Boru's last costly victory
Page 6 of 10The night before the battle, the Vikings were informed that Sigurd had brought a sacred raven banner, woven by his mother, which had the magical properties of ensuring victory for the army if carried before it - but also promising death to its bearers. He tried to downplay that part of the prophecy; even so, he would have a difficult time finding volunteers to bear his mother's banner the next morning.
As dawn broke, the Vikings assembled on the shores near Clontarf before their beached boats, a mile and a half from the walls of Dublin. (At that time all of Dublin town was south of the Liffey. Only DubhGall's Bridge – "Doyle's Bridge" – connected it to the north side where the Vikings were coming ashore. )If Brian Boru and his followers were totally aghast at such a surprise, it was not immediately apparent. Indeed, adversarial warriors in the fortress were graciously allowed by the Irish to leave their walled fortress unmolested and join the Vikings forming up near the oak forrest on the north shore.
Brian, though reluctant to take an active part in a battle on Good Friday, did ride before his assembling forces, carrying a crucifix in one hand and a sword in the other. He gave a short but inspiring speech to his warriors assembled to do battle and then retired to the rear, accompanied by a number of personal escorting guards, who formed a shield wall around him. (Brian Boru had camped at what is now Kilmainham the night before, in a dense stand of oak trees known as Tolmar's Wood. )The Irish, incensed by years of bloody skirmishes, of loved ones being killed or captured and homes destroyed, prepared to destroy the hated Vikings and their renegade Irish allies.
The allied-Viking army formed up into five battle divisions on the field; a sixth remained in Dublin, where Sigtrygg also stayed with 1,000 of his Dublin Vikings manning the walls, effectively guaranteeing himself a ringside seat without fear of personal harm. Sigtrygg's son commanded the extreme left division of the allied-Viking army as leader of all those Dublin warriors who desired to fight in the open that day, perhaps another 1,000 men. Next in line stood a strong, 3,000-man force of Irish rebels from Leinster in two divisions, commanded by Brian's rebellious brother-in-law, Mael Morda. Armed and armoured the same as the Irish clans opposite them, these fighters from Leinster were the weakest link in the allied-Viking line. Sigurd's Orkney Vikings manned the center - 1,000 well-armoured, axe-wielding veterans of many wars. And finally, on the right were stationed Brodir's Vikings, 1,000 or more them, eager to come to grips with the supposedly inferior foe. Brodir's men anchored their flank on the banks of Dublin Bay, where the longboats lay beached.
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