Round Tower and Church, Clonmacnois Co. Offaly
This is a photo of the ruins of an ancient monastery in Clonmacnois, Co. Offaly. Like St. Fin Barre's monastery in Cork (see the previous page) and most monastic sites of the Early Christian period, it was plundered by the Vikings in the 10th and 11th centuries.
Round Tower and Church, Clonmacnois Co. Offaly
Round Tower and Church, Clonmacnois Co. Offaly
This is a photo of the ruins of an ancient monastery in Clonmacnois, Co. Offaly. Like St. Fin Barre's monastery in Cork (see the previous page) and most monastic sites of the Early Christian period, it was plundered by the Vikings in the 10th and 11th centuries.
The first mention of a Viking raid on the monastery in Cork is in the old Irish annals for 820AD. We know that Vikings often raided monasteries especially if like Cork they were near the coast ( Vik is an old Icelandic word meaning bay or creek.)
In Ireland the time 790 until 880 AD is known as the age of Viking Raiders. After that the raids on places like Cork died down.
The second age of Viking raids was from 914. After some time the Vikings settled in to Irish life and married Irish people.
We know this from some Munster surnames Mac Auliffe or Mac Amhlaoibh the son of Olaf and Cotter or Mac Oitir which means the son of Oitir.
The Viking way of life gradually changed from raiding to trading. Vikings came to Cork in later years to settle and trade and to sell wine, salt and other supplies to the monastery.
They set up a small town on the South Island on the river. They were called "Ostmen", which means "Eastmen", and they inter-married with the native Irish.
The King of the Irish McCarthy clann built a fort on a hill at Shandon in the 1100s. The Ostmen agreed to work with and for the McCarthys, and were given some freedom to have a stronger influence in the area as a reward. Cork grew as an important trading centre during this time.
This period between the 12th and 15th century is known as the Middle Ages, because in history it lies between ancient times and modern times.
