The Vikings & Brian Boru

795 AD - 1014 AD — Viking raiders attacked monasteries but later settled, founding Ireland's first towns. This era culminated in the Battle of Clontarf.

The first Viking raids struck Lambay Island in 795 AD, initiating a century of terror for Irish monasteries. The Vikings, seeking silver and slaves, used Ireland's navigable rivers to strike deep inland. However, they soon began to settle, establishing "longphorts" (ship camps) that grew into Ireland's first true towns: Dublin, Waterford, Wexford, Cork, and Limerick.

The Vikings transformed the Irish economy, introducing coinage and integrating Ireland into a vast trade network stretching from Iceland to Constantinople. Over time, the "Norse-Gaels" intermarried and formed alliances with Irish kings.

This era ended with the rise of Brian Boru, the King of Munster who fought his way to become High King of Ireland. In 1014, at the Battle of Clontarf, his forces defeated a coalition of Dublin Vikings and Leinster men. Though Brian was killed in his tent while praying, the battle broke Viking political power in Ireland forever.