The Battle of Delgany 1022 - Heritage Week Festival

The original settlers of Delgany were the Bronze Age tribes that built hillforts, c 2,500 BC, on the hills above the Three Trouts Stream and its swampy flood plains and giant oak forest glens. Three millenia later, c 492 AD, the hillforts were still going strong when St. Mochoróg built his Delgany monastery on the lower hills, overlooking the meeting of the streams. Ever since, Delgany has been a Heritage Village, proud of its natural, built, and cultural heritage and its diverse community of all living species. It has seen more than its fair share of life and characters and action.

Fast forward another 5 centuries.....In c.1022 AD, The (Viking) Battle of Delgany took place, along the river, near the Delgany monastic village centre. The battle was between King Sitric Silkenbeard, Viking king of Dublin and Howth, who marched down from his hilltop fort on Coolagad Hill (in Kindlestown Wood) to expand his kingdom of Dublin, and King Ugaire, King of Leinster, who marched down from his hilltop fort on Downs Hill (in Glen of the Downs) to stop him. For more context on life and death in Delgany 1022, read on down below at your leisure.

1 The battle picture illustrated at the top is the Battle of Clontarf 1014 by Angus McBride. The Battle of Delgany 1022 was the next big Viking battle after Clontarf. King Sitric again failed to expand his Viking kingdom.

Life and Death in Delgany, 1022

In 1021 or 1022 AD, The (Viking) Battle of Delgany took place, near the village centre. The battle was between King Sitric Silkenbeard, Viking king of Dublin and Howth (and Prince of York), who marched down from his hilltop fort on Coolagad Hill (in Kindlestown Wood), and King Ugaire, King of Leinster, who marched down from his hilltop fort on Downs Hill (at the South Western end of Glen of the Downs). Both armies had been rebuilding since the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, and the engagement was a long and bloody battle – which turned the Three Trouts Stream red and filled up the official and unofficial burial grounds.

King Sitric was defeated but escaped with his party by land and sea back to Howth, while 6,000 Vikings, and probably almost as many local Leinstermen, were slaughtered. The hilltop forts themselves pre-dated the Vikings, the Monks, the even the Celts, being occupied at least as far back as the Bronze Age, c 2,500 BC, and possibly earlier. The Monks of St. Mochoróg had established their Delgany monastic, walled city or settlement over 500 years beforehand (c 492 AD) on the site of the present Old Burial Ground and surrounding village centre, supplied with fresh water, fish, wood, crops, and some natural defence by the streams, swamps, and wooded hills of Delgany. Glendalough was already a sister monastic city at this time, since being established by St. Kevin, with help from St. Mochoróg, c 600 AD. There are extensive remains of monastic churches, round tower, high-crosses and graves in Glendalough. It is surmised that the Delgany settlement may have had similar original buildings. The shaft of a High Cross in the Old Burial Ground, is the oldest monastic remains clearly identified in Delgany (dating to sometime between the 6th to 9th century). One local story is that the High Cross lost its head in the Battle of Delgany and was re-named the Kings’ Shaft or Kings’ Stone after the two Kings, Sitric and Ugaire, who had caused the destruction. Another related story tells that Sitric had big plans to sack and loot the 2 monasteries of Delgany and Glendalough in order to fund his takeover of Leinster, and that only the ambush and defeat in Delgany halted that expansion, and drove the southern boundary of the Viking kingdom of Dublin back to Bray.

Some stories also date Kindlestown Castle to 9th centuary, and claim that it was captured by King Sitric and then re-taken by King Ugaire in the 1022 Battle of Delgany. If so, it was likely an earlier building than the current Norman Kindlestown Castle, which may have been built on the same site and named after Sherif Albert de Kenley, sometime after 1225, more than 200 years after the Battle of Delgany.

While St. Crispin followed later and established St. Crispin’s Cell and Monastery in Templecarig a few hundred years later, Rathdown Castle (city) on the Templecarrig Stream on the North Beach was already a well-fortified settlement of some sort, and appears to have stayed independent of the Viking kingdom of Dublin.

King Sitric himself was no early Viking pagan barbarian. He established much of modern Dublin City in Christchurch / Wood Quay on the Liffey and Poddle, and reigned for over 50 years (a very rare feat in those dangerous times) despite numerous reported defeats in battle (remember, the historians were native Irish). He minted the first Irish coins a few years before the Battle of Delgany, built Christchurch Cathedral about 6 years after the Battle of Delgany, and developed the city of Dublin as a Viking Stronghold and European centre of Slave Trading and Boat Building.

For other kings, the times were dynamic, with never a dull moment! King Ugaire didn’t last too long (king of Leinster 1018-1024) with first his brother and then several different kings and different tribes taking over the crown of Leinster.

High King Brian Ború died at the Battle of Clontarf 1014 (even though he defeated King Sitric, who escaped back to Howth) so Brian was not around for the Battle of Delgany. It is rumoured that his daughter Queen Sláine, also wife of King Sitric, did play a part in tipping the battle against her husband and in favour of Leinster (see this FB post, or ask locally). Brian’s son King Donnchad, who had been rebuilding his armies since 1014, reportedly avoided the Battle of Delgany. That may have been a clever move, and meant that he was ready to take back the High Kingship of Ireland shortly afterwards later in 1022, although with constant opposition and only some mixed success.

Across in Europe, Danish Viking King Cnut was having some success at this time taking control of the Kingdoms of Denmark and England (wisely respecting and using the tide, rather than trying to hold it back). And in Northern France, the Normans (settled Vikings, under their leader Count Rollo) were well established and building up cities, monasteries, livestock, armies and weapons. They would later return to shape England and then Ireland (including the Norman castles, roads, rabbits and sheep still present in Delgany to this day).

Meanwhile, back in Delgany in 1022, the many competing native and Viking kingdoms were still settling. The population of Delgany would have been several hundred out of possibly just over half a million people in Ireland, growing again after suffering decline from previous years of Viking attacks. There were complex networks of kings and queens and battles and alliances. Cattle, land, gold jewellery and warriors were still the backbone of wealth, but with trade and currency now strongly developing. Most of Ireland’s main cities were recently established as thriving Viking hubs – especially ports around the coasts. Christianity was the common religion with many older, natural Celtic traditions and customs incorporated.

Biodiversity, in the form of native wildlife and domesticated animals and plants, was thriving, well understood and extensively used for food, medicine, shelter and much more.

None of the Anglo-Norman heritage had yet arrived. Wolves, Giant Red Deer, Irish Hares, Irish Goats, Cranes, Eagles, Caipercaille, and Red Squirrels still roamed the dense Oak Forests and hills of Delgany and Glen of the Downs, together with Irish Warriors, Druids / Poets, Monks, Goldsmiths and Irish Wolfhounds. There were still no sheep, sika deer, rabbits, pheasants, shrews, grey squirrels, laurels, rhododendron, nor potatoes. Bears and Lynx were already long gone. Sturgeon, Salmon and Trout were all plentiful in the rivers and up the streams which were all uncovered and had few if any serious dams or barriers, but many mill races. Bogs, Marshes and Wetlands were much more extensive and Holy Wells with cures were common. The Wicklow bays teamed with Oysters, and the upland rivers with Gold and freshwater pearls from the pearl mussels. Feasts and Celebrations were a common ritual part of life. The feasts of Lughnasa (beginning of the Harvest, start of August) included banquets of food and drink and competitions of hurling, athletics, music & poetry.

For even more Delgany Heritage see https://delganyheritagevillage.wicklowheritage.org/

Further Information

Battle of Delgany 1022 – King Sitric Viking Culture Links

Dublinia Viking Activities: https://www.dublinia.ie/education/teachers-resources-page/

Runes: https://sonsofvikings.com/runes

Armour and Shields: https://sonsofvikings.com/collections/viking-armor

Battle of Delgany 1022 – King Ugaire of Leinster Culture Links

CELTIC OGHAM: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogham

https://www.dltk-kids.com/world/celtic/celtic_art.htm

The History of Delgany:

https://delganyheritagevillage.wicklowheritage.org/new-contributions/topics/the-heritage-of-

delgany

Previous Battle 1014 Battle of Clontarf: https://youtu.be/aMRDyYzl39k