The Vikings in Ireland: 795 AD onwards

The Vikings in Ireland: 795 AD onwards

During early Christian Ireland many of the monasteries were often attacked by different groups. The Irish sometimes raided monasteries looking for treasures. However, the problem worsened for the monasteries in the eight century when the Vikings or Norsemen from Scandinavia began to raid Ireland. They were feared by everyone because they killed anyone who got in their way or took them as slaves.

In 795 AD Viking longships began to raid various places in Ireland. At first they attacked the monasteries along the coast and later they raided inland. The Vikings were great experts at building boats which were used for long journeys. Some of their longships have been found underwater in places like Roskilde in Denmark .

We know that the Vikings stole treasures from Ireland because many of them were later found. For example, one of these treasures, Ranvaig’s Casket, was given on loan to the National Museum of Ireland. It is usually in the National Museum of Denmark.

The Vikings who came to Ireland from 795 AD to 840 AD were mainly from the area now known as Norway. The Danish Vikings came to Ireland from about 849 AD and fought the Norse Vikings.

Viking traders and craftsmen

The Vikings were traders and were also skilled blacksmiths and metalworkers. Many settled in places like Russia, Iceland and Greenland. Many Vikings also settled in Ireland and set up towns along the coast such as Dublin, which they starting building in 841, and also Wexford, Cork, Limerick. These new towns meant that trade between Ireland and Europe developed.

Many of the Vikings married Irish people and they became known as the Irish-Norse. However, the Vikings and the people who already lived in Ireland did not always agree and continued to fight each other. Sometimes some Irish kings joined with a Viking leader to attack another Irish chief or king. Warfare was therefore common at this time.

A great battle, known as the Battle of Clontarf, took place in 1014 just outside Dublin. At Clontarf, the strongest king in Ireland, the Irish high king Brian Boru, fought and defeated a Viking army. After this battle, peace began to develop between the Vikings and Celtic peoples and they gradually adopted each other’s ideas and customs.
We know about the Vikings because they buried things like jewellery, tools, weapons and household goods in their graves. Sometimes entire ships were buried with important people. The Vikings also settled in parts of England and in a region of France now called Normandy.