Battle of Clontarf

Brian Boru’s army fought a coalition centred on Máel Mórda of Leinster and Sigtrygg Silkbeard’s Dublin, reinforced by warriors from the Norse Atlantic. The battle took place near Clontarf outside Dublin on Good Friday 1014.

Brian’s forces won after an exceptionally destructive day of fighting, but Brian, his son Murchad and many leading men were killed. The opposing coalition also suffered severe losses.

This context supports fiction about Brian Boru, Hiberno-Norse Ireland, dynastic feud and the political fragmentation that followed the battle.