⚔ Battlefields of Britain

Battle of Clontarf 1014

'Battle of Clontarf', oil on canvas painting by Hugh Frazer, 1826
Image: Hugh Frazer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).

Key facts

Date (year)1014Wikidata P585 point in time
Century11th centuryderived
PeriodEarly medieval, Anglo-Saxon & Vikingderived
CountryIrelandderived
ParticipantsKingdom of DublinWikidata

About the battle

The Battle of Clontarf (Irish: Cath Chluain Tarbh) took place on 23 April 1014 at Clontarf, near Dublin, on the east coast of Ireland. It pitted an army led by Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, against a Norse-Irish alliance comprising the forces of Sigtrygg Silkbeard, King of Dublin; Máel Mórda mac Murchada, King of Leinster; and a Viking army from abroad led by Sigurd of Orkney and Brodir of Mann. It lasted from sunrise to sunset, and ended in a rout of the Viking and Leinster armies.

It is estimated that between 7,000 and 10,000 men were killed in the battle, including most of the leaders. Although Brian's forces were victorious, Brian himself was killed, as were his son Murchad and his grandson Toirdelbach. Leinster king Máel Mórda and Viking leaders Sigurd and Brodir were also slain. After the battle, the power of the Vikings and the Kingdom of Dublin was largely broken.

The battle was an important event in Irish history and is recorded in both Irish and Norse chronicles. In Ireland, the battle came to be seen as an event that freed the Irish from foreign domination, and Brian was hailed as a national hero.

Visiting the battlefield

Location

  • Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 53.3650, -6.1975

Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.

Directions (Google Maps) OpenStreetMap

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Clontarf (revision 1375628233), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs and trimming at sentence boundaries; citations removed. No text added.

Battle location from Wikidata (CC0).

Nearby battlefields

Browse more: battles in County Dublin · battles in Ireland · Early medieval, Anglo-Saxon & Viking · 11th century battles

Further reading