Battlefield in Unknown

Battle of Glen Máma, 999. The report notes that 'MacShamráin has recently resurrected a proposal first made in 1914, suggesting that the battle may have occurred ‘at a gap now crossed by the Nass Road on the section between Kill and Rathcoole’. The modern road broadly follows the old carriage route from Limerick, and passes through a valley between Athgoe Hill (177m) and Busty Hill (170m), both part of the same area of high ground as Lyons Hill, to the north-west, and Windmillhill (217m), a foothill of the Wicklow massif, to the southeast. Given the available evidence, this is the most likely candidate for Glenn Máma. The precise site of the battle within the c.2km long pass cannot be identified at present.' This would locate the possible site of Glen Máma on Sheet 20 at ITM coordinates 699300, 725820 which must only be considered as indicative of the general area proposed. P. Walsh, 18 August 2017 Glen Máma, AD 999 - summary by Dr Gavin Hughes. Uploaded 10/12/2020 Olive Alcock The battle of Glen Máma was fought within the context of a fierce regional political power struggle between Brian Bóruma (Boru), king of Munster and the then high king, Máel Sechnaill, king of Meath. It revolved around the authority over Dublin and the continuing threat of Scandinavian-Dublin independence under its king, Sitric (Silkenbeard) mac Amlaíb (son of Óláfr). The majority of the evidence for this significant engagement can be found in the Annals of Ulster (Mac Airt and Mac Niocaill 1983, 520-21), the Annals of Tigernach (Stokes 1895-7, vol. 2, 243), the Chronicon Scotorum (Hennessy 1866, 236-7), the Annals of Inisfallen (Mac Airt 1951, 172-3) and the later Annals of the Four Masters (O’Donovan 1848-51, vol. 2, 738-42) and Annals of Clonmacnoise (Murphy 1896, 164). As the battle was a fusion of so many regional loyalties and disputes, the annalistic sources often reflect the bias of where they were composed. In 997, a rígdál (royal conference) was held at Clonfert, County Galway, which illustrated Brian's ambitions as high king, at least in practice if not (as yet) in name. At Clonfert, he negotiated the terms of a truce with Máel Sechnaill, who had assumed the title of high king following his victory at the battle of Tara (ME031-075----) in 980. Ostensibly, it was a meeting to carve up the provinces and almost make Brian 'joint-king'; with Brian ruling the southern half of the country and Máel Sechnaill retaining the high kingship and the north. As part of this truce, Máel Sechnaill handed over hostages from Dublin and Leinster to Brian, effectively making him overlord of these territories, an act which prompted Sitric to rebel in 999. To reinforce his new-found authority over the men of Dublin and Leinster, Brian led an army from Munster directly against them. Unusually, the battle took place in winter and, according to the Annals of Ulster (Mac Airt and Mac Niocaill 1983, 428-9), was fought on 'Thursday the third of the kalends of January' - 30 December 999. The annals do not agree on who was actually present in Brian's army, although the Annals of Tigernach (Stokes 1895-7, vol. 2, 243) and the Chronicon Scotorum (Hennessy 1866, 236-7) state that Máel Sechnaill was at the battle, which is not unlikely. There is also confusion as to which sides were allied to which, thus making an estimation of the army size problematic and the number of casualties. It is difficult to determine whether the battle was fought between Munster and Dublin; Munster, Dublin and Leinster (most likely) or even Munster, Meath, Leinster and Dublin. Although the annals do not provide details of the engagement, it is thought that the Dubliners were alerted to Brian's approach and advanced to stop him (most probably with a contingent of men from Leinster) at a gap in a valley through which the Munster army was forced to pass. The Chronicon Scotorum (ibid.) and the Annals of Tigernach (Stokes 1895-7, vol. 2, 243) indicate that the subsequent battle became a rout. Sitric's forces fled the field and the most notable casualty of the day was Harald Olafsson, 'Aralt, son of Amlaíb', whose precise identity remains uncertain, although he appears to have been directly related to Sitric. The Dublin/Leinster forces were hotly pursued by Brian's army and were caught, as the Annals of Ulster (Mac Airt and Mac Niocaill 1983, 520-21) recorded, in a 'great slaughter.' Interestingly, the placename Glen Máma no longer features in the landscape nor does Claen-Conghair, the stone referred to in the related poem in the Annals of the Four Masters (O’Donovan 1848-51, vol. 2, 741). According to tradition, the battle occurred somewhere near Dunlavin in County Wicklow but, in 1914, it was suggested to be closer to Ardclough, which sits on the Dublin-Kildare border (MacShamhráin 2001, 53-64). It has been argued that the battle site should fall within a day's march of Dublin. In this case, the most probable site is somewhere along the gap which is now crossed by the modern Naas Road (which follows the older carriage route from Limerick) and passes through a glen that touches on the Wicklow massif (Windmillhill) to the southeast, and Athgoe Hill and Busty Hill (part of the larger Lyons Hill) to the northwest. The battle of Glen Máma was a humiliating setback for Viking Dublin; instead of asserting their independence, it assured further control by Brian. It not only bolstered Brian's political career and diminished that of his rival, Máel Sechnaill, but it made him practical overlord of Sitric 'Silkenbeard' and the powerbase of Dublin. Following the battle, Brian was able to sack the city, take more hostages and remove Sitric from - or return him to - power as he chose. After Glen Máma, it was the struggle for the control of Dublin itself that became one of many campaign's objectives in the inter-dynastic and provincial wars to come.