by John Healy

“ Finally, they made for themselves settlements, built cities, and erected castles, relinquishing more or less their roving and unsettled life, and making for themselves a home in the land which they had gained with their swords. ”

“ The position of Ireland, at the extreme west of Europe, has rendered it less liable to invasion than countries otherwise more advantageously situated. England was conquered by Romans and Saxons; but the former never set foot on Irish soil, and the latter only came on insignificant plundering expeditions. The third invasion of England, however, was one in which Ireland had its share. In the year 787, three ships of Northmen from Denmark appeared off the south coast of England. Eight years later they had made their way round to the coast of Antrim. ”

“ That such ideas should have been entertained at the time and have passed at once into history is not a subject of wonder; and yet any one who considers the question will see that this view of the case is most improbable, particularly when another and much simpler explanation is coming. The Norsemen were simply plunderers, and not religious enthusiasts; and they attacked the monasteries and churches, not because they hated Christianity, but because they found in them the most booty and the least resistance. ”

“ This tells us that there was a real invasion, carried on by an overwhelming and victorious force. Not more than fifteen of such names can be found in the whole of Ireland, and these are nearly all on the east coast. [1] We may therefore conclude that nothing more than small seaport settlements were ever attempted, or at all events accomplished, by the Danes in Ireland.
When they first came, the religious establishments, especially those on the coasts and in the islands, were the greatest sufferers. The Norsemen have obtained for themselves a historical reputation for bravery. ”

“ As the years went by they arrived in greater numbers. They even ventured inland, and met the native Irish in pitched battles. But till stheir tactics were the same. Churches and monasteries were the prey for which they sought, until in the end there was not a religious establishment of importance in Ireland which had not suffered more or less at their hands. ”