Volume II. Guth na Bliadhna ' leabhar II.]

mil
Gan aoibhneas sèin, gan eucht ag sluagh, % Na gniomhartha treuna ag èigse 'a luadh. Is beag a shil me go bhfeicfinn go brath sibh in... chàs so. Is baoghal liom, nuair a chloisfidh Niamh an sgeula ata agam go mbrisfidh a cridhe le h-uabhar agus le nàire.

A Ghaedheala Albann, feuchaidh in bhur ndiaidh agus feuchaidh romhaibh. Ma thrèigeann sibh caint agus ceol agus laoithe agus meanma na bhFiann ni bheidh de shliocht agaibh acht Danair dura go brath aris. Bhi agallamh agam le Righ Fheinnibh na hEireann indè, agus do chuireadar iad fein fè gheasaibh fior laoich go leanfadis raon na bhFiann. Sin iad na geasa ata uaim oraibh-se a Righ Fheinnidhe Albann. Muna bhfuigh me uaibh iad càinfidh me sibh, agus aoirfidh me sibh, go dtògfaidh me tri cluig ar eudan gach mac mathar [agaibh. Agus ma thugann sibh dom na geasa san beidh àthas ar mo chridhe ag filleadh dhorn go Tir nan Og.

Feargus Finnbheil.

the scots at clontarfThe battle of Clontarf, fought on Good Friday in the year 1014, is deservedly regarded as one of the most famous and important in Gaelic history. The events immediately preceding the battle may be briefly recalled. Brian Borumha had made himself Ard-Righ of Ireland by a combination of talents lof which military address and dexterity were the principal characteristics. His throne, however, ■could not be regarded as secure, so long as the Scan­dinavian settlers in Ireland possessed more than a jWe foothold in that country. With Dublin, or Bail'-ath-Cliath, and other important ports in the hands of the sea-faring Lochlannach, no Ard-Righ of Ireland could consider his power as consolidated, or his sovereignty as intact. Brian Borumha, who was as good a statesman as he was a warrior, must have perceived long before he led the Gaelic

lErom the Gaelic Cluain, a meadow, and Tarbh, a bull = Cluain Tairbh.


344 The Scots at Clontarf

host to Clontarf that sooner or later he must try-conclusions with an enemy who had been despoil­ing and oppressing his country for the best part of 300 years. Such " intelligent anticipations " are the essence of good statesmanship. Nowadays, we speak of wars as being " inevitable" long be­fore they actually come to pass. A similar gift of prophecy was probably amongst the many accom­plishments of Brian Borumha.

When the Irish Ard-Righ determined to give battle to the Danes, he by no means under-rated the magnitude of the task that confronted him. Indeed, both sides seem to have simultaneously reached the conclusion that the coming contest would be upon no ordinary scale. Gaels and Black and White Foreigners had been conducting-"little wars" against one another for centuries, and with varying success to both belligerents. The time was obviously now approaching, how­ever, when these series of fisticuffs or "pin pricks" would give place to something infinitely more serious and destructive; and when the die would be cast, one way or another, which must finally decide all the points in dispute. Both sides, accordingly, began their preparations with an evi­dent eye to the future.

The preparations of the Lochlannach were both careful and extensive; but with these we are here not so much concerned. Suffice it to say that they literally scoured the seas for armed support; and that practically all their available resources were laid under contribution. The kingdom of Man, their settlements on the Western Coast of Scot­land, the Orkneys and, of course, Scandinavia itself, were actively recruited, and with encourag­ing results to the barbarians. On the other hand.

The Scots at Clontarf 345

the Gaels of Ireland were no less solicitous of augmenting and strengthening their forces, and no less determined to put the best possible face which they could upon their affairs by inviting assistance from every likely and available quarter. Centuries of Danish warfare, and alas! of internecine strife had drained Ireland of much of her best blood. Instead of composing their differences until at least the foreigner was expelled, the Gaelic rulers (of which the Celtic system allowed too many) had persisted in the prosecution of their private feuds under the very noses, as it were, of the Danish invaders, with the inevitable result that the best strength and manhood of the nation had been ignominiously frittered away in these extra­vagant, costly and contemptible quarrels. More­over, even in view of the solemn and extensive preparations which the Ard-Righ of Ireland now found himself obliged to undertake, in order to counterbalance those of his enemy, whose galling yoke he designed to throw off, there were found some Gaels so mean-spirited and unpatriotic as to prefer the indulgence of a feeling of spite and revenge against Brian to the performance of their obvious duty. Happily, however—happily for the cause of civilisation in Ireland, and for the honour of the Gael—these hirelings and traitors were in a minority. Throughout almost the length and breadth of Ireland Brian's preparations for the offence against the common enemy actively pro­ceeded. From North and South, East and West, recruits for the Ard-Righ's army daily poured in;: and either anticipating or imitating his enemy's, preliminary tactics in respect of his own allies,, messengers were sent to the Gael of Scotland to implore his immediate assistance.

346 The Scots at Clontarf

The battle of Clontarf was fought on Good Friday, 1014. The contest began in the early morning, and continued to be waged, with great courage, fierceness and determination on both sides throughout the day. For many hours the event was in suspense; but towards sundown the Danes began to give way, and to flee. Many picturesque details of this famous battle are supplied by the Irish historians and annalists, whose accounts may, in general, be implicitly relied on, being no less remarkable for the plain and easy style in which they are written than they are for their moderation and fairness to a barbar­ous, though gallant, enemy.

The Scots contribution to this Homeric contest will be, however, I imagine, a Scotsman's principal concern. And in this respect, too, the Irish an­nalists have fortunately not left us without some information, though it is much to be regretted that the wholesale destruction of our national records prevents us from indulging the hope that that in­formation will ever be appreciably supplemented.

In the first place, it must be remembered that the ancient relations between Scotland and Ireland were of a very close and intimate character. Dal-riada was an Irish colony, and whatever may be thought as to the ethnology of the Picts, the "Scottish conquest" of Alba, as this country used to be called, and still is called, in the Gaelic language, is a well-ascertained historical fact. The language of Scotland and the language of Ireland moreover were practically identical at the time Clontarf was fought. The social and commercial correspondence between the two countries was great. The arts and crafts of Ireland were pre­cisely the same as those of Scotland, and, to

The Scots at Clontarf

complete the resemblance, the ecclesiastical systems were, so far as we know, precisely the same.

Under these circumstances, we should naturally expect to find the Gaels of Scotland assisting their kindred in Ireland to throw off the hated Scandi­navian yoke. Besides, the interest, as well as the inclination, of the Scottish Gaels was actively en­gaged by the Irish cause. The west coast of Scotland had been the scene of countless bar­barities on the part of these ferocious and, for the most part, heathen " Summer-sliders," who, in their bloody depredations, had not even respected the sacred soil of Iona. The settlements of these marauders, too, along the entire west coast, and in the islands adjoining thereto, constituted a stand­ing menace to the Gaelic power, and constituted a species of insult which a high-spirited people would be apt to avenge at the first favourable opportunity. Accordingly, when Brian's messengers arrived in Alba announcing that at long last a determined attempt was about to be made to crush the Danish power in Ireland, the Scottish Gaels, whose sym­pathies in such an undertaking were naturally with their Irish kinsmen, needed little encouragement to induce them to take up arms, with a view not only to assisting their allies, but with the further object of including their own country in the promised emancipation.

The late Mr. Skene, whose valuable work on Celtir Scotland is still the accepted authority on our early history, and whose principal conclusions have, on the whole, stood the test of time and later scholarship in remarkable fashion, was of opinion that the Scottish contribution to the army of the victors at Clontarf was more than respectable both as to quality and quantity. It is probable, he says,

that the "whole force of Alban was arrayed on Brian's side". And considering all the circum­stances of the conflict, and its importance to Scotland, as well as to Ireland, Dr. Skene was probably not far wrong in his surmise. The best Irish historical source, however—the historical tract known to English readers as "The Wars of the Gael with the Galls" (Gaelic, Gall, a foreigner generally speaking; but here more particularly a Northman or Scandinavian)—mentions the name of only one Scottish chief as having been present at the battle, namely, Donald, the son of Eimin, the son of Cainnich, Mormaer or sub-king of Marr in Aberdeenshire. I regret that a very careful search amongst the available early Irish historical sources has failed to establish other names in this connex­ion, although, with Skene, I am strongly of opinion that if not the whole force of Alba, at all events the greatest part of it went to the assistance of Ireland on that memorable occasion. It is worthy of note that the tract in question states that Brian had ten Mormaers with him at Clontarf, with their foreign auxiliaries. Now, the word Mormaer (Gaelic, Mòr-mhaor, modern Morair, a lord or great man) is seldom met with in Irish literature. No doubt the title had its Irish equivalent in the familiar Righ, which does not so much mean a king, as nowadays we understand such to be, as a sub-king or provincial prince. Consequently, the em­ployment of the word Mormaer—a purely Scottish appellation—by an Irish writer seems strange. Again, the plural of the word Gall, a foreigner or Northman, is Gaill, and this is the word used to describe the auxiliaries who were with the Ard-Righ and the ten Mormaers at Clontarf. Skene says "the word Gall, here translated 'foreign' (by himself), usually means the Northmen; but it seems here used as its general sense of foreign ". I beg to differ. The word Gall was, I believe, never applied to a Gael; and in the particular circum­stances we are considering would surely be the last epithet a Gaelic historian would employ to designate some of his own allies! For my part, I believe that the ten Mormaers of Brian were Scottish Mormaers who with their foreign aux­iliaries had gone over to Ireland to share the fortunes of the day with the Irish High-King. It would not be difficult to compose a list of ten contemporary Scottish Mormaers, without exhaust­ing the number of such dignities, then subsisting. And as for the allusion to the ten Mormaers'/ore^w auxiliaries—it would not be necessary to allude specifically to their own men—what with Saxon and Flemish and even Scandinavian settlers in Scotland, it would be by no means surprising if some volunteered for, or, what is more likely, were pressed by their Gaelic overlords into, this moment­ous service. Again, foreign auxiliaries, assuming for the sake of argument that they were Scottish, would hardly be likely to engage under Irish Mormaers. The prominence given to Donald by the Irish historians, and his evident importance in their eyes, both as magnate and ally, precludes all idea of such a thing.

As I have already said, the Irish historians and annalists mention the name of only one Mormaer as being present at Clontarf, viz., Morair Mhair?', the above-mentioned Donald. From this circumstance, Skene places Donald of Marr at the head, that is, in command of the Scottish forces. " In addition," he says, "to the native tribes of Munster, Con-naught, and Meath, who followed Brian, he had also an auxiliary force from Alban under Donald son of Eimin son of Cainnich, the Mormaer of Marr."<sup>1

1</sup> But with this opinion, also, I do not agree. If the Mormaers were practically inde­pendent princes, as there is every reason to believe they were, who rendered to the Ard-Righ of Scot­land such allegiance only as he was able to exact from them vi et amis, it surely follows from thence that they would not have submitted to the authority of one of their own order, especially upon so public and formal an occasion. Skene thought that Donald was in command of the Scottish forces at Clontarf, from the circumstance that the Irish historians mention no other Mormaer. For my own part, I am disposed to attribute Donald's isolation in this respect to a different cause, which I shall proceed to explain.

O'Flaherty, who wrote his Ogygia (or History of Ireland) in Latin, states in the second volume of that work (page 304) that "in the battle of Clontarf, fought in the year 1014, we read there fell on the side of Brian, monarch of Ireland, Donald the son of Evin, the son of Canich Mor-mhaor Mair (Mor-mhaor Mhairr) and Muredach Mormaer of Lennox. From the former, the de­scendant of Carbery² the Pict, are sprung the ancient Earls of Marre. From the latter we are of opinion that the Earls of Lennox are descended."

I have already said that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, no available ancient Irish account of the battle mentions the names of any Scottish Mormaer save that of Donald, the Righ

1 Celtic Scotland, vol. i., p. 387.

2 Carbery, son of Core, hereinafter mentioned: he was a Piet on his mother's side, and was so called (by the Irish) be­cause he was brought up in Pictavia.

or Mormaer of Marr. O'Flaherty, however, com­posed his Ogygia at a time when the terrible and lamentable destruction of priceless Irish MSS. had not proceeded as far as, unfortunately, we have bitter reason to know that it has since been carried; and I have no doubt whatever that, in the composition of his history, he had access to materials now, alas! lost to us. But the signifi­cance of the appearance of these two names (those of the Mormaers of Marr and Lennox) in con­nexion with the battle of Clontarf has yet to be explained.

Brian Borhuma, Ard-Righ of Ireland, and King or Righ of Munster, was of the line of Heber, son of Milesius, the Spanish eponymous, according to the genealogists of Ireland and Scotland, of the Gaels of these two countries. Oilioll Olum, a descendant of the above-mentioned Heber, and who was certainly an historical personage, had two sons by his wife Sadbh, viz., Eoghan Mòr (slain a.d. 250) and Cormac Cas. From the second of these two the Ard-Righ of Ireland (Brian) was descended; whilst from Eoghan Mòr, the ancient earls (or rather Mormaers) of Marr and Lennox derived their descent, according to the same autho­rities. It should be explained that Oilioll Olum had a son called Maccon Lughaidh, whom he banished; but, before his death, the Munster king settled his kingdom, or rather principality, upon his two sons, Eoghan Mòr and Cormac Cas, and their posterity; and, in accordance with a fatal Celtic custom, directed that the Toiseachail or heirs of these two clans should succeed alter­nately. That some such arrangement actually took place is rendered certain by the fact that succession to the throne of Munster was in constant dispute between two rival families, both claiming descent from the above-mentioned Lughaid; which de­luged that province with blood and kept it in a state of unrest and turmoil so long as the Gaelic chiefs were in possession of the predominant power. Doubtless, the fact that Brian and the Mormaers of Marr and Lennox could claim a common ancestry, however visionary and remote, would be sufficient to account for their presence as Brian's allies at Clontarf; but the connexion between the Ard-Righ and his Scottish auxiliaries is rendered yet more certain and significant in view of what follows.

Eoghan Mòr had a descendant called Conall Core, who was banished by his father (Lugaid) to Scotland, on account of an animus which Lugaid's wife had conceived against her step-son, the above-mentioned Conall Core. Whilst in Scotland, Con-all Core, who be it observed was equally the ancestor of the Mormaers of Lennox, married a wife (a "Pictish" princess), and by her founded the houses of Marr and Lennox. Core (from whom the town of Cork in Ireland derives its name) eventually returned to Ireland, apparently on his father's death, and became Rìgh of Munster. The connexion between the houses of Munster, Marr, and Lennox was thus established upon a twofold basis—the common claim to be descended from the same remote ancestor, and the much later and more certain one which I have just explained. In these circumstances, I conceive the presence of the Mormaer of Marr (and in all probability that of the Mormaer of Lennox) at Clontarf is easily accounted for, as is the particular manner in which the former is mentioned by the Irish historians.

There is one other point which serves to give emphasis to the probability of this explanation so far as it concerns the Mormaer of Lennox; and which I will briefly refer to before concluding. O'Flaherty, who bears the character of an accurate and honest historian, states that the Lennox Mor-inaer's name was Muredach. Now, "there is a Muredach occurring at a very early date in the Lennox pedigree, who was probably the individual alluded to by O'Flaherty. I say "probably" ad­visedly ; for, of course, since no date is given in the pedigree, nor other particular serving to fix his identity, I am unable to prove it. The con­junction is, nevertheless, I conceive, significant; and in view of what has been stated above the conjecture I have founded on it will not, I hope, be considered as extravagant.

j. Chisholm.
ciad mhac riogh africa

[An so sìos focal air an fhocal leis an Ollamh Seòrus Mac Eanraig o bheul-aithris Iain Mhic Fhiongain, an Dalabrog, Uidhist Chinn A Deas.]