Gofraid mac Sitriuc (died 951), in

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

Guðrøðr Sigtryggsson , was

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 ...

. He was the son of Sihtric ua Ímair 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 Ir ...

, founder of the

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 ...

kindred which dominated much of the Norse-Gael and

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

nised parts of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in the 10th century. Gofraid became ruler of

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 c ...

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, 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 Ruaidrí ua Canannáin (died 30 November 950) was king of the Cenél Conaill, and according to some sources, High King of Ireland. The Cenél Conaill, a branch of the northern Uí Néill, had been excluded from the alternating succession to the ...

. Gofraid attacked Ruaidrí at an unidentified place called ''Móin Brocaín'', somewhere between the

River Boyne The River Boyne ( ga, An Bhóinn or ''Abhainn na Bóinne'') is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newberry Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows towards the Northeast through C ...

and the

River Liffey The River Liffey ( Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the Riv ...

, 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'' say that some two thousand of the Dublin force were killed, while other, less reliable Irish annals 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 The Abbey of Kells (''Mainistir Cheanannais'' in Irish) is a former monastery in Kells, County Meath, Ireland, north of Dublin. It was founded in the early 9th century, and the Book of Kells was kept there during the later medieval and early ...

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 Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

and

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

. 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 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 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 ...

) * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gofraid mac Sitriuc Monarchs of Dublin 951 deaths Uí Ímair Year of birth unknown 10th-century Irish monarchs