Domestic dissentions was Ireland's greatest enemy. But although Brian Boru's father was in contest with Callaghan of Cashel for the royal power, he yielded his claim and joined forces with him to fight the Danes. Some time after, Brian's brother, Mahoun, attained to the royal power; but the South Munster men of Callaghan withdrew their allegiance and allied with the Danes. Many of the sea-coast towns, including Limerick, Dublin, Wexford, and Waterford, were in possession of the Danes: the ports were to them a ready refuge if driven by native valour to embark in their fleets; and convenient head quarters when they had marauding expeditions to England and Scotland. In preparation for the coming battle, the Danes collected all their allied forces; The Danes and Norwegians of Northumberland and the Orkney Islands, the Hebrides, and the Isle of Man, with auxiliaries from Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and also it is said, from the Normans of France, and some Britons from Wales and Cornwall. They came from all parts of the world where Danes resided. All the "foreigners" of Eastern Europe came against Brian and Malachy. A powerful fleet of these forces arrived in Dublin Bay on April 18th, A.D. 1014, under the command of Brodar, the Danish admiral. The total Danish forces amounted to twelve thousand men. Their Irish allies, the Lagenians (or Leinster men), under Maelmordha, King of Leinster, numered nine thousand. Maelmordha then challenged Brian to battle on the plains of Clontarf. The battle took place at the mouth of the river Tolka, where the bridge of Ballybough now stands. O'Neill, prince of Ulster's offer of his troops was declined by Brian due to some former feud between them, but some of O'Neill's chiefs joined with Brian, namely O'Carroll, prince of Oriel; the prince of Fermanagh; Felim O'Neill, a famous warrior, called Felim "of the Silver Shield"; Sitric, a prince of Ulster, etc. ; and the Mormaors or Great Stewards of Lennox and Mar, with their forces from Scotland. Brian's total forces numbered twenty thousand men. According to the Four Masters, Maelmordha the King of Leinster, and many of his chiefs, were slain by Malachy the Second and his men; who towards the end of the battle, attacked the Danes and Lagenians, and slew great numbers of them. It is stated in the ancient manuscript called Leabhar Oiris, as given by Keating, O'Halloran, and others, that when Malachy returned to Meath he described the Battle of Clontarf as follows:--
"It is impossible For human language to describe that battle, nor could less than an angel from heaven adequately relate the terrors of that day. We were separated from the combatants, as spectators, at no greater distance than the breadth of a ditch and of a fallow field; the high wind of the spring blowing towards where we stood. Not longer than a half an hour after they comnenced the conflict, could the combatants be distinguished from each other; not even a father or a brother could recognize each other, except by their voices, so closely were they mingled together. When the warriors engaged and grappled in close combat, it was dreadful to behold how their weapons glittered over their heads, in the sun; giving them the appearance of a numerous flock of sea-gulls flying in the air. Our bodies and clothes were all covered over as it were with a red rain of blood, borne from the battle- field on the wings of the wind; the swords, spears, and battle-axes of the combatants were so cemented and entangled with clotted blood and locks of hair, that they could with difficulty use them; and it was a long time before they recovered their former brightness. To those who beheld the slaughter, as spectators, the sight was more terrific than to those engaged in the battle; which continued from sunrise until the shades of evening, when the full tide carried the ships away."
Though defeated at Clontarf, the Danes continued at Dublin, Waterford,
and other places; and held considerable power for more than a century afterwards.
Select names range:
NAME COUNTY NAME COUNTY -------------------------------- --------------------------------- Archbold, Wicklow Brow, Baron, Galway Archer, Kilkenny Browne, Baron, Mayo Audley, Down Browne, " Aylmer, Kildare Browne, Limerick Bagott, Dublin Browne, Wexford Barnewell, " Burgh, De, Earl, Galway Barnwall, Baron, Meath Burgo, De, Earl, Antrim Barnwall, Louth Burgo, De, Earl, Down Barnwall, Cork Burgo, De, Lord, Tipperary Barrett, Lord, " Burgo, De, Viscount, Galway Barrett, Mayo Burke, Baron, Limerick Barron, Waterford Burke, Baron, Galway Barry, Baron, Cork Burke, Earl, Tipperary Barry, Earl, " Burke, Earl, Galway Barry, Lord, " Burke, MacDavid, " Barry, Oge, " Burke, Tipperary Bathe, De, Meath Burke, Sligo Bellew, Baron, " Burke, Kildare Bellew, Louth Burke, Lord, Tiperrary Betagh, Meath Burke, Viscount, Galway Birmingham, Baron, Galway Burnell, Dublin Birmingham, Baron, Kildare Butler, Baron, Meath Birmingham, De, Louth Butlei, Baron, Carlow Bisset, Antrim Butler, Baron, Wicklow Blake, Baron, Galway Butler, Baron, Tipperary Bodkin, " Butler, Queen's Co Bourke, MacWilliam, Lord, Mayo Butler, WexfordNext page (10) Previous page
Butler, Waterford Dillon, Baron, Galway Butler, Tipperary Dillon, Baron, West Meath Butler, Earl, Galway Dillon, Earl, Roscommon Butler, Viscount, Wexford Dillon, Meath Butter, Viscount, Kilkenny Dowdall, Meath Cantwell, Tipperary Drake, " Cantwell, Kilkenny Esmond, Wexford Capel, De, Cork Eustace, Carlow Capel, Baron, Carlow Fagan, Dublin Carew, De, Cork Fagan, West Meath Cheevers, Wicklow Fitz-Eustace, Baron, Meath Chevers, Carlow Fitz-Eustace, Dublin Chevers, Meath Fitz-Eustace, Viscount, Wicklow Clare, De, Earl, Killkenny Fitzgerald, Baron, Waterford Clare, De, Clare Fitzgerald, Duke, Kildare Clinton, Louth Fitzgerald, " Cogan, De, Cork Fitzgerald, King's Co Cogan, De, Lord, " Fitzgerald, Carlow Coke, Carlow Fitzgerald, Earl, Queen's Co Colclough, Wexford Fitzgerald, Earl, Cork Comerford, " Fitzgerald, Earl, Limerick Comerford, Kilkenny Fitzgerald, Earl, Kerry Condon, Baron, Cork Fitzgerald, Earl, Kildare Conroy, Roscommon Fitzgerald, Tipperary Copeland, Down Fitzgerald, Wexford Coppinger, Cork Fitzgerald, Knight, Limerick Courcy, De, Dublin Fitzgerald, Knight, Kerry Courcy, De, Earl, Down Fitzgerald, Lord, Limerick Courcy, De, Earl, Cork Fitzgerald, Lord, Wicklow Creagh, Clare Fitzgerald, Lord, Cork Cruise, Meath Fitzgerald (or Fitzgibbon), Cruise, Dublin The White Knight, " Cusack (O'Cisoghe) Meath Fitzharris, Wexford Cusack " Clare Fitzharris, Limerick Cusack " Mayo Fitzhenry, Kildare Dalton, Baron, Meath Fitzhenry, Wexford Dalton, Waterford Fitzmaurice, Earl, Kerry Darcy, Meath Fitzpatrick, Cavan Darcy, Galway Fitzpatrick (or MacGilpatrick), Dardis, Meath Prince, Queen's Co Deane, Galway Fitzsimon, Down Dease, West Meath Fitzsimon, Cavan Delahoyde, Dublin Fitzsimon, West Meath Delahoyde, Kildare Fitzsimon, Dublin Devereux, Earl, Monaghan Fitzsimon, King's Co Devereux, Wexford Fitzstephen, Wexford
Fitzwilliam, Viscount, Dublin Lombard, Carlow Fleming, Mayo Lynch, Galway Fleming, Cavan MacAlister, Antrim Fleming, Louth MacArdell, Chief, Monaghan Fleming, Baron, Meath MacArthur, Limerick Fleming, Viscount, Longford MacAuley, Lord, West Meath Ford (or MacConsnava), MacAuliffe, Chief, Cork Chief, Leitrim MacAveely, Mayo French, Wexford MacBrady, Chief, Cavan French, Galway MacBreen, Tyrone French, Roscommon MacBreen, Chief, Kilkenny Furlong, Wexford MacBrennan, Chief, Roscommon Furlong, Wicklow MacBride, Donegal Galwey, Cork Mac-I-Brien, Lord, Tipperary Geneville, De, Lord, Meath MacBrodin, Clare Gernon, De, Louth MacCabe, Chief, Monaghan Gould, Cork MacCabe, Chief, Cavan Grace, Queen's Co MacCaffrey, Fermanagh Grace, Carlow MacCoghwell, Chief, Tyrone Grace, Tipperary MacCann, Louth Grace, Lord, Kilkenny MacCann, Lord Armagh Gunning, Limerick MacCartan, Lord, Down Harold, " MacCarthy, King, Cork Hay, Wexford MacCarthy, King Tipperary Hore, " MacCarthy, Lord, Kerry Hughes, Monaghan MacCarthy, Prince, Cork Hughes, Wicklow MacCarthy More, Prince, Kerry Hughes (or MacHugh), Galway MacCarthy Reagh, Prince, Cork Hussey, Kerry MacCashin, Queen's Co Hussey, King's Co MacClancy, Lord, Leitrim Hussey, Baron, Meath MacClancy (Brehon), Kerry Jordan, Down MacClancy, Chief, Cork Joy, Kerry MacClancey, Clare Joyce, Chief, Galway MacClean, Donegal Joyce, Mayo MacClean, Antrim Keating, Wexford MacCloskey, Donegal Lacey, De, West Meath MacCloskey, Chief, Londonderry Lacey, De, Meath MacCogan, Queen's Co Lacey, De, King's Co MacCoggan, Tipperary Lacey, De, Earl, Down MacCoghlan, Lord, Queen's Co Lacey, De, Earl, Antrim MacColreavy, " Lacey, De, Lord, Limerick MacConmel, Tyrone Laffan, Wexford MacConnell, " Lamare, De, West Meath MacConnell, Londonderry Langan, Meath MacConry, Chief, Galway Lawless, Mayo MacConsnava (or Ford), Laurence, St., Baron, Dublin Chief, Leitrim Lombard, Carlow MacConway, Longford
