning of Limerick

Near night time after the Battle of Sulcoit, Brian Boru's army of about 300 men attacked Limerick. The Dál gCais looted every type of structure in the city and burned it when they were done. Every structure in the city was either looted or burned to the ground. Brian Boru considered this payback against the Vikings because of his father's death at the hands of the Vikings. Anything with any type of value was stolen and any type of item with no value was either destroyed or burned. Brian's army killed every man in the village that was fit for battle and every woman and child was enslaved. By nightfall, every building in Limerick was reduced to smoke and ash and every person was either killed or enslaved by the Dál gCais.

References

{{Viking 10th-century massacres History of Limerick (city) Luimnech Luimnech Luimnech Viking Age in Ireland 968 Luimnech Looting Massacres in Ireland