VI
KINGS IN EIRE
I find it difficult to think of any two national warrior images in world history such as the traditional, rugged, sharp-tempered, native Irishman meeting with the unwanted presence of an adventurous, hardy and heavy- handed Viking from Norway's rocky shores.Those two, together, would make for an explosion with dire consequences for anyone who chanced to be close by.
They met when the Vikings appeared on the Irish coastline in 745 AD. We are told they arrived in their ocean-going long boats which were, far and away, technically advanced far ahead of any water craft the Irish had ever seen. Their fast vessels were of shallow draft, too, which allowed them to enter freely into rivers and estuaries with ease which previous invader had never done.
The Vikings were, at that time interested primarily in looting for things they could transport home as spoils of war.. They quickly discovered that the best sources of such wealth were the prosperous monastaries which were widespread. Rathlin, Inishmurruy and Inisbofin and other unpronounceable monastery sites were ravaged again and again. The were stripped of provisions, precious art works, cattle and captives. The raids by the Vikings were erratic in nature areas seeking provisions on which to exist and prosper. Raids may be made six moths or a year apart, giving the monastic establishment time to recover and lay in new supplies. That was from 745 AD and it does not appear that any Viking group stayed "over winter" they set up such a location in 842 AD at Dublin.
Then in the 9th century the Vikings set up more permanent settlements at some of their larger base camps, at Cork in 846 AD and at Waterford in 850AD. The Irish responded by building high rock towers as defense centers and for a time seemed to be making progress. By 902AD the Viking had been driven from their strongest foothold in Dublin .The defeated Vikings took refuge in Wales There was a general lull in the raids for some sixty or more years and Ireland made some notable recovery.
A great fleet gathered off Waterford 914 AD, however, and that fleet started a second Viking invasion of Ireland that lasted from 914 until 969 when Limerick was freed and Irish rule resorted, first to the isles of the Shannon.
It may be worth a second look at the inner workings of the Viking incursions. Part of the reason they failed to take Ireland, even as a superior force, was the fact that they were a divided group despite their unified appearance. The leadership was sometimes Norwegian and at others Danish and they were often fighting each other. Then, too, historians and tellers of tales - not the best among the world's mathematics experts, perhaps, have magnified the exploits of both sides, perhaps. Someone has counted up the number of recorded Viking raids on Ireland over the entire period of the Viking attacks. The grand total is an unimpressive sum of forty-three raids during the entire Viking period.
More than one thing, it appears, was not what it was thought to have been. It may be proper for us to examine with care the true and actual nature of those who attack us during our own time of Terror, as well. Is our enemy as unified, in a religious and ethnic sense, as we think them to be? Or, are there factions within? Do they vie with each other to their mutual disadvantage? And - are our own stats accurate?
A.L.M. April 27. 2003 [c962wds]
