Editing Battle of Clontarf (section)

== Battle ==
[[File:Map of Battle of Clontarf.png|thumb|1. Clondalkin and Kilmainham were plundered, Brian's son Donnchad (Donough) sacked Leinster (1014); 2. Brian's forces began war, camped near Kilmainham; 3. Finegall and Howth were plundered; 4. Vikings left Dublin to engage Brian; 5. Overseas Viking fleet arrived; 6. Battle of Clontarf; 7. Retreat of Vikings, some drowned in the sea, some forced through Dubgall's Bridge and were attacked again, a few returned to Dublin; 8. Brodar's possible route, killed Brian and was killed himself; 9. Brian's remains to Swords, then to Armagh.]]
No order of battle is given in the contemporary sources; the only leaders named are those who died in the battle. The nearest contemporary accounts are the [[Annals of Inisfallen]] and the [[Annals of Ulster]]. Among the fallen on Brian's side, they name the High King himself, his son [[Murchad mac Briain|Murchad]], and his grandson [[Toirdelbach mac Murchada meic Briain|Toirdelbach]], as well as his nephew Conaing, Domnall mac Diarmata of [[Corcu Baiscind]] (County Clare), Mac Bethad mac Muiredaig of Ciarraige Luachra (County Kerry), Mael Ruanaidh Ua hEidhin of Uí Fiachrach Aidhne, and Tadhg Ua Cellaigh of Uí Maine (both in south Connacht).<ref>Duffy (2013), pp. 179–180</ref> The [[Annals of the Four Masters]] note several other significant deaths, including Eocha, son of Dunadhach, Chief of [[Scannell|Clann-Scannail]]; Tadhg Ua Ceallaigh, lord of Ui Maine; Maelruanaidh na Paidre Ua hEidhin, lord of Aidhne; Geibheannach, son of Dubhagan, lord of Feara-Maighe; Mac-Beatha, son of Muireadhach Claen, lord of Ciarraighe-Luachra; Scannail, son of Cathal, lord of [[Eóganacht Locha Léin]]; and Domhnall, son of Eimhin, son of Cainneach, great steward of Mair in Alba (modern Scotland).<ref>''Annals of the Four Masters: Volume II'' at M1013.11, manuscript available at https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T100005B/</ref>

On the opposing side are named Máel Morda, Dubgall mac Amlaíb (brother of Sigtrygg), Gilla Ciaráin mac Glún Iairn (probably a nephew of Sigtrygg), Sigurd Hlodvirsson of Orkney, and Brodir, commander of the Viking fleet.<ref>Duffy (2013), pp. 175, 181–184</ref> No notables from Meath are recorded among the slain; leading to the suggestion that, if present, Máel Sechnaill kept himself and his forces out of harm's way. But the Annals of Ulster say that Máel Sechnaill and Brian rode together to Dublin, and the [[Annals of the Four Masters]] go so far as to say that it was Máel Sechnaill who won the day, and completed the rout after the death of Brian.<ref>Duffy (2013), pp. 185, 191</ref> On the other hand, ''[[Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib]]'' ("The War of the Irish with the Foreigners"), says that the men of Meath came to the muster with Brian, but "were not faithful to him".<ref>Duffy (2013), p. 201</ref>

According to the ''Cogad'', after his arrival at Dublin, Brian sent his forces north across the river to plunder the area known as ''[[Fingal|Fine Gall]]'', and they torched the country as far as [[Howth]]. Brian, now in his seventies, did not go with them but stayed behind to pray. The Dublin forces set out by land, and were joined at [[Clontarf, Dublin|Clontarf]] at high tide by the Viking fleet that was in Dublin Bay.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Duffy |first=Seán |date=March–April 2014 |title=What happened at the Battle of Clontarf? |journal=History Ireland |volume=22 |issue=2 |page=30 }}</ref>

The front line of the Dublin-Leinster forces were the foreign Vikings, led by Brodir, Sigurd, and a man called Plait, described as "the bravest knight of all the foreigners".<ref name=todd164>{{Cite book |title=Cogadh Gaedhel Re Gallaibh: The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill |editor-last=Todd |editor-first=James Henthorn |editor-link=James Henthorn Todd |year=1867 |publisher=Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer |location=London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/cogadhgaedhelreg00todd/page/164 164]–165 |url=https://archive.org/details/cogadhgaedhelreg00todd |access-date=18 April 2014 }}</ref> Behind them were the men of Dublin, commanded by Dubgall mac Amlaíb and Gilla Ciaráin mac Glún Iairn. Behind them again came the Leinstermen, headed by Máel Mórda.<ref name=todd164/> Sigtrygg remained in Dublin with enough men to defend it should the battle go against them. He watched the battle from the walls with his wife [[Sláine ingen Briain|Sláine]], the daughter of Brian.<ref>Duffy (2014), pp. 211–213</ref>

At the front of Brian's forces were the Dál gCais, led by Brian's son Murchad, Murchad's fifteen-year-old son Toirdelbach, Brian's brother Cudulligh, and Domnall mac Diarmata of Corcu Baiscind. Behind them were the other forces of Munster, commanded by Mothla mac Domnaill mic Fáeláin, King of the [[Déisi Muman]], and Magnus mac Amchada, King of [[Uí Liatháin]]. Next came the [[Connachta]], led by Mael Ruanaidh Ua hEidhin and Tadhg Ua Cellaigh. Also alongside was [[Ó Fearghail]] lords of [[Annaly]]. To one side of them were Brian's Viking allies; Fergal ua Ruairc, with the [[Uí Briúin]] and the [[Conmhaícne]] was placed on the left flank. After the Connachta came Máel Sechnaill and the men of Meath, but (the ''Cogad'' says) he had made an agreement with the men of Dublin that if he would not attack them, they would not attack him.<ref name="Gallaibh pp. 166">''Cogadh Gaedhel Re Gallaibh'', pp. 166–169</ref>

The battle opened with Plait taunting [[Domnall mac Eimín]], a Scottish ally of Brian. The two men marched out into the middle of the field and fought, and both died, "with the sword of each through the heart of the other, and the hair of each in the clenched hand of the other."<ref name="Gallaibh pp. 166"/>

Then the battle proper got under way. It is described in the ''Cogad'' as remarkably loud and bloody. The men of Connacht fought the men of Dublin, and the fighting was so fierce that only 100 Connachtmen and twenty Dublinmen survived. The last casualties occurred at "Dubgall's Bridge", which Seán Duffy suggests was a bridge over the [[River Tolka]], on the road back to Dublin.<ref>Duffy (2013), pp. 209–210</ref> Brian's son Murchad, at the head of the Dál gCais army, took on the foreign Vikings and, according to the ''Cogad'', he himself killed 100 of the enemy—fifty with the sword in his right hand and fifty with the sword in his left.<ref>Duffy (2013), pp. 210–211</ref> The Vikings wore [[Mail (armour)|mail]]; the Irish did not. Yet the Irish gained the advantage, partly through the use of small spears, which they hurled at the enemy, and partly through numerical superiority.<ref>McGettigan (2013), pp. 101–102</ref>

The battle, which had begun at first light, lasted all day. Eventually, the Dublin-Leinster forces broke, and some withdrew towards their ships, while others made for a nearby wood. However, the tide had come in again, cutting off the passage to the wood, but also carrying off the Viking ships. With no way out, they were killed in large numbers, many of them by drowning.<ref>Duffy (2013), pp. 213–214</ref> [[Samuel Haughton]], in 1860, calculated that the tide at Clontarf would have been high at 5:30&nbsp;am and again at 5:55&nbsp;pm, which is consistent with the account in the ''Cogad''.<ref>Duffy (2013), pp. 215–217</ref> It was at this point that Brian's grandson Toirdelbach was killed. He pursued the enemy into the sea, but was hit by a wave and thrown up against the weir, and drowned.<ref name=duffy218>Duffy (2013), p. 218</ref> Murchad killed Sigurd, the earl of Orkney, but shortly afterwards he himself was killed.<ref name=duffy218/> Brian was in his tent praying when Brodir found him, and killed him. Brodir himself was then killed,<ref>Duffy (2013), pp. 219–220</ref> possibly by [[Ulf the Quarrelsome]]. According to the [[Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib]], Brian was visited by a Banshee-like spirit named Aibhill prior to the battle who warned him of his impending demise.<ref>James Todd's translation of the Cogadh Gaedhel Re Gallaibh, page cixxxviii</ref>