![]() Dame Street did not exist and was thought to have been part of the estuary, thus allowing the shipts to moor here at the confluence of the Rivers Liffey and the Poddle.įour years later the Annals of Ulster refer also to “foreigners” at Áth Cliath (Irish for Dublin) which was a village at the time this may simply be a loose reference to the settlement at Duibhlinn, but it is possible that the native settlement of Áth Cliath was also seized and a second longphort established on the Liffey - possibly at Usher’s Island. The longphort in Dublin is thought to have been at the current site of Dublin Castle, as it overlooked the Black Pool (Dubhlinn) which served as a natural harbour for the new town. This was a naval encampment which allowed Vikings to stay in Ireland for longer periods through harsh winters they could repair and prepare their fleets they had both military and trading purposes. In 841 the first Viking longphort was established in Dublin (one was also built in Annagassan in Co. The huge number of artefacts and burials discovered here in Dublin attest to this. It became the earliest, largest and most enduring Norse kingdom in all of Europe. The Kingdom of Dublin was established in 839, and Turgesius was its first king. The Irish climate was relatively mild and there was access to vast forests- a valuable resource with which to repair their sturdy ships. Attracted to the deep waters of the peat-basined river, it was an ideal shelter for the warriors from the often stormy Northern seas. Early Medieval Ireland,400-1200, (New York: Longman, 1995)Įdwards, N.In 837 the arrival on the Liffey of the large fleet of Viking longships signalled a change in Viking Age Ireland. Medieval Ireland: the enduring tradition, (Dublin: Gill, 2005) The Vikings in Ireland: trade, settlement and urbanisation (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2008) Seán Duffy (ed.), Medieval Dublin VIII(Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2008) Seán Duffy (ed.), Medieval Dublin VI (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2005) This makes more sense than the semi rural theory however this is largely disproved by the 9th century discoveries in Templebar talked about in the podcast marked by the red patch on the map. ![]() The other dominant theory suggests longphort was situated further up river closer to the graves found at Kilmainham. Although it appears the Vikings eventually reached a non confrontational relationship with its surrounding Gaelic neighbours it’s unlikely that such a vulnerable settlement would be constructed particularly after the sack of 849. One such theory has argued the longphort was semi-rural in nature spreading all along the southern bank of the river with a fortification to provide safety in times of attack. There are two other theories however these seem less likely the more we understand the 9 th century. This location is not the only suggested location. This pool has also been filled in, but this map gives some appreciation of the advantages this natural harbor provided the Vikings. The blue circle roughly marks the site of the pool – An Dubh Linn or Dublin as we know it. In the 9 th Century this site was flanked by the Liffey to the North and the Poddle which has since been channeled in tunnels beneath the city, (if you walk up Dame street, it dips just before Dublin castle beneath this dip the Poddle flows toward the Liffey). The map below shows the rough location of the site of the longphort which is marked in red. However by the late 840’s Gaelic Ireland struck back and the Vikings changed their tactics by forming alliances with Gaelic kingdoms. The 820-40’s saw the Vikings step it up a gear as vast fleets attacked Ireland and establish bases called longphorts around the coast.
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